One of my favorite songs about Brazil is Jorge Ben Jor’s “País Tropical,” an ode to Brazil and in particular, to Rio de Janeiro. The lyrics are very simple and quite easy to understand, so it’s a good song for beginners. Just a note: he refers to two very specific things: Flamengo, a popular Rio football team, and a Fusca, which we’d call a Bug in English (the classic VW car).
Listen to the song and follow along!
Lyrics – País Tropical – Tropical Country
| PORTUGUESE | ENGLISH |
| Moro num país tropical | I live in a tropical country |
| Abençoado por Deus | Blessed by God |
| E bonito por natureza | And naturally beautiful |
| Mas que beleza | How wonderful |
| Em fevereiro, em fevereiro | In February, in February |
| Tem carnaval | There’s Carnival |
| Tem carnaval | There’s Carnival |
| Eu tenho um fusca e um violão | I have a car (VW Bug) and a guitar |
| Sou Flamengo e tenho uma nêga chamada Tereza |
I’m for Flamengo (football team) and I have a girl named Theresa |
| “Sambaby Sambaby” posso não ser um Band Leader, pois é… | Sambaby Sambaby, I may not be a band leader, that’s right |
| Mas assim mesmo la em casa todos meus amigos, meus camaradinhas me respeitam, pois é … | But even so, at home all my friends and family members respect me, that’s right … |
| Essa é a razão da simpatia, do poder do algo mais e da alegria… | This is the reason for kindness, the power of something more and of happiness |
| Moro num país tropical | I live in a tropical country |
| Abençoado por Deus | Blessed by God |
| E bonito por natureza | And naturally beautiful |
| Mas que beleza | How wonderful |
| Em fevereiro, em fevereiro | In February, in February |
| Tem carnaval | There’s carnival |
| Tem carnaval | There’s carnival |
| Eu tenho um fusca e um violão |
I have a car (VW Bug) and a singing guitar |
| Sou Flamengo e tenho uma nêga chamada Tereza | I’m for Flamengo (football team) and I have a girl named Theresa |
| “Sambaby Sambaby” sou um menino de mentalidade mediana, pois é… | Sambaby Sambaby, I’m a boy of average intelligence, that’s right … |
| Mas assim mesmo feliz da vida, contente, não devo nada a ninguém | But even so I am very happy, content, I don’t owe anything to anybody |
| Pois eu sou feliz, muito feliz comigo mesmo | So I’m happy, very happy with myself |
