Born Maria do Céu Whitaker Poças on 17th April 1980 in São Paulo, Brazil, h… Read Full Bio ↴Born Maria do Céu Whitaker Poças on 17th April 1980 in São Paulo, Brazil, her father was a composer, arranger, and musicologist. It was from him that she learned to appreciate Brazil's classical music composers, particularly Heitor Villa-Lobos and Ernesto Nazaré, as well as popular musicians like Orlando Silva.

By the age of fifteen she had decided to become a musician, and by her late teens she had studied music theory, as well as the violão (nylon-stringed Brazilian guitar). Her songs reveal her many influences, which include samba, valsa, choro, soul, rhythm and blues, hip hop, reggae, afrobeat, and electrojazz. In particular, she cites as influences the music of Billie Holiday, Ella Fitzgerald, Lauryn Hill, and Erykah Badu.

By her late teens Céu was performing onstage with major artists and exploring the repertoire of the marchinhas (turn-of-the-century carnival music). Soon after that she relocated temporarily to New York City, where she had a chance meeting with fellow Brazilian musician Antonio Pinto, who became her flatmate while he was going through some financial difficulties. She later learned that he was actually a distant cousin, and their relationship was renewed when he teamed up with lead producer Beto Villares, composer of the musical score for the film O Ano em que Meus Pais Saíram de Férias, to help her record her album.

Sonámbulo
Céu Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

Numa espécie onde nem sonâmbulo anda feito pêndulo
Ora pende dormindo ora pende contra o tempo
E faz deste inimigo atrasado, correndo,
Justifica um vazio interno imenso
Fugas mentais ocupam os pensamentos
E se torna incapaz de ocupar a si mesmo
Tvs cines jornais químicas não me tentam
Bloquear os canais

Domesticar seus anseios

Que é bom desconfiar dos bons elementos

Feito histórias de moebius vão tirar sua visão
Te dar olhos passivos adequados a um padrão

Overall Meaning

The lyrics of Céu's song Sonâmbulo describe a species of people who move through life like a pendulum, swinging between sleep and rushing to catch up with lost time. Their tardiness creates a massive internal void that they try to fill with mental escapes, distractions like TV, movies, newspapers, and chemicals. Despite all this effort, they still find it impossible to occupy themselves. The lyrics suggest that it is better to be suspicious of the 'good elements' in life, implying that the status quo is corrupt.

The second verse paints a bleak picture of the consequences of living this way. The reference to Moebius stories, a type of science fiction comic that often deals with distorted realities and psychological implications, suggests that the person's vision will be twisted out of shape. They will not see the world as it is but will instead see what they have been taught to see by external forces. This state of passive vision will leave them well suited to conform to a predetermined pattern, never realizing that they are asleep, lost, and alone.

Line by Line Meaning

Numa espécie onde nem sonâmbulo anda feito pêndulo
In a society where even sleepwalkers don't move like a pendulum

Ora pende dormindo ora pende contra o tempo
Sometimes sways while asleep, sometimes fights against time

E faz deste inimigo atrasado, correndo,
And makes time, an enemy that's always late, run faster

Justifica um vazio interno imenso
Justifies a huge internal emptiness

Fugas mentais ocupam os pensamentos
Mental escapes occupy thoughts

E se torna incapaz de ocupar a si mesmo
And becomes incapable of occupying oneself

Tvs cines jornais químicas não me tentam
TVs, cinemas, newspapers, and chemicals don't tempt me

Bloquear os canais
To block the channels

Domesticar seus anseios
To domesticate one's desires

Que é bom desconfiar dos bons elementos
That it's good to be suspicious of the good elements

Feito histórias de moebius vão tirar sua visão
Like moebius stories that will take away your vision