About the song

Wikipedia says "Boi" is "a style of Central Amazonian folk music now moving into the mainstream in Brazil."

This kind of song is sung in the Bumba-Meu-Boi festival, typically in the cities of São Luís in the state of Maranhão on the Northeast coast of Brazil. Wikipedia describes Bumba-Meu-Boi as "a popular dance in Northeast Brazil. It tells the story of the death and resurrection of an ox.

There isn't a lot more on the Internet, but here is one detailed (Whoops! it's no longer there - anyone know if it's still available?description of the Bumba-Meu-Boi festival and another with more pictures of the Bumba-Meu-Boi festival (both sites in Portuguese).

Sounds

Original version from Angela's CD
Our practice version - 2 different rhythms

Words

Solo: 'eu vi uma onça ge-mer, na mata do arvoredo

Everyone:

'eu vi uma onça ge-mer, na mata do arvoredo
Solo:

O lere, sao joao, me valha sao pedro, de onça eu tenho medo'Everyone:

O lere, sao joao, me valha sao pedro, de onça eu tenho medo'

Translation (approximate)

I saw a wild cat/puma/jaguar growling in the forest
Oh! lere Saint John, come to me Saint Peter, the wild cat/puma/jaguar frightens me!

Wikipedia suggests that onça is a jaguar ((Brazilian Portuguese: onça pintada)