Carvalho was raised in a middle-class family in Rio de Janeiro's South Zone. Her father, João Francisco Leal de Carvalho, was a lawyer. She grew up influenced by different types of music. Her father used to take her to samba school rehearsals, and her mother was a lover of classical music who encouraged her to become a ballerina. She started playing the guitar as a teenager, and got involved with the emerging Bossa Nova movement, winning a nationwide song contest on TV at the age of 19. Her first record was 1968's "Andança", carrying the song of the same name to victory in a larger festival, which brought her to prominence. Although she started her career with Bossa Nova, that was an ephemeral phase which lasted less than one year. Beth started dedicating herself entirely to samba just as her fame began, working with legendary composers such as Nelson Sargento.
Carvalho is a very important artist in the history of samba, as she has celebrated and brought the spotlight to the work of legendary composers such as Cartola, Nelson Cavaquinho & Guilherme de Brito when they weren't receiving the attention they deserved. Almost all of her records have songs by these composers, among other legendary sambistas such as Nelson Sargento and the Old Guard of Portela. Her samba school is Mangueira, but that didn't stop her from recording dozens of songs from composers of Portela, the other great traditional samba school in Rio.
Later, in the late 1970s and early 80's, Beth helped bring to the public the work of other rising pagode artists from Cacique de Ramos, such as Almir Guineto, Jorge Aragão and the Fundo de Quintal group. Then, in 1983, she introduced Zeca Pagodinho who would become the major samba name of the 90's. Carvalho always tried to bring underrated composers the recognition they deserve, and she is regarded as madrinha do samba (the godmother of samba). She was a driving force in the modernization of samba in the 80s, and at the same time rejected commercial pop trends in samba arrangements, preserving tradition.
In the 1990s, Beth's popularity wasn't the strongest, but she was always popular. She recorded an album dedicated to the samba from São Paulo, rejecting the famous axiom that São Paulo is the grave of samba. In 1998 she recorded an album dedicated entirely to the pagode classics, Pérolas do Pagode (Pagode Pearls).
In the new millennium, Beth working more than ever, released CDs and DVDs. With a career that spans 40 years, she is a historical figure in Brazilian culture, and recognized as the female sambista with the most substantial opus in Brazil, without diminishing other, younger stars such as Clara Nunes and Daniela Mercury.
Trivia
Beth is a known supporter of both the Botafogo and Clube Atlético Mineiro football teams
Beth is one of the main personalities of the samba school Mangueira
Beth had a variety of hits in the 1970s, with her 1979 song Coisinha Do Pai being one of her biggest hits. The song was inserted into the Mars Pathfinder.
Her social music often concerns the poor and the Indigenous peoples in Brazil.
Maior é Deus
Beth Carvalho Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
O que eu tenho foi Deus quem me deu
O que eu dou é o que eu tenho
Foi Deus quem me deu
Eu vim aqui p'rá mostrar
O que de melhor for meu
Quem quiser me escutar escutou
Maior é Deus
Não sou ruim mas do jeito
Que a maldade cresceu
Comigo vai ser assim
Escreveu não leu o pau comeu
Maior é Deus
Tem gente que não faz nada
Inda malha o que não é seu
Faço figa p'rá esse aí
É que tá de olho grande no que é meu
Maior é Deus
Eu vou-me embora
Agradeço a atenção que você me deu
Quem quiser me escutar agora
Tem que ir lá na Serra do Mateus
Maior é Deus
The song "Maior E Deus" by Beth Carvalho is a reflection on the power and wisdom of God. The lyrics highlight the contrast between the smallness of the individual in relation to the greatness of God. The singer acknowledges that everything she has, whether it is material possessions or talents, is a gift from God. She also emphasizes that what she gives to others is also from God, suggesting that she is merely a conduit for divine energy.
The singer goes on to explain that she has come to share the best of what she has, but she is not seeking glory, fame, or power. She does not care about superficial things and is content with her smallness. The next verse reveals a harsh reality of the world that the singer lives in, where evil is rampant and people can be cruel. She cautions that those who do harm will be met with punishment, a reminder that even the smallest individual is not powerless.
Line by Line Meaning
Eh maior é Deus pequeno sou eu
God is greater, I am small
O que eu tenho foi Deus quem me deu
Everything I have was given to me by God
O que eu dou é o que eu tenho
What I give is what I have
Foi Deus quem me deu
It was God who gave me
Eu vim aqui p'rá mostrar
I came to show
O que de melhor for meu
The best of what is mine
Quem quiser me escutar escutou
Whoever wants to listen, listened
Não quero glória fama ou apogeu
I don't want glory, fame, or success
Maior é Deus
God is greater
Não sou ruim mas do jeito
I am not bad, but
Que a maldade cresceu
Evil has grown
Comigo vai ser assim
With me it will be like this
Escreveu não leu o pau comeu
If you wrote it but didn't read it, you'll face the consequences
Tem gente que não faz nada
There are people who do nothing
Inda malha o que não é seu
And criticize what does not belong to them
Faço figa p'rá esse aí
I cross my fingers for that one
É que tá de olho grande no que é meu
Because they have their eyes on what is mine
Eu vou-me embora
I'm leaving
Agradeço a atenção que você me deu
Thank you for your attention
Quem quiser me escutar agora
Whoever wants to listen to me now
Tem que ir lá na Serra do Mateus
Has to go to Serra do Mateus
Contributed by Colin H. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
Dayse Rosana
Vai com Deus! Que a Terra lhe seja leve. Amém.
Dj Souza
Maravilhosa! Vá na direção da luz divina, descansar nos braços do pai celestial. Aqui fica a tua obra e uma saudade sem fim...
Coalhada hrdm
Deus abençoe Sempre nossa Rainha do Samba, Salve Beth Carvalho essa Sim tem meu Respeito
Cristiane Silva
Saudosa descanse em paz!
Leonardo Barbosa
Rainha do Samba ♥️
Rita Lasserre
Diva ,maravilhosa!!!!
carlos henrique xavier de paula souza
Música mais linda 😍
maria do carmo
Muito bom.
Kinha França
❤️
Marinha Teixeira da Silva Brito
Muiiiiiito bom, hahahahahahahaha!!!!