The firstborn son of Sérgio Buarque de Hollanda, Buarque lived at several locations throughout his childhood, though mostly in Rio de Janeiro, São Paulo, and Rome. He wrote and studied literature as a child and found music through the bossa nova compositions of Tom Jobim and João Gilberto. Read Full BioFrancisco Buarque de Hollanda, better know as Chico Buarque, is a Brazilian singer-songwriter, guitarist, composer, playwright, writer and poet. He is best known for his music, which often includes social, economic and cultural reflections on Brazil.
The firstborn son of Sérgio Buarque de Hollanda, Buarque lived at several locations throughout his childhood, though mostly in Rio de Janeiro, São Paulo, and Rome. He wrote and studied literature as a child and found music through the bossa nova compositions of Tom Jobim and João Gilberto. He performed as a singer and guitarist in the 1960s as well as writing a play that was deemed dangerous by the Brazilian military dictatorship of the time. Buarque, along with several Tropicalist and MPB musicians, was threatened by the Brazilian military government and eventually left Brazil for Italy in 1969. However, he came back to Brazil in 1970, and continued to record, perform, and write, though much of his material was suppressed by government censors. He released several more albums in the 1980s and published three novels in the 1990s and 2000s.
In 2019, Buarque was awarded the Camões Prize, the most important prize for literature in the Portuguese language.
Cotidiano
Chico Buarque Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning | Line by Line Meaning
Me sacode às seis horas da manhã
Me sorri um sorriso pontual
E me beija com a boca de hortelã
Todo dia ela diz que é pr'eu me cuidar
E essas coisas que diz toda mulher
Diz que está me esperando pr'o jantar
E me beija com a boca de café
Todo dia eu só penso em poder parar
Meio-dia eu só penso em dizer não
Depois penso na vida pra levar
E me calo com a boca de feijão
Seis da tarde como era de se esperar
Ela pega e me espera no portão
Diz que está muito louca pra beijar
E me beija com a boca de paixão
Toda noite ela diz pr'eu não me afastar
Meia-noite ela jura eterno amor
E me aperta pr'eu quase sufocar
E me morde com a boca de pavor
Todo dia ela faz tudo sempre igual
Me sacode às seis horas da manhã
Me sorri um sorriso pontual
E me beija com a boca de hortelã
Todo dia ela diz que é pr'eu me cuidar
E essas coisas que diz toda mulher
Diz que está me esperando pr'o jantar
E me beija com a boca de café
Todo dia eu só penso em poder parar
Meio-dia eu só penso em dizer não
Depois penso na vida pra levar
E me calo com a boca de feijão
Seis da tarde como era de se esperar
Ela pega e me espera no portão
Diz que está muito louca pra beijar
E me beija com a boca de paixão
Toda noite ela diz pr'eu não me afastar
Meia-noite ela jura eterno amor
E me aperta pr'eu quase sufocar
E me morde com a boca de pavor
Todo dia ela faz tudo sempre igual
Me sacode às seis horas da manhã
Me sorri um sorriso pontual
E me beija com a boca de hortelã
The song Cotidiano by Chico Buarque is a commentary on the drudgery and monotony of everyday life. The lyrics describe a woman who wakes up the narrator every morning at 6 am, with a smile on her face and kisses him with minty fresh breath. She reminds him to take care of himself and waits for him to come home for dinner, where she kisses him with coffee-flavored lips. Throughout the day, the narrator thinks about wanting to stop and say no, but ultimately keeps going and accepts the routine of life. In the evening, the woman waits for him at the gate and kisses him with passion, but also expresses fear of losing him.
The repetition in the song reflects the monotony of the narrator's life and the predictability of his relationship with this woman. The use of different descriptions for the woman's kisses - hortelã (mint), café (coffee), and paixão (passion) - suggests that there are different aspects to their relationship, but they all ultimately lead to the same routine.
The song can be interpreted as a critique of a society that values conformity and routine over individuality and spontaneity. The narrator dreams of breaking free from this monotony, but in the end, he succumbs to it. The woman he is with, while pleasant and predictable, does not offer excitement or spontaneity in their relationship.
Line by Line Meaning
Todo dia ela faz tudo sempre igual
Every day she does everything exactly the same way
Me sacode às seis horas da manhã
She shakes me awake at six in the morning
Me sorri um sorriso pontual
She gives me a punctual smile
E me beija com a boca de hortelã
And kisses me with her minty mouth
Todo dia ela diz que é pr'eu me cuidar
Every day she tells me to take care of myself
E essas coisas que diz toda mulher
And all the things that every woman says
Diz que está me esperando pr'o jantar
She says she's waiting for me to have dinner
E me beija com a boca de café
And kisses me with her coffee-flavored mouth
Todo dia eu só penso em poder parar
Every day I only think about being able to stop
Meio-dia eu só penso em dizer não
At noon I only think about saying no
Depois penso na vida pra levar
Later I think about how to get through life
E me calo com a boca de feijão
And I quiet down with my mouth full of beans
Seis da tarde como era de se esperar
Six o'clock in the evening as expected
Ela pega e me espera no portão
She grabs me and waits for me at the gate
Diz que está muito louca pra beijar
She says she's very eager to kiss me
E me beija com a boca de paixão
And kisses me with her mouth of passion
Toda noite ela diz pr'eu não me afastar
Every night she tells me not to go away
Meia-noite ela jura eterno amor
At midnight she swears eternal love
E me aperta pr'eu quase sufocar
And she hugs me until I almost suffocate
E me morde com a boca de pavor
And bites me with her mouth of fear
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
Written by: Francisco Buarque De Hollanda
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind