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.
Cinema Novo
Caetano Veloso Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
"Eu sou o samba"
A voz do morro rasgou a tela do cinema
E começaram a se configurar
Visões das coisas grandes e pequenas
Que nos formaram e estão a nos formar
Todas e muitas, Deus e o diabo
Vidas secas, os fuzis
A grande feira, o desafio
Outras conversas, outras conversas sobre os jeitos do Brasil
Outras conversas sobre os jeitos do Brasil
A bossa nova passou na prova
Nos salvou na dimensão da eternidade
Porém aqui embaixo a vida, mera metade de nada
Nem morria, nem enfrentava o problema
Pedia soluções e explicações
E foi por isso que as imagens do país desse cinema
Entraram nas palavras das canções, uhm
Entraram nas palavras das canções
Primeiro foram aquelas que explicavam
E a música parava pra pensar
Mas era tão bonito que parasse
Que a gente nem queria reclamar
Depois foram as imagens que assombravam
E outras palavras já queriam se cantar
De ordem, de desordem, de loucura
De alma a meia-noite e de indústria
E a Terra entrou em transe e
No sertão de Ipanema
Em transe e
No mar de Monte Santo
E a luz do nosso canto e as vozes do poema
Necessitaram transformar-se tanto
Que o samba quis dizer
O samba quis dizer, eu sou o cinema, uhm
O samba quis dizer, eu sou o cinema
Aí o anjo nasceu, veio o bandido meteorango
Hitler terceiro mundo, sem essa aranha, fome de amor
E o filme disse, eu quero ser poema
Ou mais, quero ser filme e filme-filme
Acossado no limite da garganta do diabo
Voltar a Atlântida e ultrapassar o eclipse
Matar o ovo e ver a Vera Cruz
E o samba agora diz, eu sou a luz
Da lira do delírio, da alforria de Xica
De toda a nudez de índia
De flor de Macabéia, de Asa Branca
Meu nome é Stelinha, é Inocência
Meu nome é Orson Antônio Vieira, conselheiro de Pixote, Superoutro
Quero ser velho, de novo eterno, quero ser novo de novo
Quero ser Ganga bruta e clara gema
Eu sou o samba, viva o cinema
Viva o Cinema Novo
The song Cinema Novo by Caetano Veloso and Gilberto Gil is a tribute to the Brazilian film movement of the same name that emerged in the 1960s. The lyrics reflect upon the powerful impact that cinema had in Brazilian society at that time, inspiring and shaping the cultural identity of the country through images and narratives of both the great and the small things that form and transform its reality. The song also celebrates the crucial role that music, particularly samba and bossa nova, played in translating the cinematic visions into poetic and artistic expressions that resonated deeply with the people.
The first part of the song refers to specific movies and characters that symbolize the rich and diverse Brazilian cultural heritage, from the favela singer who overcame social barriers to become a star of the silver screen ("A voz do morro rasgou a tela do cinema") to the novels and films that portrayed the harsh realities of poverty, violence, and oppression in different regions of the country ("Vidas secas, os fuzis, os cafajestes, o padre e a moça"). The second part of the song expresses a more introspective and critical view on the limitations and contradictions of the cultural and political scene of the time, acknowledging that the enchanting and transformative power of cinema and music also had to confront the harshness and complexity of everyday life.
Line by Line Meaning
O filme quis dizer
The movie meant to say
"Eu sou o samba"
"I am the samba"
A voz do morro rasgou a tela do cinema
The voice of the hill ripped through the cinema screen
E começaram a se configurar
And they began to take shape
Visões das coisas grandes e pequenas
Visions of big and small things
Que nos formaram e estão a nos formar
That formed us and are still shaping us
Todas e muitas, Deus e o diabo
All and many, God and the devil
Vidas secas, os fuzis
Dry lives, the rifles
Os cafajestes, o padre e a moça
The scumbags, the priest and the girl
A grande feira, o desafio
The big fair, the challenge
Outras conversas, outras conversas sobre os jeitos do Brasil
Other conversations, other conversations about the ways of Brazil
A bossa nova passou na prova
The bossa nova passed the test
Nos salvou na dimensão da eternidade
Saved us in the dimension of eternity
Porém aqui embaixo a vida, mera metade de nada
However down here, life is merely half of nothing
Nem morria, nem enfrentava o problema
Neither died nor faced the problem
Pedia soluções e explicações
Asked for solutions and explanations
E foi por isso que as imagens do país desse cinema
And that's why the images of this cinema's country
Entraram nas palavras das canções, uhm
Entered the words of the songs, uhm
Primeiro foram aquelas que explicavam
First were the ones that explained
E a música parava pra pensar
And the music paused to think
Mas era tão bonito que parasse
But it was so beautiful that it stopped
Que a gente nem queria reclamar
That we didn't even want to complain
Depois foram as imagens que assombravam
Then were the images that haunted
E outras palavras já queriam se cantar
And other words already wanted to be sung
De ordem, de desordem, de loucura
Of order, disorder, madness
De alma a meia-noite e de indústria
From soul at midnight to industry
E a Terra entrou em transe
And the Earth entered in trance
No sertão de Ipanema
In the hinterland of Ipanema
Em transe
In trance
No mar de Monte Santo
In the sea of Monte Santo
E a luz do nosso canto e as vozes do poema
And the light of our song and the voices of the poem
Necessitaram transformar-se tanto
Needed to transform so much
Que o samba quis dizer
That the samba meant to say
O samba quis dizer, eu sou o cinema, uhm
The samba meant to say, I am the cinema, uhm
Aí o anjo nasceu, veio o bandido meteorango
Then the angel was born, came the Meteorango bandit
Hitler terceiro mundo, sem essa aranha, fome de amor
Hitler third world, without this spider, hunger for love
E o filme disse, eu quero ser poema
And the movie said, I want to be a poem
Ou mais, quero ser filme e filme-filme
Or more, I want to be movie and movie-movie
Acossado no limite da garganta do diabo
Hunted at the limit of the devil's throat
Voltar a Atlântida e ultrapassar o eclipse
Go back to Atlantis and surpass the eclipse
Matar o ovo e ver a Vera Cruz
Kill the egg and see Vera Cruz
E o samba agora diz, eu sou a luz
And the samba now says, I am the light
Da lira do delírio, da alforria de Xica
From the lyre of delirium, from the freedom of Xica
De toda a nudez de índia
From all the nakedness of the Indian
De flor de Macabéia, de Asa Branca
From the flower of Macabéia, from Asa Branca
Meu nome é Stelinha, é Inocência
My name is Stelinha, it's Innocence
Meu nome é Orson Antônio Vieira, conselheiro de Pixote, Superoutro
My name is Orson Antônio Vieira, advisor of Pixote, Superoutro
Quero ser velho, de novo eterno, quero ser novo de novo
I want to be old, forever new, I want to be new again
Quero ser Ganga bruta e clara gema
I want to be Ganga Bruta and clear gem
Eu sou o samba, viva o cinema
I am the samba, long live the cinema
Viva o Cinema Novo
Long live the New Cinema
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: Caetano Emmanuel Viana Telles Veloso, Gilberto Passos Gil Moreira
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Dario Pontes Regis
O filme quis dizer "Eu sou o samba" A voz do morro rasgou a tela do cinema E começaram a se configurar Visões das coisas grandes e pequenas Que nos formaram e estão a nos formar Todas e muitas: Deus e o diabo, vidas secas, os fuzis Os cafajestes, o padre e a moça, a grande feira, o desafio Outras conversas, outras conversas sobre os jeitos do Brasil Outras conversas sobre os jeitos do Brasil A bossa nova passou na prova Nos salvou na dimensão da eternidade ..
Lázaro Lacerda
Tema da redação Enem 2019: A
Eu: lindíssimo Gilberto Gil, me salvando.
A bossa nova ainda vive
Luiz Burity
Um belo samba enredo que conta a historia da musica e do cinema brasileiro entre as décadras de 50 e 70. Obra prima !!!!!
Denise Berto
letra espetacular Uma obra prima de Caetano
Marcos Fernandes
Homenagem ao cinema novo. Viva Helena Ignez. Bravo. Linda homenagem
Arthur Bloise
Maravilha de samba! Muito subvalorizado......... é uma obra prima!
Ou você ama o mundo ou você segue a Deus.
OUVINDO ESSE LINDO SAMBA, CANTADO POR ESSAS DUAS ALMAS COMPLETAMENTE EQUIVALENTES EM TUDO, EU ENTRO EM UM ESTADO ZETA DO MEU SER!!!
LINDA É MUITO POUCO PRA DEFINIR A OBRA DE ARTE QUE É ESSA MÚSICA!!! TANTO A MELODIA QUANTO A LETRA SÃO COISAS QUE NÃO MAIS SERÃO DUPLICADAS, TENHO CERTEZA DISSO!!!
CAETANO & GIL!!! GIL & CAETANO!!!
Rosane Santana
Certamente! Magnífica!
FishWellPictures
Eu estudo cinema no Peru e este filme é um culto em sua cultura, o meu respeito
Zé lauro Azevedo
Obra prima !! Letra e mùsica ! Cae e Gil !!