Veloso is the fifth of the seven children born to José Telles Veloso ("Seu Zezinho") and Claudionor Vianna Telles Veloso ("Dona Canô"). His younger sister Maria Bethânia, another popular and renowned artist in Brazil, preceded him to fame as a singer in the mid-1960s. He began his career around 1965 singing bossa nova and he has cited his greatest musical influences from his early period as João Gilberto and Dorival Caymmi. (João Gilberto would say later about Caetano's contribution that it added an intellectual dimension to brazilian popular music.) But with such musical collaborators Gilberto Gil, Gal Costa, Tom Zé, Chico Buarque, and Os Mutantes, and greatly influenced by the later work of The Beatles, developed tropicalismo, which fused Brazilian pop with rock and roll and avant garde art music resulting in a more international, psychedelic, and socially aware sound. Veloso's politically active stance, unapologetically leftist, earned him the enmity of Brazil's military dictatorship which ruled until 1985; his songs were frequently censored, and some were banned. Veloso was also alienated from the socialist left in Brazil becasue of his acceptance and integration of non-nationalist influences (like rock and roll) in his music. Veloso and Gilberto Gil spent several months in jail for "anti-government activity" in 1968 and eventually exiled themselves to London. Caetano Veloso's work upon his return in 1972 was often characterized by frequent appropriations not only of international styles, but of half-forgotten Brazilian folkloric styles and rhythms as well. In particular, his celebration of the Afro-Brazilian culture of Bahia can be seen as the precursor of such Afro-centric groups as Timbalada.
In the 1980s, Veloso's popularity outside Brazil grew, especially in Israel, Portugal, France and Africa. By 2004, he was one of the most respected and prolific international pop stars, with more than fifty recordings available, including songs in soundtracks of movies such as Pedro Almodovar's Hable con Ella (Talk to Her), and Frida. In 2002 Veloso published an account of his early years and the Tropicalia movement, Tropical Truth: A Story of Music and Revolution in Brazil.
His first all-English CD was A Foreign Sound (2004), which covers Nirvana's "Come as You Are" and compositions from the Great American Songbook. Five of the six songs on his third eponymous album, released in 1971, were also in English.
A Felicidade
Caetano Veloso Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
E a saudade no meu peito ainda mora
E é por isso que eu gosto lá de fora
Porque sei que a falsidade não vigora
A minha casa fica lá de traz do mundo
Onde eu vou em um segundo quando começo a cantar
O pensamento parece uma coisa à toa
Felicidade foi se embora
E a saudade no meu peito ainda mora
E é por isso que eu gosto lá de fora
Porque sei que a falsidade não vigora
Felicidade foi se embora
E a saudade no meu peito ainda mora
E é por isso que eu gosto lá de fora
Porque sei que a falsidade não vigora
Na minha casa tem um cavalo tordilho
Que é irmão do que é filho daquele que o Juca tem
E quando pego meu cavalo e encilho
Sou pior que limpa trilho e corro na frente do trem
The lyrics of "Felicidade/Luar do Sertão" by Caetano Veloso and Jauperi speak of the longing for happiness and the struggle against falsehood, through the metaphor of a person's journey in search of their inner peace. The first stanza expresses the feeling of having lost happiness and being left with only the memory of it, which is still palpable in the singer's heart. To alleviate this pain, the singer prefers to look to the outside world, where he believes that falsehood does not prevail.
The second stanza describes the singer's mental escape from reality, where he goes to a place beyond the borders of the known world. It is a place where he can find solace in his thoughts, which he describes as fleeting but powerful enough to transport him far away. The chorus repeats the notion that happiness has left and the singer is left with only the pain of longing. However, he still seeks happiness and the truth that he believes is found in the outside world.
The final stanza is a reference to the singer's rural roots, where he describes owning a horse that he enjoys riding at great speed, even in front of a speeding train. It is a metaphor for his determination and fearlessness in pursuing his dreams and ideals, despite the obstacles that may come his way.
Line by Line Meaning
Felicidade foi se embora
Happiness has gone away
E a saudade no meu peito ainda mora
But longing still resides in my heart
E é por isso que eu gosto lá de fora
That's why I like to be out there
Porque sei que a falsidade não vigora
Because I know falseness doesn't prevail
A minha casa fica lá de traz do mundo
My house is deep and distant from the world
Onde eu vou em um segundo quando começo a cantar
But I can escape there in a second when I start to sing
O pensamento parece uma coisa à toa
Thoughts may seem like nothing
Mas como é que a gente voa quando começa a pensar
But somehow we can soar when we start to think
Na minha casa tem um cavalo tordilho
In my home, there's a dappled horse
Que é irmão do que é filho daquele que o Juca tem
Who is a brother to the one Juca has
E quando pego meu cavalo e encilho
And when I saddle up my horse
Sou pior que limpa trilho e corro na frente do trem
I'm like a train cleaner, racing ahead of the train
Lyrics © VM ENTERPRISES INC, CORCOVADO MUSIC CORPORATION
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
José Pereira
isso é que é musica para ouvir e meditar que coisa linda
Aldir Fernandes
Linda musica! sou pastor evangelico, mas acho essa musica perfeita, humanamente falando. Marcou meus 7 anos de idade, qdo numa escola onde eu estudava a dirtora gostava muito dessa cançao. Ficou gravado n minha memoria. Hj, aos 54 anos, nunca esqci. Como sou saudosista de carteirinha...Hj acordei chorando pq acordei de um sonho q estava justamente cantando essa musica p minha mae a beira de um lago. Fortes emocoes.
Silvana Suely
E a saudade no meu peito...a minha casa fica lá atrás do mundo...
Amo a música e a letra magnífica 🙏😘👏👏👏👏
Marilene Valeriano Rosa
Caetano Veloso é um cantor de verdade!!! Amo!!!❤
Laura Gertrudes de oliveira
1980 e essa música!! Ano mais feliz da minha vida!!!
José Domingos
O 🍷 da partida, é amargo.
Gratidãoao Lupcinio Rodrigues. 1914- 1974. Faleceu novo com 60 anos. Mas meu irmão Afro Brasileiro, eternizou se através desse hino... As rádios não tocam mas o povo canta, tanto na roça, quanto na cidade...
Marta Oka
LINDA MÚSICA.ME DEIXA FELIZ VOZ LINDA PARABÉNS CAETANO VELOSO DEUS ABENÇOA TODOS NÓS PARABÉNS AMO.VOCÊS CANTORES QUE TEM VOZ LINDA MARAVILHOSA ME DEIXA FELIZ ⭐️🌷🌿🌹👏👏👏👏👏
ALESSANDRA SERRA
É linda a canção! Com Caetano é perfeita!♥️
Flora Mesquita
Realmente isso é música de pessoas decentes
Jose Vanderlei😇
Legal ótimo demais parabéns jóia muito bom mesmo bacana valeu show sucesso talento 😁😁😁😁🌏🌏🌏🌏