Tiro ao Álvaro

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Tiro ao Álvaro is a samba song composed in 1960 by Italian-Brazilian composer and singer Adoniran Barbosa (real name João Rubinato). In his style of the "paulista" samba, it has humorous lyrics written in poor Portuguese language of the São Paulo city's poor suburbs with Italian immigrants.

[edit] Lyrics

Original

De tanto levar frechada do teu olhar
Meu peito até parece sabe o quê?
Táuba de tiro ao álvaro
Não tem mais onde furar
Táuba de tiro ao álvaro
Não tem mais onde furar

Teu olhar mata mais
Do que bala de carabina
Que veneno estriquinina
que peixeira de baiano
Teu olhar mata mais
Do que atropelamento de automóvel
Mata mais que bala de revólver

Free translation

After so many arrow shots from you eyes
My breast looks like you know what?
A target's practice board
Which can take no more holes
A target's practice board
Which can take no more holes

Your looks kill more
Than a carbine's bullet
More than strychnine poison
More than a Baiano's knife
Your looks kill more
Than an automobile running over me
Kills more than the bullet of a gun

Note: The Portuguese lyrics contain many dialetal features that would be considered serious errors according to the official language norm. Unfortunately these features are lost in the English translation.