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 Tua Presença Morena
Caetano Veloso Lyrics
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Entra pelos sete buracos da minha cabeça
A tua presença
Pelos olhos, boca, narinas e orelhas
A tua presença
Paralisa meu momento em que tudo começa
A tua presença
Desintegra e atualiza a minha presença
Envolve meu tronco, meus braços e minhas pernas
A tua presença
É branca, verde, vermelha, azul e amarela
A tua presença
É negra, negra, negra, negra, negra, negra, negra, negra, negra
A tua presença
Transborda pelas portas e pelas janelas
A tua presença
Silencia os automóveis e as motocicletas
A tua presença
Se espalha no campo derrubando as cercas
A tua presença
É tudo o que se come, tudo o que se reza
A tua presença
Coagula o jorro da noite sangrenta
A tua presença
É a coisa mais bonita em toda a natureza
A tua presença
Mantém sempre teso o arco da promessa
A tua presença
Morena, morena, morena, morena, morena, morena
Morena
The lyrics of Caetano Veloso's song "A Tua Presença Morena" speaks about the overwhelming effect of someone's presence on the singer. The use of the metaphor of the seven holes in the head emphasizes how this person's presence is all-encompassing and permeates every aspect of the singer's being. This presence is not limited to just the physical sense but affects the emotional and spiritual levels as well.
The singer's moment is suspended in time when this person is present, and their very being is transformed and refreshed. The reference to the presence being both white, green, red, blue, and yellow, and black highlighting the different aspects of this person's identity and adding a level of complexity to their essence.
The presence also has an effect on the surroundings, silencing the noise of daily life, like cars and motorcycles. It breaks barriers and expands beyond physical boundaries, spreading into nature.
Overall, the lyrics of "A Tua Presença Morena" speak about the transformative power of a person's presence on the singer, transcending beyond the physical realm, and imbuing the world with beauty and promise.
Line by Line Meaning
A tua presença
The essence of your being
Entra pelos sete buracos da minha cabeça
Permeates my mind through my seven senses
Pelos olhos, boca, narinas e orelhas
Through my eyes, mouth, nose, and ears
Paralisa meu momento em que tudo começa
Pauses the moment when everything begins
Desintegra e atualiza a minha presença
Disintegrates and refreshes my own essence
Envolve meu tronco, meus braços e minhas pernas
Surrounds my trunk, arms, and legs
É branca, verde, vermelha, azul e amarela
Comprises all the colors of the rainbow
É negra, negra, negra, negra, negra, negra, negra, negra, negra
Is also the deepest shade of black
Transborda pelas portas e pelas janelas
Spills through doors and windows
Silencia os automóveis e as motocicletas
Silences the cars and motorcycles
Se espalha no campo derrubando as cercas
Spreads out in the fields, knocking down fences
É tudo o que se come, tudo o que se reza
Is everything we eat, everything we pray for
Coagula o jorro da noite sangrenta
Coagulates the bleeding night
É a coisa mais bonita em toda a natureza
Is the most beautiful thing in all of nature
Mantém sempre teso o arco da promessa
Keeps the bow of promise always taut
Morena, morena, morena, morena, morena, morena
Brown-skinned beauty, brown-skinned beauty
Lyrics © Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: Caetano Emmanuel Viana Teles Veloso
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind