OT: Brazilian Portuguese help (LONG, sorry)

For years I've been enjoying a CD of songs from the Nordeste-- one in
particular because of the singer's incredible sound and technique. I could
only understand a few of the words, however, and only recently did it occur
to me to hunt up the lyrics online :-(

I know there is no special requirement that song lyrics should make sense,
but there are a number of words and locutions that my limited knowledge of
Port. (based entirely on knowledge of Spanish and a bit of linguistic
history) can't quite handle.

ROMARIA [Pilgrimage] as sung by ELIS REGINA-- Apparently written by one
"Texeira" (there are online recordings, which I highly recommend)

É de sonho e de pó---  it is from/of dream and dust
o destino de um só---  the destiny of one alone
feito eu perdido em pensamentos sobre o meu cavalo---
   made I/me lost in thoughts on my horse
É de laço e de nó
de gibeira o jiló dessa vida
Cumprida a sol.

Questions: does feito in line 3 go with É in line one "the destiny ... is
made of dream and dust...etc"??  Then what does eu in line 3 go with?  The
last 3 lines are a mystery; I know laço and nó, but gibeira isn't in any
dictionary. Jiló apparently is a bitter vegetable, and probably a symbol for
the bitterness of life (..dessa vida). Cumprida a sol ---????

Refrain:
Sou caipira pira pora Nossa Senhora de Aparecida---
   I'm a [peasant,hillbilly] ...? for Our Lady of Aparecida (the Virgin
Patroness of Brazil, so I learn).
Ilumina a mina escura e funda o trem da minha vida---
   (she?) illuminates the dark mine and establishes? the train/course? of my
life
(repeated)
   What is _pira_? just a repeat of the end of caipira (which has other
meanings too)?
   What is the (grammatical) connection between _dark mine_ and _train of my
life_?? Do I have that line right???

O meu pai foi peão, minha mãe solidão---
   my father was ....? my mother solitude
Meus irmãos perderam-se na vida em busca de aventuras---
   my brothers got lost in life in search of adventures
Descansei, joguei, investí, desistí---
   I rested(trusted?), I played(gambled?), I invested(attacked?), I
stopped(gave up?)
Se há sorte, eu não sei, nunca ví---
   If there's luck, I don't know, I never saw (it)

(Refrain)

Me disseram porém, que eu viesse aquí---
   they told me however, that I should come here
Pra pedir de romaria e prece paz nos desaventos---
 to [make a pilgrimage?] and pray (for?) peace in (misfortunes?)
Como eu não sei rezar --- since I don't know how to pray
Só queria mostrar meu olhar, meu olhar, meu olhar---
   I only wanted to show my .....???

What tense is disseram?? Preterit, 3d plural??

(Refrain)

Can anyone (our Brazilian friends) explain this any further?

I've been inspired to order a CD, Elis Regina ao Vivo, and hope she won't
disappoint :-)))) She was apparently part of the Tropicalia movement, and
died prematurely, in 1982.


Apologies for the length, but if I've turned someone else onto this song,
well and good.

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