No balanço do mar
Note: video lyrics may slightly differ.
No balanço do mar, ioiô
In the sway of the sea, my love
No balanço do mar, iaiá
In the sway of the sea, darling
No balanço do mar, ê ê
In the sway of the sea, hey hey
No balanço do mar
In the sway of the sea
No balanço do mar, ioiô
In the sway of the sea, my love
No balanço do mar, iaiá
In the sway of the sea, darling
No balanço do mar, ê ê
In the sway of the sea, hey hey
No balanço do mar
In the sway of the sea
Lá vem o navio negreiro
Here comes the slave ship
Trazendo africanos de lá
Bringing Africans from there
E aqui em solo brasileiro
And here on Brazilian soil
Escravos iam se tornar
They would become slaves
No balanço do mar, ioiô
In the sway of the sea, my love
No balanço do mar, iaiá
In the sway of the sea, darling
No balanço do mar, ê ê
In the sway of the sea, hey hey
No balanço do mar
In the sway of the sea
No porto eu fui vendido
At the port I was sold
Para o senhor da fazenda
To the master of the plantation
Pra plantar e cortar cana
To plant and cut the sugarcane
E trabalhar na moenda
And work at the mill
No balanço do mar, ioiô
In the sway of the sea, my love
No balanço do mar, iaiá
In the sway of the sea, darling
No balanço do mar, ê ê
In the sway of the sea, hey hey
No balanço do mar
In the sway of the sea
Mas o negro era valente
But the Black man was brave
E tinha alma guerreira
And had a warrior’s soul
Fugia do cativeiro
He escaped from captivity
Pro meio da capoeira
Into the heart of capoeira
No balanço do mar, ioiô
In the sway of the sea, my love
No balanço do mar, iaiá
In the sway of the sea, darling
No balanço do mar, ê ê
In the sway of the sea, hey hey
No balanço do mar
In the sway of the sea
Vou me embrenhar na mata
I’ll slip away into the forest
As correntes arrebentar
Break these chains apart
Eu vou voltar pra minha terra
I’m going back to my homeland
Eu vou no balanço do mar
I’ll go with the sway of the sea
No balanço do mar, ioiô
In the sway of the sea, my love
No balanço do mar, iaiá
In the sway of the sea, darling
No balanço do mar, ê ê
In the sway of the sea, hey hey
No balanço do mar
In the sway of the sea