Eu Sou Neguinha?

Am I a Little Black Girl?

Eu Sou Neguinha?

I was leaning, saw my guitarEu tava encostada, vi minha guitarra
In the white square, video cardboardNo quadrado branco, vídeo papelão
I was the enigma, a question markEu era o enigma, uma interrogação
Look what a thing, more than a trivial thingOlha que coisa, mais que coisa à toa
Good, good, good, good, goodBoa, boa, boa, boa, boa

I was with graceEu tava com graça
I was there by chance, it was nothingTava por acaso ali, não era nada
Mulatto butt, cowboy muscleBunda de mulata, muque de peão
I was in Madureira, I was in BahiaTava em Madureira, tava na Bahia
In Beaubourg, in the Bronx, in BrásNo Beaubourg, no Bronx, no Brás
And I and I and I and IE eu e eu e eu e eu

Asking myself: Am I a little black girl?A me perguntar: Eu sou neguinha?
It was a message, I read a messageEra uma mensagem, lia uma mensagem
It seems silly, but it wasn'tParece bobagem, mas não era não
I couldn't decipher it, I couldn'tEu não decifrava, eu não conseguia
But that was going and I was going, and I was going, and I was going, and I was goingMas aquilo ia e eu ia, e eu ia, e eu ia, e eu ia, e eu ia

I wondered: Was it a hippie gesture, a strange drawing?Eu me perguntava: Era um gesto hippie, um desenho estranho?
Men working, stop, against the flowHomens trabalhando, pare, contramão
And it was a joy, it was a hopeE era uma alegria, era uma esperança
It was dance and danceEra dança e dança
Or not, or not, or not, or not, I wasn't askingOu não, ou não, ou não, ou não, ou não tava perguntado

Am I a little black girl?Eu sou neguinha?
Am I a little black girl?Eu sou neguinha?
Am I a little black girl?Eu sou neguinha?

I was praying there completelyEu tava rezando ali completamente
A believer, a lens, it was a visionUm crente, uma lente, era uma visão
Totally third sexTotalmente terceiro sexo
Totally third worldTotalmente terceiro mundo
Third millennium naked flesh, naked, naked, naked, naked, naked, nakedTerceiro milênio carne nua, nua, nua, nua, nua, nua, nua

It was so funnyEra tão gozado
It was an electric trio, it was fantasyEra um trio elétrico, era fantasia
Samba school on televisionEscola de samba na televisão
Cross at the end of the tunnel, dead-end alleysCruz no fim do túnel, becos sem saída
And I was the way out, melody, noon, day, dayE eu era a saída, melodia, meio-dia, dia, dia
It was what I said: Am I a little black girl?Era o que eu dizia: Eu sou neguinha?

But I saw other thingsMas via outras coisas
I saw the strong manVia o moço forte
And the soft woman from the darknessE a mulher macia den'da escuridão
I saw what is visible, I saw what I didn't seeVia o que é visível, via o que não via
What poetry and prophecy don't seeO que a poesia e a profecia não veem
But they see, they see, they see, they see, they seeMas veem, veem, veem, veem, veem

It's what it seemedÉ o que parecia
That things talkQue as coisas conversam
Surprising thingsCoisas surpreendentes
Fatal errors, find solutionsFatalmente erram, acham solução
And that the same sign that I have to read and beE que o mesmo signo que eu tenho ler e ser
Is just a possible or impossible in meÉ apenas um possível ou impossível em mim
In me, in a thousand, in a thousand, in a thousandEm mim, em mil, em mil, em mil

And the question cameE a pergunta vinha
Am I a little black girl?Eu sou neguinha?
Am I a little black girl?Eu sou neguinha?