Eu Sou Neguinha?

Am I a Little Black Girl?

Eu Sou Neguinha?

I was leaning there with my guitarEu tava encostado ali minha guitarra
In a white square, video cardboardNum quadrado branco, vídeo papelão
I was an enigma, a question markEu era um enigma, uma interrogação
Look at thatOlha que coisa
But what a silly thing, good, good, good, good, goodMas que coisa à toa, boa, 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 myselfA me perguntar
Am I a little black girl?Eu sou neguinha?

It was a messageEra uma mensagem
I read a messageLia 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 it 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
I asked myselfEu me perguntava

It was a hippie gesture, a strange drawingEra um gesto hippie, um desenho estranho
Men working, back and forthHomens trabalhando, para e contramão
And it was a joy, it was a hopeE era uma alegria, era uma esperança
It was dance and dance or not, or not, or not, or not, or notEra dança e dança ou não, ou não, ou não, ou não, ou não
I was asking:Tava perguntado:
Am I a little black girl?Eu sou neguinha?
Am I a little black girl?Eu sou neguinha?
I'm a little black girlSou neguinha
Am I a little black girl?Eu sou neguinha?
I'm a little black girlSou 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 world third millenniumTotalmente terceiro mundo terceiro milênio
Naked flesh, naked, naked, naked, naked, nakedCarne 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 alleyCruz no fim do túnel, beco sem saída
And I was the way out, melody, noon, day, day, dayE eu era a saída, melodia, meio-dia, dia, dia, dia
It was what I said:Era o que eu dizia:
Am I a little black girl?Eu sou neguinha?

But I saw other things: I saw the strong manMas via outras coisas: via o moço forte
And the soft woman from the darknessEa 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
And what poetry and prophecy don't seeE o que poesia e a profecia não vêem
But they see, they see, they see, they see, they seeMas vêem, vêem, vêem, vêem, vêem
It seemedÉ o que parecia
That things talk about surprising thingsQue as coisas conversam coisas surpreendentes
They inevitably make mistakes, find solutionsFatalmente erram, acham solução
And that the same sign that I try to read and beE que o mesmo signo que eu tento ler e ser
Is just a possibility and the impossibleÉ apenas um possível e o impossível
In me, in a thousand, in a thousand, in a thousand, in a thousandEm mim, em mil, em mil, em mil, em mil
And the question came:E a pergunta vinha:
Am I a little black girl?Eu sou neguinha?