This is a study on work songs of cattle herders in the northeast of Brazil based on field work carried out in 1980. Originally the aboio was a simple but characteristic shout. Its main objective was the communication between the cattle and the herders as well as the communication among the herders which are called vaqueiros. However, recently the aboio in verses has melted with poetry - and in particular with the art of vers improvisation which is widespread and highly appreciated in the region. The melodic analysis brought forth that the aboio is based on the mixolydic scale, the poetry is a six line stanza with seven syllables called sextilha. Due to socio economic change cattle herding not any longer is the dominant economic factor and hence singing the aboio has become rare in everyday life. However, it still can be heard when people sit together after work or in the weekend on the occasion of a vaquejada, a festivity which still takes place in the former grazing grounds of northeast Brazil.