By 1968 his main gig was working in Civil Engineering in Rio de Janeiro. He still managed to perform and participate as a composer at many of Brazilian famous Music Festivals. He was working with artists like Paulinho Tapajós, Elis Regina, Creuza Maria, the Golden Boys, and Evinha. In 1969 Arthur Verocai began his professional career as musician and arranger. He scored the music for the theater show "Is The Greater", and wrote his first arrangements for orchestra. He arranged records by the Terço, Jorge Benjor, Elizeth Cardoso, Gal Costa, Quarteto em Cy, MPB 4, Célia, Guilherme Lamounier, Nelson Gonçalves, Marcos Valle, and others. His music also appeared in the musical "The Life of Braguinha", alongside Elizeth Cardoso, Quarteto em Cy, MPB4 and Sidney Magal. By 1970 he was writing for other groups and regularly composing music for multiple TV shows and incidental music for TV series.
The 1972 self-titled album allowed Verocai to take his interest in instrumental music even further. "I always wanted to compose soundtracks in great style, as in the cinema, but this wasn't possible with television work," he says. "My opportunity came when I was recording this album. I created a rhythmic cell in the acoustic guitar with the harmonic line. I added bass and the non-conventional drums and the percussion with a very smooth orchestration in blocks (four trumpets and a flute) plus the delicate touch of the strings (12 violins, 4 violas and 4 cellos). At the end of the song, Oberdan Magalhães played and sang with his flute." The resulting track is "Sílvia".
"Presente Grego" is perhaps the funkiest track on the album. "This song was influenced by American soul and funk," says Verocai. "By 1972 many of the musicians of my generation were feeling the same influences. Because of our exposure to all many musical influences, we put a distance between us and the conventional recording styles. "Presente Grego" means "Greek gift." It is an expression that comes from the horse of Troy, a gift from the Greeks that hid the warriors that defeated the Troyans. Likewise, the military dictatorship, under the appearance of a good government, practiced censorship and oppression", he explains.
In addition to the funky soul elements the album features many solos from artists obviously well schooled in Jazz. Check the soloing in "Pelas Sombras" or "Karina", where saxes blow hard and true against the backdrop of Brazilian rhythms. "My musical preferences go from J.S. Bach and Villa-Lobos, to jazz musicians like Tom Jobim, Milton Nascimento, Miles Davis, Herbie Hancock, Oscar Peterson, Wes Montgomery and Bill Evans," explains Verocai. "I remember Edson Maciel, was invited to a studio session at 9 AM and was to perform a solo on "Karina." He asked us to wait for a while because he wanted to be inspired by some Cachaça (a Brazilian liquor made from distilled sugar cane juice). While rehearsing, he asked for a little more Cachaça to bring on some more inspiration. This happened twice until he found his inspiration and performed a tremendous solo!" remembers Verocai.
In the years after the album release Arthur Verocai became a music advertising executive, creating and producing albums for customers like Brahma, Fanta, Petrobra's, South America, Souza Cruz and was even honored with the Colunistas Prize in Advertising. Since 1983 he is the main proprietor of Studio "V" - House of the Sound and in 2002 he released a solo album "Arthur Verocai - "Saudade Demais" featuring a collection of his work as composer, including some unreleased songs.
Arthur Verocai's musical peer Ivan Lins has this to say about his great friend, "Arthur is a very dedicated musician. He has always been. Not only dedicated but very talented also. He made this record years ago just for the fun of it without much publicity. And now will strike back. That's great!"
Na Boca do Sol
Arthur Verocai Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Tudo que chegou, chegou de trem
Minha mãe olhava pra estação
E vendo viagens dentro de mim
Desenhou no ventre mais um irmão
Na minha cidade do interior
Pra quem mora lá, o céu é lá
Vou da avenida à estação
Com medo dos pais ou por solidão
Toda a minha vida eu vi passar
No brilho dos trilhos de um trem
Que me vem e parte toda manhã
Engolindo túneis que a gente tem
E a preguiça não deixou fechar
Na minha cidade do interior
Perto da manhã, na boca do sol
Pra quem mora lá, o céu é lá
Compositor: Arthur Verocai
The lyrics of Arthur Verocai's song "Na Boca do Sol" speak to the nostalgic memories of life growing up in a small town. The singer recalls the arrival of all things by train, the station and the longing it sparked within him for travel and adventure. He reminisces about a time in his youth when he would walk from the avenue to the station, either out of fear of his parents or simply for the sake of solitude. The songwriter also touches on the idea of time passing quickly, how he has witnessed it all pass by, engrossed in the shine of the train tracks and the trains that come and go. The laziness of the town and its inability to change is also present in the lyrics, with the tunnels the trains travel through being too big to be shut by the town's inhabitants.
Line by Line Meaning
Na minha cidade do interior
Growing up in my small hometown
Tudo que chegou, chegou de trem
Everything that came to town arrived by train
Minha mãe olhava pra estação
My mother always looked towards the station
E vendo viagens dentro de mim
And seeing the desire for journeys within me
Desenhou no ventre mais um irmão
She gave birth to another sibling
Pra quem mora lá, o céu é lá
For those who live there, home is where the heart is
Lembro da manhã na boca do sol
I remember the morning sunrise
Vou da avenida à estação
I go from the main street to the station
Com medo dos pais ou por solidão
Either because I'm scared of my parents or because I'm lonely
Toda a minha vida eu vi passar
All my life I've watched things go by
No brilho dos trilhos de um trem
In the bright reflection of train tracks
Que me vem e parte toda manhã
That comes and goes every morning
Engolindo túneis que a gente tem
Swallowing up the tunnels we have
E a preguiça não deixou fechar
And laziness prevented their closure
Perto da manhã, na boca do sol
Near the morning sunrise
Writer(s): Arthur Cortes Verocai, Vitor Martins
Contributed by Jayden C. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
@tommyvizzle
Here's a Google translation,
I was curious as well.
In my country town
Everything that arrived,
arrived by train
My mother looked at the station And seeing trips inside me
Drew another brother in the womb In my country town
For those who live there,
the sky is there
I remember the morning in the mouth of the sun
I go from the avenue to the station Afraid of parents or out of loneliness
All my life I've seen it go by
In the glow of a train tracks
That comes and leaves me every morning
Swallowing tunnels that we have And laziness didn't let it close
@synerjuice5205
(here is a more accurate translation, tho I only speak spanish but portuguese is very similar to the former)
In my country town
Everything that arrived, arrived by train
My mother looked at the station
And seeing trips inside me
Drew another brother in her womb
In my country town
For those who live there, heaven is there
I remember the morning in the mouth of the sun
I go from the avenue to the station
Afraid of my parents or out of loneliness
I've seen my whole life go by
In the glow of the tracks of a train
That comes and leaves me every morning
Swallowing tunnels that we all have
And laziness didn't let them close
In my country town
Near the morning, in the mouth of the sun
For those who live there, heaven is there
@synerjuice5205
In my country town
Everything that arrived, arrived by train
My mother looked at the station
And seeing trips inside me
Drew another brother in her womb
In my country town
For those who live there, heaven is there
I remember the morning in the mouth of the sun
I go from the avenue to the station
Afraid of parents or out of loneliness
I've seen my whole life go by
In the glow of the tracks of a train
That comes and leaves me every morning
Swallowing tunnels that we all have
And laziness didn't let them close
In my country town
Near the morning, in the mouth of the sun
For those who live there, heaven is there
@marceloduarte2620
Na minha cidade do interior
Tudo que chegou, chegou de trem
Minha mãe olhava pra estação
E vendo viagens dentro de mim
Desenhou no ventre mais um irmão
Na minha cidade do interior
Pra quem mora lá, o céu é lá
Lembro da manhã na boca do sol
Vou da avenida à estação
Com medo dos pais ou por solidão
Toda a minha vida eu vi passar
No brilho dos trilhos de um trem
Que me vem e parte toda manhã
Engolindo túneis que a gente tem
E a preguiça não deixou fechar
Na minha cidade do interior
Perto da manhã, na boca do sol
Pra quem mora lá, o céu é lá
@paulrouhan7288
IN THE MOUTH OF THE SUN
In my country town
Na minha cidade do interior
Everything that arrived arrived by train
Tudo que chegou, chegou de trem
My mother looked at the station
Minha mãe olhava pra estação
And seeing trips inside me
E vendo viagens dentro de mim
Drew another brother in the womb
Desenhou no ventre mais um irmão
In my country town
Na minha cidade do interior
For those who live there, the sky is there
Pra quem mora lá, o céu é lá
I remember the morning in the mouth of the sun
Lembro da manhã na boca do sol
I go from the avenue to the station
Vou da avenida à estação
Afraid of parents or out of loneliness
Com medo dos pais ou por solidão
All my life I've seen it pass
Toda a minha vida eu vi passar
In the glow of a train tracks
No brilho dos trilhos de um trem
That comes and leaves me every morning
Que me vem e parte toda manhã
Swallowing tunnels that we have
Engolindo túneis que a gente tem
And laziness didn't let it close
E a preguiça não deixou fechar
In my country town
Na minha cidade do interior
Close to the morning, in the mouth of the sun
Perto da manhã, na boca do sol
For those who live there, the sky is there
Pra quem mora lá, o céu é lá
In my country town
Na minha cidade do interior
Close to the morning, in the mouth of the sun
Perto da manhã, na boca do sol
For those who live there, the sky is there
Pra quem mora lá, o céu é lá
In my country town
Na minha cidade do interior
Close to the morning, in the mouth of the sun
Perto da manhã, na boca do sol
For those who live there, the sky is there
Pra quem mora lá, o céu é lá
▫️◽▫️⬜◻️▫️◽⬜◻️▫️◽◻️⬜▫️◻️◽▫️⬜◻️
Thank you, Google.
Muito obrigado, Arthur. Poesia. Abraços.
@Gambito99100
@@phanism I can give you the translation for another one from the same album
DEDICADA A ELA (DEDICATED TO HER)
My bedroom got empty
Ficou vazio o meu quarto
The bed and my blanket
A cama e o meu cobertor
I don't know if I talk to the walls
Não sei se falo às paredes
Put a record to play
Ponho um disco pra ouvir
I don't know
Eu sei lá
Maybe I'll lay in the hammock
Quem sabe eu deite na rede
Or maybe read a book
Ou leia um livro talvez
Go out to see the friends
Saia pra ver os amigos
So I don't have to think
Pra não ter que pensar
About you
Em você
@Gambito99100
@@phanism Here's another one
CABOCLO (there's no direct translation for this word, caboclo originally meant someone who's half white and half native, but nowadays it means farmer or yokel, caboclos can also be spirits in the Umbanda religion, but in this song it's pretty clear it has the farmer meaning, so I'll translate it as such)
The farmer when he leaves
Caboclo quando sai
Wakes the sun up in the morning
Acorda o sol pela manhã
Plants cotton
Planta algodão
Plants clouds throughout the ground
Planta nuvens pelo chão
At night, when he returns
À noite, quando volta
Brings stars in a bag
Traz estrelas num bornal
Safes of the hinterlands
Cofres do sertão
That sow in the backyard
Que semeiam no quintal
Coming down from the horizon
Descendo do horizonte
He takes off his hat
Ele tira seu chapéu
Looking at a wellspring
Olhando um olho d'água
That spitted towards the sky
Que cuspia para o céu
Laid down in the landscape
Deitado na paisagem
In the folliage he curled
Na folhagem enrolou
Feet of a morning
Pés de uma manhã
Strolling through the light
Passeando pela luz
The wind on his face
O vento no seu rosto
Blows lightly, takes off the sun
Sopra leve, tira o sol
Like taking off the dust
Como tira o pó
From an old coat
De um velho paletó
And putting his feet in the mud
E pondo os pés na lama
His shoes made out only
Seu sapato feito só
Of clay to be worn
De barro pra ser gasto
When he finally steps on the grass
Quando então pisar na grama
BY THE WAY, hinterlands is not the best translation for sertão, because when translated to hinterlands, sertão only means general countryside, but the sertão mentioned in the song refers to a specific area of Brazil, which is the semi-arid subregion within the Brazilian northeast (also known as caatinga), which is mostly inhabited by very poor subsistence farmers
@marcitajones
Que bom é ser brasileiro e entender essa música. Uma obra prima.
@davidreis1049
Marco de 2024 e escuto essa obra prima pela primeira vez. É como me transportar para a acidade e a época
@rtox-nk1ld
cara, eu ouvi esse album todo dia uma vez, uma perfeição, cada musica melhor que a outra, o melhor álbum que ja ouvi na minha vida
@rtox-nk1ld
de uma vez*
@RaymondSims
Teaching my daughter this song, she's 3 years old and already knows the chorus word for word in the Brasilian Portuguese accent, being African American! She sounds awesome! I love this song, great lyrics and melodies. Muito obrigado meu mentor, Arthur Verocai!
@Justanadmin
Someday, I'll do the same for my children when I learn this song for my damn self lml
@ryandamon9390
Cultural appreciation!!!
Jokes, thats beautiful.. especially exposing children to proper musicality when it was still more of an artform.
I found this song through toro y moi in his times square set.
@Justanadmin
@@ryandamon9390 I found this through "Sunroof" by Curren$y & Corner Boy P
@glock_n_roll019
Muito linda sua atitude de ensinar a sua filha a ouvir música brasileira <3
I wanna Share a music with U
Racionais - Fórmula mágica da paz
@lucasrosa777
Brabo demais meu mano!!! Arthur Verocai the GOAT