Neguinho da favela

Kid from the Favela

He was just another kid from the favela
wanted to live in peace, to leave one day
escape prejudice, have prestige, have money
to leave home without needing to be afraid
this is just another story of a common boy
that happens every day in the outskirts
another expired inquiry is just another fact
lost in the police station without being investigated
At twelve years old he was already working
leaving home early for the bus station
shining shoes, cleaning the feet of the rich
to help support his family, my brother
his father, a hopeless drunk
spends everything he earns at the corner bar
the heaviest drug is legalized
destroys homes, families, and is easily found
it can addict you, even lead you to death
forgotten in a hospital bed
cirrhosis, the last dose of lethal alcohol
only death separates you from the fatal addiction
At fifteen years old he stopped studying
he would come home tired from work and saw no future
that's when he tried his first joint
smoked, pressed, freaked out
kid, how can something so good exist
I'm certainly foreseeing your end now
Another year passed and the kid would say
that being good, honest was useless
he would spend his earnings without mercy at the store
then he would come to drink everything in another place
already known in the district, signed several police reports
friends would tell you that crime showed no mercy
many stays in juvenile detention, prison riots
torture, abuse that TV didn't show
he managed to survive until he was eighteen
you're an adult now, kid, be careful with the men, I'm watching
he was number one fan of Leonardo Pareja
who made the men look like clowns and surrendered himself
only to be killed in a riot
tragic end of a man inside detention
poor man who suffered too much in life
at least in death will he find peace?
A stupid question but one that is always asked
look for peace, listen to the advice then
the example of being a thug is not in prison
He considered himself the big shot of the neighborhood
smoked, snorted, stole, was not afraid of anything
it's the law of the jungle in the favela and for sure
the rival is the prey, and the prey sets the table
with no hope of life getting better one day
he wondered why God didn't come to help
to comfort his mother, another sufferer
who spends her days tired from washing clothes
certainly reckless with hatred in mind
he loaded a gun with fifteen bullets
went to settle things the way he learned
who takes care of my family and my mother is me
the target is set, gas station
three guys in the plan waiting on the corner
four-door Opala, tinted windows, six mouths
loaded caliber, hooded with caps
run, run, hold up the gas station, make the move
tie up the manager, ask for the safe code
grab the money, put it in the bag and run off
if you're lucky, stay alive and escape death
in the rush, keep going, tires burning the ground
from afar I hear sirens, the chase begins
six police cars on his tail, closing in on the car
but he doesn't surrender, gets out of the Opala and takes off
I hear shots, screams, no surrender
it's bullet for bullet, shot for shot with no negotiation
that day I witnessed his end
in the hands of the police, I saw the kid die
took two shots to the chest, yellow tape, isolation
giz around the body, sheet, ride in the coroner's van
forensic institute, body examination and record on the thumb
life of crimes, another thug in the coffin
chorus
One day we will have peace, brother, it's worth waiting for
And what's the point of crime, brother? If it comes to kill you