I have a vague memory of Caymmi singing it with his daughter to an orchestral arrangement. I tried to stay close to that arrangement with the guitar, but the most fun I’ve had with the song was performing it a few times with Paul Winter and the Paul Winter Consort.
The reviewer Ralph Earle once described hearing the song as being hit in slow motion by a barrage of pillows.
It is late
Everything is sleeping, even the night,
I watch over you, my love,
Sleep, angel, or the Ox will rock your cradle.
Ox, Ox, Ox, Ox with the black face
Rock this child who is so afraid of scary faces
Ox, Ox, Ox, Ox…
Up in the sky all the singing as stopped,
Even the angels have stopped singing.
Little mothers must also rest.
Sleep, angel, papa has come to watch over you.
Ox, Ox, Ox, Ox…