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.
Aracaju
Caetano Veloso Lyrics
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Chegar no Brasil por um atalho
Aracajú
Terra cajueiro papagaio
Araçazu
Moqueca de cação no João do Alho
Aracajú
Voltar ao Brasil por um atalho
O melhor lugar é ser feliz
O melhor é ser feliz
Mas
Onde estou
Não importa tanto aonde vou
O melhor é ter amor
Aracajú
Cajueiro arara cor de sangue
Nordeste-Sul
Centro da cidade bangue-bangue
Aracajú
Menos o Sergipe e mais o mangue
Ser feliz
O melhor lugar é ser feliz
O melhor é ser feliz
Onde estou
Não importa tanto aonde vou
O melhor é ter amor
The lyrics to Caetano Veloso's song "Aracajú" speak to the idea of finding happiness by returning to one's roots. The opening lines, "Céu todo Azul / Chegar no Brasil por um atalho / Aracajú / Terra cajueiro papagaio / Araçazu," set the scene of the singer arriving in Brazil through a shortcut and specifically to Aracajú, a city in northeastern Brazil known for its cashew trees and parrots. The reference to "moqueca de cação no João do Alho," a traditional fish stew, further ties the singer to the local culture.
The second half of the song takes a slightly different turn, as the singer reflects on their current location ("Onde estou / Não importa tanto aonde vou") and emphasizes the importance of love and happiness over location. However, the repeated refrain of "Ser feliz / O melhor lugar é ser feliz / O melhor é ser feliz" brings the focus back to the idea of finding happiness, wherever one may be.
Overall, the lyrics to "Aracajú" can be seen as a celebration of the joys and comforts of home, while also recognizing that happiness can be found in many different places.
Line by Line Meaning
Céu todo Azul
The clear blue sky
Chegar no Brasil por um atalho
Arriving in Brazil through a shortcut
Aracajú
Referring to the city of Aracaju
Terra cajueiro papagaio
The land of cashew trees and parrots
Araçazu
Another way of spelling Aracaju
Moqueca de cação no João do Alho
Eating moqueca de cação at João do Alho (a restaurant in Aracaju)
Voltar ao Brasil por um atalho
Returning to Brazil through a shortcut
Ser feliz
To be happy
O melhor lugar é ser feliz
The best place is to be happy
O melhor é ser feliz
The best thing is to be happy
Mas
However
Onde estou
Where I am
Não importa tanto aonde vou
It doesn't matter as much where I'm going
O melhor é ter amor
The best thing is to have love
Cajueiro arara cor de sangue
The cashew tree and the scarlet macaw
Nordeste-Sul
Referring to the Northeast and South regions of Brazil
Centro da cidade bangue-bangue
Downtown bang-bang city
Menos o Sergipe e mais o mangue
Less of Sergipe and more of the mangroves
Contributed by Alexis D. Suggest a correction in the comments below.