“Homem com H” (Ney Matogrosso, 1981)
Source: Thiago Piccoli, CC BY 2.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0>, via Wikimedia Commons
The Ney Matogrosso biopic “Homem com H” (called “Latin Blood” on Netflix) is named after the song below (if you’re watching it in Portuguese, otherwise it’s named after a different song), which is also the subject of today’s Brazuca Sounds podcast.
This song is an incredible takedown of machismo, and by extension a celebration of what it really means to be a man. To start with the title (literally “Man with an H” since the word “man” in Portuguese starts with an “H”), the questioning of a certain macho interpretation of manliness begins with that very first letter: a silent H! That nuance kind of gets lost in the English. A couple of other things do too: The second line of the song is a common Brazilian expression that literally translates as “If you run the beast will get you, if you stay the beast will eat you.” Unfortunately, I couldn’t come up with a similarly toned English metaphor. Also the repeated chorus line of this song “Eu sou é homem” plays with sentence structure a little. The way I’ve translated it (“What I am is a man”) captures the meaning, but not the structure which would more literally be “I am is man.” Finally, a word about the Portuguese word “cabra” which is literally “goat” but, depending on context, can mean “good ol’ boy” or “rough/redneck” or even “player” or “dog.” Lest we worry about translation only being loss: The line “And how I am” works on two levels in both languages. (“I am a man - and how!” and “I am a man and the way that I am”).
Listen to the song (original album version)
Listen to a live version
“Homem com H”
Nunca vi rastro de cobra nem couro de lobisomem
Se correr o bicho pega, se ficar o bicho come
Porque eu sou é homem
Porque eu sou é homem
Menino, eu sou é homem
Menino, eu sou é homem
E como sou
Quando eu estava pra nascer
De vez em quando eu ouvia
Eu ouvia a mãe dizer
Ai, meu deus, como eu queria
Que essa cabra fosse homem
Cabra macho pra danar
Ah mamãe, aqui estou eu
Mamãe, aqui estou eu
Sou homem com H
E como sou
Cobra
Homem
Pega
Come
Porque eu sou é homem
Porque eu sou é homem
Menino, eu sou é homem
Menino, eu sou é homem
Eu sou homem com H
E com H sou muito homem
Se você quer duvidar
Olhe bem pelo meu nome
Já 'to quase namorando
Namorando pra casar
Ah Maria, diz que eu sou
Maria diz que eu sou
Sou homem com H
E como sou
“Man with a capital M”
I’ve never seen snake tracks nor werewolf leather
Damned if you do, damned if you don’t
Because what I am is a man
Because what I am is a man
Boy, I am a man
Boy, I am a man
And how I am
When I was about to be born
Once in a while I’d hear
I’d hear my mom say
Oh my god what I wouldn’t give
For this guy to be a man
The most manly man
Oh mommy, here I am
Mommy, here I am
I’m a man with a capital M
And how I am
Snake
Man
Grab
Eat
Because what I am is a man
Because what I am is a man
Boy, I’m a man
Boy, I’m a man
I’m a man with a capital M
And with an M I’m a lot of man
If you want to question it
Look closely at my name
I’m already almost dating
Dating to get married
Ah Maria, say that I am
Maria say that I am
I’m a man with a capital M
And how I am