Apologia Ao Jumento (O Jumento É Nosso Irmão)

That's true, sir
This story from the backlands
Father Vieira spoke
That the donkey is our brother

ão, ão, ão, ão, ão, ão
The donkey is our brother
Whether you like it or not!

The donkey has always been
The greatest developer of the backlands!
He helped the man with his daily tasks
He helped the man
It helped Brazil to develop

He dragged firewood
Wood, stone, lime, cement, brick, tile
He built a dam and a road
He carried water to the man's house
He went to the fair and served as a mount
The donkey is our brother!

And the man, in return
What's wrong with you?
Punishment, beating, stick on the legs, stick on the back
Stick in the neck, stick in the face, in the ears
Ah, the donkey is good, man is evil!

And when the poor person can no longer bear the weight
From a load, and lies down on the ground
You think the man arrives
Can you help the little animal get up? Hmm, sure!
It makes a little fire under his tail
The donkey is good
The donkey is sacred
The man is evil

The man is only good for giving nicknames to the donkey
The poor thing has an endless number of nicknames
Babau, Gangão, Breguesso, Fofarchão
Image of the Dog, Mosquito Man, Bugler, Serenader
Bell ringer, clock, yes, he tells the right time in the backlands
All of these are nicknames that the Donkey has
Astronaut, Professor, Student
Lawyer of the Beasts

He is called a Student
Because when the student doesn't know the lesson from school
The teacher shouts immediately
You don't know why you're such a donkey!
And the student, to get revenge
He nicknamed the donkey "teacher."
Because the teacher teaches reading for free
Yes, indeed!
The only ones who teach people to read for free are donkeys, my friend
That's how it is
A! E! I! O! U! U!
Upsilon, upsilon, upsilon
Upsilon, upsilon, upsilon

Only those who don't want to learn to read fail to do so!
This is the donkey, our brother
Sacred animal!
It served as transportation for Our Lord
When he was going to Egypt
When Our Lord was a little kid

Every donkey has a cross on its back, right?
You can see that it has
Every donkey has a cross on its back
That's where the holy boy peed
That is why it is called sacred
Ha, ha, you donkey, my brother
The greatest friend of the backlands!

He's full of nonsense, yes sir
He once made me one, boy
That I never forgot again
When the first rains fall in the backlands
We'll plant a little corn right away
In the rubble of our house
Because it's quick and it's sweet corn
Hurry up, hurry up!
The donkey decided he wanted to be my partner!
I said: I'll get him!
When he invaded my farm, he
I set a trap, got close to him and said
Eating my corn, huh! I'm gonna get you!
He shook his head, turned on the antennae
Twitched its tail, twitched, twitched, twitched
He wound it up and fired!
He jumped so hard over the fence
It didn't even touch my trap
He ran about 10 meters, then turned around
He looked at me and teased me
Mr. Luiz! Mr. Luiz! I ate your corn!
And how! And how! And how! And how!
You little pest! You really ate it!

But I like him
Because he's a real pain in the neck, that little servant!
Sacred animal!
Donkey, my brother, I recognize your worth!
You are a patriot! You are a great Brazilian!
I'm here, you donkey, to acknowledge your worth, my brother

Now, my patriot, in the name of my backlands
I accompany your vicar, in this eternal gratitude
We accept your tribute
Oh donkey, our brother, woof, woof, woof, woof, woof, woof