Meu Herói is the title track of Manu Lafer’s album. This project brings the delightful meeting of a wide range of musicians of different backgrounds and experiences, from North and South America, all having their own distinguished solo careers and many of them being also teachers and educators. They are mostly old partners of the artist, whose first work came out at the end of the 1990s. The repertoire comprises songs about love and nature, a some of them songs for children that are playful and mystical. In the words of Judee Sill, a popular artist from the 1960s and 1970s, who wrote The Lamb Ran Away With The Crown, they could be an innovation in the sense that “Good vanquishes Evil”. The songs have in common a poetic and mystical vision of the world. The album has a colloquial, groovy and natural style.
This collection contains 7 previously unreleased songs penned by Lafer, besides the title track: O Sabiá E O Avião (defined byone of the musicians as evocative of Milton Nascimento’s band Clube Da Esquina); Apresentação; Brasil Com Zayin (Pau Brasil); Lior and Portal. 5 re-recordings can also be found, injected with freshness and originality. These have been made possible by the arrangements of producer, bassist and Brazilian 7 string guitarist Swami Jr: A Fina Flor Da Rapiocagem; Retrato Da Mulher Amada Bebendo Água De Madrugada (both released with the artist and Dori Caymmi’s guitar and arrangement; Luz (previously recorded in English, titled Light and sung by Maude Maggart); Frum and Salmo 139 (both released originally for the American market.
The artist continues in his approach as an interpreter, here, through Josie, by Donovan, the Scottish composer, folk singer, guitarist and 1960s pop star who went with the Beatles to India; through The Lamb Ran Away With The Crown, composed and originally interpreted by Judee Sill, who we mentioned and was successfully produced by Graham Nash; Western Lullaby, by Wendy Waldman, the exquisite singer and guitarist who was with Leonard Cohen before going on to a successful solo career and who wrote the line that became the album’s inspiration, “singing is believing”); Hasbrook Heights, by Burt Bacharach and Hal David, recorded by Lafer on two previous occasions and a mainstay of his set list; and Chanson Pour Les Enfants L`Hiver, a children’s song by Joseph Kosma and Jacques Prévert, in French, the tongue of his lyricist and poet.
The special guest appearances, as duets, were made by Brazilian vocalists – Verônica Ferriani interpreting Luz and O Sabiá E O Avião, in Portuguese, while Georgia Besen interpreted HaYadata Et HaDerech and Lior, in Hebrew. In English the duets are by: Hilary Gardner in Josie, The Lamb Ran Away With The Crown and Western Lullaby, while Annie Moore, a descendant of Schumann’s and music teacher for children, in Hasbrook Heights.
The Brazilian musicians involved are, as mentioned previously, the protagonists of solo, educational and original work, especially in instrumental music and music production: arranger and producer Swami Junior (six and seven string guitars and electric bass), Fabio Tagliaferri (viola and ukulele), Alex Duarte (drums) and Alexandre Fontanetti (Hawaiian guitar). The inlay information also contains standout studio and gig instrumentalists, while Salmo 139 features a delightful brass arrangement by Maestro Tiquinho.
The same can be said for the American musicians: percussionist Bashiri Johnson, the biggest name for his instrument, credited in studio recordings of such artists as Laura Nyro and Michael Jackson, for example, acoustic contrabassist Martin Wind, accordionist Sam Reider and guitarrist and multi-instrumentalist Justin Poindexter.
Meanwhile, the guest instrumentalists count with Brazilians like Neymar Dias (a country guitarist with pieces dedicated to Bach and the Beatles), as well as Americans, like Ehud Asherie (piano), Ken Peplowski (clarinet and tenor saxophone) and Bruce Molski (banjo and violin, who is also a professor at Berklee).
Tracks
1. Meu Herói (Manu Lafer)
Featuring:
Bruce Molsky
Meu herói, meu herói, meu heroizinho
Meu herói, meu herói, meu heroizão
(bis)
Campeão do povo
Campeão do povão
(bis)
2. Western Lullaby (Wendy Waldman)
Featuring: Hilary Gardner
In the still of the night
I shall sing you a song
About the wild west
And its opening
About the long-rugged ride
And the frontiersman’s pride
And the way that a man
Meets his reckoning
Close your eyes
By the rushing river side
For you know
That tonight we shall be leaving
Close your eyes
To my western lullaby
For you know
That singing is believing
Put your saddle on right
We shall ride away tonight
Across the wide-open sheets
Of the prairie
Climb the mountains beneath your head
In your green grassy bed
Leave behind
Your visions dark and dreary
That in the heat of the day
We shall float our time away
So much you will forget
All I’m singing
But in the still of the night
I will hold you so tight
That you, will be on…
Your knees and praying
3. Luz (Manu Lafer)
Featuring: Verônica Ferriani
A luz veio de madrugada
Veio trazendo nada
Nada da luz serena
Deixar raiar
Ali, nua da madrugada,
Veio tragando nada
Luz do que cabe larga
Deixar luar
A luz do sol sumiu
No meu telhado escuro, luz,
Da noite toda
Luz dissipará
Desinibida
Luz de se envergonhar
4. Retrato Da Mulher Amada Bebendo Água De Madrugada (Manu Lafer)
Featuring: Ken Peplowski, Ehud Asherie
Você é um chapéu
Pendurado num cabo da sala
Você na varanda é um varal
De uma calça ginasta
Descalça rechaça o colchão
Leva os tacos do meu coração
Você quer água
Sonada se baba,
Por que tua saia te marca a ilharga?
Você é isso: fetiche, feitiço
Já sei, tu sei calda
Se escancha, se larga
A única mulher amada, amada
5. HaYadata Et HaDerech (Ephraim Shamir, Eli Mohar, Shem Tov Levy)
Featuring:
Georgia Besen
הידעת את הדרך אל בית אהובתי?
הסלולה היא או בפרך אכבשנה בעצמי?
הבהר היא או בעמק
השמשית היא או מעוננת
אחפש, אמשיך ללכת
עד שאמצאנה
(2x)
הידעת את הדרך אל לב אהובתי?
הן עימי רק זמר ופרח – התשעה אל מינחתי?
זהבי צרור בתפוח
ובשמי נישאים ברוח
מה אומר ומה אתן לה
כשאמצאנה?
(bis)
מכרמל ירדה לה איילת – חמקה לה על ידי,
ואכיר מיד את איילת – הן רק היא אהובתי!
היא בהר והיא בעמק
היא שמשית והיא מעוננת
כל עוד אצא ואלך אחריה
אז אמצאנה!
זהבה צרור בתפוח
ובשמיה – עפים ברוח
כל עוד אצא ואלך אחריה
אז אמצאנה!
לבבי יוצא אליה
ומושכני – בעיקבותיה
הבה אצא ואלך אחריה
אז אמצאנה!
ככה אמצאנה!
אז אמצאנה!
6. Apresentaçāo (Manu Lafer)
Ela se apruma como é de praxe
Ela é uma galáxia pra se atrapalhar
Não falta tempo, juro eu subo em leito,
Rolo em rio de tora, se ela se tardar
Eu sei mesmigues, dado o além da hora,
Dada a entrada cara, queiram perdoar
Ela é nenhuma, ela é paralaxe,
Ela é uma falácia pra se engalanar
Já se espevita em seu risca de giz
O azul foi infeliz e o tomara não vai dar
Ajeita o fecho e desvira o colar
Ao se paramentar e tomar o meu lugar
Quando ela entra, entra vento em fenda,
Ela é descabida, ri do mal estar
Ela se inventa, é burlesca e Gilda
Coxas cruza-as Rita, holofote as trai
Que ela consinta, que el toro venga
Basta de estrovenga, de bisbilhotar
Não se contenta, cobra-se, arrebenta,
Da coxia espreita, estupenda e tal
Agora mesmo ela se maquiou
Calça os saltos com os pés e no espelho se aprovou
Pelo decote, o maior da cortina,
Ela se aproximará da abertura até passar
7. O Sabiá E O Avião (Manu Lafer)
Featuring: Verônica Ferriani, Neymar Dias
O sabiá, sem querer,
No lugar do avião
Tudo paralisou,
Gavião não voou
O sabiá comparou,
Do hangar do avião,
Da visão do seu raio
Não amedrontou
O avião, longe disso,
Atravessa a floresta
Que chucha a clareira
Que o denso habitado apitou
Esse lugar…
Que já passou
8. Josie (Donovan)
Featuring: Hilary Gardner, Bruce Molsky
Josie, I won’t fail ya,
I won’t fail you, have no fear
Josie, I won’t fail ya,
Give me one more chance, the day is near
The meadows they are bursting,
The yellow corn lies in your hand
And with the night comes sorrow
As the tide of dawn sleeps on the land
The long breezes are blowing
All down the sky into my face
I’ve a weary kind of feeling,
Like my time has come and gone to waste
I love you, darling Josie,
The trees of pine they grow so tall
How come you came to love me,
When you didn’t love me at all?
Josie, I won’t fail ya,
I won’t fail you, have no fear
Josie, I won’t fail ya,
Give me one more chance, the day is near
My Josie looks a child now,
As she lies here on my breast
In the night I think about her,
In the day I get no rest
I cut me a young pine-cone
And I gave it to the river deep
It sailed ‘way by your window
Where you lay, so long in sleep
God bless you, darling Josie,
With your sparklin’ eyes so bright and clear
Josie, I won’t fail ya,
I won’t fail you, have no fear
Josie, I won’t fail ya,
I won’t fail you, have no fear
Josie, I won’t fail ya,
Give me one more chance, the day is near
9. Brasil Com Zayin (Pau Brasil)
Brasil, barzel zimmun (bis)
Saiu das mães Ceci e Maria (bis)
A luz com que coração ou mão se nutra
Nasce só no ultra
Aos infras custa
Depois supre e surta (bis)
Brasil, barzel zimmun (bis)
Dos reis Pelé, Segundo Dom Pedro (bis)
Da praia só vê Costa a iabashá
Silva, o continente
E a Rússia Branca
Nova Iorque invente (bis)
Brasil, barzel zimmun (bis)
Rachel uBilhah, Zilpah veLeah (bis)
De gente cordial e veneranda
De importância cônscia
Do amor milagre
Casa Branca negra (bis)
10. Hey Diddle Diddle, The Cat And The Fiddle (Tradicional) / The Lamb Ran Away With The Crown (Judde Sill)
Featuring: Hilary Gardner, Bruce Molsky
Hey diddle, diddle,
The cat and the fiddle,
The cow jumped over the moon
The little dog laughed
To see such sport
And the dish ran away
With the spoon
Once I heard a serpent remark
If you try to evoke the spark
You can fly through the dark
With a red midnight raven
To rule the battleground
So I drew my sword and got ready
But the lamb ran away with the crown (bis)
Though the beast within me’s a liar
He made me glow with a strange desire
And I rode on the fire
With a blue sacred opal
To bless the battleground
But I turned to see its reflection
And the lamb ran away with the crown (bis)
Once a demon lived in my browI
I screamed and wailed, and I cursed out loud
And I sailed through the clouds
On ten crested cardinals
To guard my battleground
But I laughed so hard I cried
And the lamb ran away with the crown (bis)
11. Salmo 139 (Manu Lafer, atribuído ao Rei David)
למנצח לדוד מזמור ה״ חקרתני ותדע
אתה ידעת שבתי וקומי בנתה לרעי מרחוק
ארחי ורבעי זרית וכל-דרכי הסכמתה
כי אין מילה בלשוני הן ה״ ידעת כלה
אחור וקדם צרתני ותשת עלי כפכה
פליאה דעת ממני נשגבה לא אוכל לה
אנה אלך מרוחך ואנה מפניך אברח
אם-אסק שמים שם אתה ואציעה שאול הנך
אשא כנפי-שחר אשכנה באחרית ים
גם-שם ידך תנחני ותאחזני ימינך
ואמר אך-חשך ישופני ולילה אור בעדני
גם-חשך לא-יחשיך ממך ולילה כיום יאיר כחשיך כאורה
כי-אתה קנית כליותי תסכני בבטן אמי
אודך על כי נוראות נפליתי נפלאים מעשיך ונפשי ידעת מאד
לא-נכחד עצמי ממך אשר-עשיתי בסתר רקמתי בתחתיות ארץ
גלמי ראו עיניך ועל-ספרך כלם יכתבו ימים יצרו ולו אחד בהם
ולי מה-יקרו רעיך אל מה עצמו ראשיהם
אספרם מחול ירבון הקיצוץי ועדי עמך
אם תקטול אלוה / רשע ואנשי דמים סורו מנו
אשא יומרוך למזמה נשוא לשוא עריך
הלוא-משנאיך ה״ / אשנא ובתקוממיך אתקוטט
תכלית שנאה שנאתים לאיבים היו לי
חקרני אל ודע לבבי בחנני ודע שרעפי
וראה אם-דרך-עצב בי ונחני בדרך עולם
12. A Fina Flor Da Rapiocagem (Manu Lafer)
Featuring: Neymar Dias
Vai voadeira, segue viagem
Para no Paraná passar
Onde isso acaba, pé de bacaba?
Onde isso acaba, ingá, marimari?
Onde isso acaba, pé de bacaba?
Abacabeira, ingá, marimari?
Angaranhá margeia arreando
Corta jaca, cai abiu, jambu faz vão (bis)
Mulher vai dar beiju, tucumã
No flutuante até de manhã
Mulher vai dar beiju, camucamu
Vou discrepar: eu já vi melhores
Junto da embira, curumim, é quem?
Zum de pium e carapanã
Traz a riqueza das estiagem
Pra fina flor da rapiocagem
(bis)
Eu voltei pra minha vida
Paralelo, quentes graus
Ela diz que ainda é minha e que sua na Manaus
(bis)
13. Lior (Manu Lafer)
Featuring: Georgia Besen
ליאור, ליאור שלי
יש לי האור
האור הכי
Lior, Lior chéri
tu viens du ciel chez nous d’ici
זבול,רקיע ,ערבות
וילון ,מכון ,שם שם ,מעון
וילון ,מכון ,שם שם ,מעון
השחקים ביום כחול
עד בלי די
עד בלי די
עד בלי די
עד בלי די
עד בלי די
עד בלי די
Lior (Transliteração)
1ª parte:
Lior, Lior sheli
Yesh li ha-or
Ha-or ha-hi
Lior, Lior sheli
tu viãn diú ciel che-nus dicí
2ª parte:
Zevul raquia, arrubot
Vilon, machon, sham sham, ma-on
Vilon, machon, sham sham, ma-on
Ha-shechakim ba-yom cachol
Ad bli-dai
Ad bli-dai
Ad bli-dai
Ad bli-dai
Ad bli-dai
Ad bli-dai
14. Frum (Manu Lafer)
Featuring: Ehud Asherie
No Tony, no Grammy, no Emmy, no Oscar
No score, no Nobel, no Prize
When people stare, they tug and seize
The good extracted from them
How come, they don’t know me?
I’ll never repay them
Our joys, our pains, our blessings
There was a day I couldn’t walk
And now who’s crawling with me?
I father my father, my mother inherits
From me or actually you
The sun exists, it moves and sings
Or waits in silence with us
Life is better than a miracle
Me and your mother dance
Running away, coming back and again
On endless earth, as a soul does to god
Bold as a pod, out-and-out as a tot
Where no man has gone before,
With no harm in his realms
Humming the thought and the words of a tune (bis)
Only you can talk me through
Frum, frum, frum, frum, frum, frum, frum
15. Portal (Manu Lafer)
Essa é das quiçás
Das quiçás portas
Esse é um dos tais
Um dos tais dos portões
Não de se descobrir
Nem meditar
Nem se aditar
Divulsionar
Ala de umbela
Ela cebola
Abrir
Abrir
Abrir
Abrir
Abrir
16. Hasbrook Heights (Burt Bacharach, Hal David)
Featuring: Annie Moore, Ken Peplowski
If you ever get out to Hasbrook Heights
And you’re dying to see some sights
Don’t be lonely, just call me
I’ll come and get you,
I’ll show you a good time
You won’t need a motel at Hasbrook Heights
No one ever has a sleepless night
Not at my house, it’s your house
Go kick your shoes off
Start having a good time
Each day is like a week’s vacation
Come rest up
Bring along your swim suit
That’s how we get dressed up
You can get away from it all in Hasbrook Heights
If you’re tired of neon lights
We’ve got sun beams and moon beams
And friendly people
They’ll show you a good time
Throw some things in a grip
Take the early train
It’s a beautiful trip
Don’t forget the name
Hasbrook Heights,
Hasbrook Heights
17. Chanson Pour Les Enfants L’Hiver (Joseph Kosma, Jacques Prévert)
Dans la nuit de l’hiver
Galope un grand homme blanc (bis)
C’est un bonhomme de neige
Avec une pipe en bois
Un grand bonhomme de neige
Poursuivi par le froid
Il arrive au village (bis)
Voyant de la lumière
Le voilà rassuré
Dans une petite maison
Il entre sans frapper
(bis)
Et pour se réchauffer (bis)
S’assoit sur le poêle rouge
Et d’un coup disparait
Ne laissant que sa pipe
Au milieu d’une flaque d’eau
Ne laissant que sa pipe
Et puis son vieux chapeau
