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.
Atrás Da Porta
Caetano Veloso Lyrics
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E o teu olhar era de adeus
Juro que não acreditei
Eu te estranhei, me debrucei
Sobre o teu corpo e duvidei
E me arrastei, e te arranhei
E me agarrei nos teus cabelos
Nos teus pés ao pé da cama
Sem carinho, sem coberta
No tapete atrás da porta
Reclamei baixinho
Dei pra maldizer o nosso lar
Pra sujar teu nome, te humilhar
E me vingar a qualquer preço
Te adorando pelo avesso
Pra mostrar que ainda sou tua
Pra mostrar que ainda sou tua
Dei pra maldizer o nosso lar
Pra sujar teu nome, te humilhar
E me vingar a qualquer preço
Te adorando pelo avesso
Pra mostrar que ainda sou tua
Pra mostrar que ainda sou tua
Pra mostrar que ainda sou tua
The opening lines of Caetano Veloso e Chico Buarque's song Atrás Da Porta capture the moment when a relationship is coming to an end. The singer is in disbelief as they receive what seems to be a goodbye through their partner’s eye contact. The singer tries to make sense of what they see and observe their partner’s body language, but it only makes them feel more lost and confused. They cling onto their partner and scratch at them, almost trying to prevent them from leaving. The scene is a raw and emotional outburst of reactions rather than a clearly thought out response. The description of how the singer holds onto their partner's hair, chest hair, and pajamas feels desperate and almost violent. The singer is throwing fits of anger and begs for their partner’s return as they complain and suffer.
The second half of the song takes a turn, with the singer admitting that they cannot bear to lose their partner. The song depicts a complex, emotional journey of a love that is struggling to stay alive. The singer acknowledges that their behavior is unhealthy, but they cannot help themselves as they struggle to hang on to a sense of what they once had. They turn to negative ways of showing their passion, such as sullying their partner's name, in the effort to maintain some level of control over the situation. The singer’s love for their partner is the only thing that grounds them, despite their unorthodox way of demonstrating it. The song is a poignant insight into the complexities of relationships and how love can be expressed in a multitude of ways, some of which may not even make sense to the parties involved.
Line by Line Meaning
Quando olhaste bem nos olhos meus
When you looked deeply into my eyes
E o teu olhar era de adeus
And your gaze was one of farewell
Juro que não acreditei
I swear I didn't believe it
Eu te estranhei
I found it strange
Me debrucei
I leaned over
Sobre teu corpo e duvidei
On your body and I doubted
E me arrastei e te arranhei
And I crawled and scratched you
E me agarrei nos teus cabelos
And I grabbed onto your hair
No teu peito (Nos teus pelos)*
On your chest (in your hair)*
Teu pijama
Your pajamas
Nos teus pés
On your feet
Ao pé da cama
At the foot of the bed
Sem carinho, sem coberta
Without tenderness, without a blanket
No tapete atrás da porta
On the rug behind the door
Reclamei baixinho
I complained softly
Dei pra maldizer o nosso lar
I started to curse our home
Pra sujar teu nome, te humilhar
To soil your name, to humiliate you
E me vingar a qualquer preço
And to take revenge at any cost
Te adorando pelo avesso
Adoring you inside out
Pra mostrar que inda sou tua
To show that I still belong to you
Só pra provar que inda sou tua...
Just to prove that I am still yours...
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
Written by: Francisco Buarque De Hollanda, Francis Victor Walter Hime
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind