Mas Que Nada

I've found a couple translations of the Brazilian super hit "Mas Que Nada," but they're pretty basic...a man badly wants to dance a samba that's so cool "you won't want to stop."

Does anyone know if the song has a deeper meaning? I think I remember reading somewhere that it was at least partly a commentary on racism or poverty.

Also, does anyone know the names of the various women vocalists who have performed with Sergio Mendes? My understanding is that Lani Hall sang on his first recording of Mas Que Nada, but I don't think she's featured in any of the videos I've seen. Who are the women performing in this video (my favorite version)? - www.youtube.com/watch?v=zbkJa-mNYeI&feature=fvsr

I just published an article about Mas Que Nada at www.sealatin.com/Music/Mas_Que_Nada but I'm still trying to fill in a few blanks.

Gracias (Obrigato in Portuguese?)

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Well, this is just from wikipedia, but it says that the original was done by Jorge Ben in 1963. It also says that it means No way and not more than nothing.

Ron Obvious said:

Well, this is just from wikipedia, but it says that the original was done by Jorge Ben in 1963. It also says that it means No way and not more than nothing.

Click to expand...

No way!

I know there's some subtext of race, but I haven't paid too much attention to the lyrics personally. "Preto velho" = "prieto viejo", but I think mostly what they're talking about is the African influence in Samba's roots.