O Bêbado E A Equilibrista chord chart in E

The tune

"O Bêbado e a Equilibrista" is a Portuguese-language samba with music by João Bosco and lyrics by Aldir Blanc, written in 1979. Elis Regina recorded it that year for her album Elis, essa mulher (Essa Mulher), and it was released as a single, produced by Marco Mazzola and César Camargo Mariano. Bosco began the music as a tribute to Charlie Chaplin, who died on 25 December 1977, drawing on the theme of Modern Times, and the opening lines evoke Chaplin's Tramp, called Carlitos. Blanc later wrote the lyrics about a Chaplin-like drunk who deplores the plight of exiles. The falling viaduct in the song refers to the Paulo de Frontin overpass in Rio de Janeiro, which collapsed in 1971. Regina first sang the song on a São Paulo television programme, and it was a hit before its release. It was the No. 1 Brazilian Popular Music song of 1979, and Regina was the first Brazilian woman to achieve this. The recording features Regina on vocals, César Camargo Mariano on piano and Paulinho Braga on drums.

What the song is about

The song calls for the return of exiles and mourns political prisoners, including the daughter of Manoel Fiel Filho and Clarice Herzog, before closing with hope, expressed through the image of a tightrope walker. It became an informal anthem of the amnesty period, although it was written before the Amnesty Law of 28 August 1979. Blanc wrote it after a conversation with cartoonist Henfil and composer Chico Mário about Henfil's exiled brother, Betinho. Henfil credited the song with raising turnout at demonstrations, and Betinho returned from eight years of exile the following month.