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.
Beleza Pura
Caetano Veloso Lyrics
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Mas formosura
Dinheiro não
A pele escura
Dinheiro não
A carne dura
Dinheiro não
Beleza pura
Federação
Beleza pura
Boca do rio
Beleza pura
Dinheiro não
Quando essa preta começa a tratar do cabelo
É de se olhar
Toda trama da trança transa do cabelo
Conchas do mar
Ela manda buscar pra botar no cabelo
Toda minúcia, toda delícia
Não me amarra dinheiro não
Mas elegância
Não me amarra dinheiro não
Mas a cultura
Dinheiro não
A pele escura
Dinheiro não
A carne dura
Dinheiro não
Moço lindo do Badauê
Beleza pura
Do Ilê-Aiê
Beleza pura
Dinheiro hié
Beleza pura
Dinheiro não
Dentro daquele turbante do filho de Gandhi
É o que há
Tudo é chique demais tudo é muito elegante
Manda botar
Fina palha da costa E que tudo se trance
Todos os búzios
Todos os ócios
Não me amarra dinheiro não
Mas os mistérios
Não me amarra dinheiro não
Beleza pura
Dinheiro não
Beleza pura
Dinheiro não
Beleza pura
Dinheiro Hié
Beleza pura (Dinheiro não)
Beleza pura (Dinheiro não)
Beleza pura (Dinheiro não)
Beleza pura (Dinheiro não)
Beleza pura (Dinheiro não)
Beleza pura (Dinheiro não)
Beleza pura (Dinheiro não)
Beleza pura
The lyrics of Caetano Veloso's song Beleza Pura celebrates the beauty found in blackness and the Afro-Brazilian culture. In the first verse, he declares that he is not interested in money but in beauty, namely the beauty found in dark skin, tough meat, and natural elegance. He continues in the second verse by praising the beauty of a "moça preta" or black girl from different regions in Brazil such as Curuzu, Federação, and Boca do Rio. He notes how this girl takes care of her hair with great detail and how she uses shells from the sea to enhance her hairstyle. He concludes by saying that he is not attracted to money but to other qualities such as elegance, culture, and mysteries.
The song's lyrics are a commentary on the social and racial hierarchy in Brazil. Historically, black people have been marginalized and discriminated against in Brazilian society. Caetano is celebrating the beauty and uniqueness of Afro-Brazilian culture, while also critiquing the society that doesn't always see value in it. The way he talks about beauty in terms of skin color and hair is a departure from the European-centered beauty standards that have been imposed on Brazil.
Line by Line Meaning
Não me amarra dinheiro não
Money does not tie me down
Mas formosura
But beauty
Dinheiro não
Money does not
A pele escura
Dark skin
Dinheiro não
Money does not
A carne dura
Hard flesh
Dinheiro não
Money does not
Moça preta do Curuzu
Young black girl from Curuzu
Beleza pura
Pure beauty
Federação
Federação neighborhood
Beleza pura
Pure beauty
Boca do Rio
Boca do Rio beach
Beleza pura
Pure beauty
Dinheiro não
Money does not
Quando essa preta começa a tratar do cabelo
When this black girl starts taking care of her hair
É de se olhar
It's something to see
Toda a trama da trança
All the braid's intricacies
A transa do cabelo
The sensuality of hair
Conchas do mar
Sea shells
Ela manda buscar pra botar no cabelo
She has them brought to put in her hair
Toda minúcia
Every detail
Toda delícia
Every delight
Não me amarra dinheiro não
Money does not tie me down
Mas elegí¢ncia
But elegance
Não me amarra dinheiro não
Money does not tie me down
Mas a cultura
But culture
Dinheiro não
Money does not
A pele escura
Dark skin
Dinheiro não
Money does not
A carne dura
Hard flesh
Dinheiro não
Money does not
Moço lindo do Badauê
Handsome young man from Badauê
Beleza pura
Pure beauty
Do Ilê Aiyê
From Ilê Aiyê
Beleza pura
Pure beauty
Dinheiro yeah
Money yeah
Beleza pura
Pure beauty
Dinheiro não
Money does not
Dentro daquele turbante dos Filhos de Gandhi
Inside those turbans of the Sons of Gandhi
É o que há
It's the thing
Tudo é chique demais
Everything is too fancy
Tudo é muito elegante
Everything is very elegant
Manda botar
Have it placed
Fina palha da costa e que tudo se trance
Fine straw from the coast and have it all braided
Todos os búzios
All the cowries
Todos os ócios
All the secrets
Não me amarra dinheiro não
Money does not tie me down
Mas os mistérios
But the mysteries
Lyrics © Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: Caetano Veloso
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind