REVIEW OF “O BEBADO E A EQUILIBRISTA”

Giovana Terrone
Pedro Iberê

The song "O bêbado e a equilibrista" was composed in 1977 by João Bosco and
Aldir Blanc with the intention of paying homage to Charles Chaplin, who had died that
same year. Two years later, in 1979, Elis Regina interpreted and released the song in her
record "Essa Mulher". Elis was a very prestigious and relevant interpreter during the
military dictatorship, she was often followed and censored by the state because of the
songs she performed. When she recorded this song by João Bosco she was still in the
middle of the military dictatorship in Brazil, but she was fascinated by the lyrics,
performed brilliantly and the song touched a lot of people, becoming the anthem of the
amnesty.

Like most songs of the time, the song in question had several metaphors that
were usually used to denounce the situation Brazil was in. Throughout the lyrics there
are references to people who died because of the dictatorship, as, for example, in the
verse "Choram Marias e Clarisses", which mentions two women who had values and
opinions opposite to those of the state and who died in the DOI-CODI cellars, an organ
subordinated to the Army, of intelligence and repression of the Brazilian government
during the regime inaugurated with the military coup.

This famous composition by João Bosco and Aldir Blanc, even though it was
released in the 1970s, carries a message that can be very useful and important today in
Brazil. The message conveys an idea of hope and persistence, with the intention of, in a
way, reassuring people and, at the same time, encouraging them not to stop fighting for
a better government and a better country.

The song starts as if there was no more hope, relating all the lamentable scenario
of Brazil and ends with a good message to the people who were against the dictatorship,
saying that all that fight would not be for nothing. "O bêbado e a equilibrista" is an
example of a song that comforts people and carries the history and the memory of
thousands of people who had to go through such a difficult and complicated time as was
the military dictatorship.