This traditional capoeira corrido is a high-energy call-and-response song. The verb abalar means "to shake," "to rock," or "to shatter," signifying an explosion of energy, skill, and momentum.
Key Terms in the Song
Before diving into the lyrics, it helps to understand a few traditional terms and cultural references used throughout the song:
Abalou: "Shook" or "rocked" (from the verb abalar).
Deixa abalar: "Let it shake" or "let it rock"—an encouragement to surrender to the high-energy flow of the game.
Cachoeira: Means "waterfall" in Portuguese. In many rodas, singers rhythmically substitute or pair cachoeira with capoeira ("Abalou, cachoeira, abalou"), creating wordplay that evokes the unstoppable force of a roaring waterfall.
There is one main chorus to this song:
Abalou capoeira, abalou
This translates to the following:
Shook, capoeira, it shook
Song Variations
Sometimes you will hear the lead singer and chorus use cachoeira in place of capoeira:
"Abalou, cachoeira, abalou" ("Shook, waterfall, it shook")
| Letras | Lyrics |
|---|---|
| Abalou capoeira, abalou | Shook, capoeira, it shook |
| Abalou, deixa abalar | It shook, let it shake |
| (Coro) | (Chorus) |
| Abalou, deixa abalar | It shook, let it shake |
| (Coro) | (Chorus) |
Interested in learning more about capoeira? Check out our other blog posts here.
