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.
Clarice
Caetano Veloso Lyrics
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Apagada pelo tempo
Nos papéis desta lembrança
Que tão pouca me ficou
Igrejas brancas
Luas claras nas varandas
Jardins de sonho e cirandas
Foguetes claros no ar
Que mistério tem Clarice
Que mistério tem Clarice
Pra guardar-se assim tão firme, no coração
Clarice era morena
Como as manhãs são morenas
Era pequena no jeito
De não ser quase ninguém
Andou conosco caminhos
De frutas e passarinhos
Mas jamais quis se despir
Entre os meninos e os peixes
Entre os meninos e os peixes
Entre os meninos e os peixes
Do rio, do rio
Que mistério tem Clarice
Que mistério tem Clarice
Pra guardar-se assim tão firme, no coração
Tinha receio do frio
Medo de assombração
Um corpo que não mostrava
Feito de adivinhações
Os botões sempre fechados
Clarice tinha o recato
De convento e procissão
Eu pergunto o mistério
Que mistério tem Clarice
Pra guardar-se assim tão firme, no coração
Soldado fez continência
O coronel reverência
O padre fez penitência
Três novenas e uma trezena
Mas Clarice
Era a inocência
Nunca mostrou-se a ninguém
Fez-se modelo das lendas
Fez-se modelo das lendas
Das lendas que nos contaram as avós
Que mistério tem Clarice
Que mistério tem Clarice
Pra guardar-se assim tão firme, no coração
Tem que um dia
Amanhecia e Clarice
Assistiu minha partida
Chorando pediu lembranças
E vendo o barco se afastar de Amaralina
Desesperadamente linda, soluçando e lentamente
E lentamente despiu o corpo moreno
E entre todos os presentes
Até que seu amor sumisse
Permaneceu no adeus chorando e nua
Para que a tivesse toda
Todo o tempo que existisse
Que mistério tem Clarice
Que mistério tem Clarice
Pra guardar-se assim tão firme, no coração
The lyrics of "Clarice" by Caetano Veloso are a tribute to a mysterious and enigmatic woman named Clarice, who remains a mystery even to those who knew her closely. The song begins with a nostalgic tone, with the singer reminiscing about the past and the people that have been lost to time. The imagery is vivid, with white churches, clear moons, dreamy gardens, and dancing circles creating a vivid picture of the memories that have survived. Clarice is introduced as a dark-haired woman, small and elusive, who walked with the singer along paths of fruit trees and birds but never quite joined in on the games of boys or the fishing excursions.
The song's chorus laments the mystery that surrounds Clarice, and her unwavering and mysterious hold on the singer's heart. Clarice is then described as a woman with a fear of cold and ghosts, with a body that was covered up and elusive, almost like a nun. The singer speculates on what it is that made Clarice such a mystery, and why everyone from the soldier to the priest bowed to her innocence. Eventually, Clarice is revealed to have been a lover of the singer, who left her behind in tears while he departed on a boat from Amaralina. She wept and slowly undressed her dark body, revealing herself to the singer and everyone else present, holding onto the possibility that he might return and be with her forever. The song ends with the question still hovering over the mystery of Clarice.
Line by Line Meaning
Há muita gente
There are many people
Apagada pelo tempo
Forgotten by time
Nos papéis desta lembrança
In the papers of this memory
Que tão pouca me ficou
That so little remained with me
Igrejas brancas
White churches
Luas claras nas varandas
Clear moons on the balconies
Jardins de sonho e cirandas
Dream gardens and cirandas
Foguetes claros no ar
Clear rockets in the air
Que mistério tem Clarice
What mystery does Clarice have
Que mistério tem Clarice
What mystery does Clarice have
Pra guardar-se assim tão firme, no coração
To hold herself so firmly in the heart
Clarice era morena
Clarice was dark-skinned
Como as manhãs são morenas
Like the mornings are dark-skinned
Era pequena no jeito
She was small in her way
De não ser quase ninguém
Almost not being anyone
Andou conosco caminhos
Walked with us on paths
De frutas e passarinhos
Of fruits and little birds
Mas jamais quis se despir
But she never wanted to undress
Entre os meninos e os peixes
Between the boys and the fishes
Entre os meninos e os peixes
Between the boys and the fishes
Do rio, do rio
From the river, from the river
Tinha receio do frio
Was afraid of the cold
Medo de assombração
Fear of haunting
Um corpo que não mostrava
A body that didn't show
Feito de adivinhações
Made of guesses
Os botões sempre fechados
Buttons always closed
Clarice tinha o recato
Clarice had modesty
De convento e procissão
Of convents and processions
Eu pergunto o mistério
I ask the mystery
Que mistério tem Clarice
What mystery does Clarice have
Pra guardar-se assim tão firme, no coração
To hold herself so firmly in the heart
Soldado fez continência
The soldier saluted
O coronel reverência
The colonel showed respect
O padre fez penitência
The priest did penance
Três novenas e uma trezena
Three novenas and a trezena
Mas Clarice
But Clarice
Era a inocência
Was the innocence
Nunca mostrou-se a ninguém
Never showed herself to anyone
Fez-se modelo das lendas
Became a model of legends
Fez-se modelo das lendas
Became a model of legends
Das lendas que nos contaram as avós
Of the legends our grandmothers told us
Tem que um dia
One day
Amanhecia e Clarice
Dawned and Clarice
Assistiu minha partida
Witnessed my departure
Chorando pediu lembranças
Crying, asked for memories
E vendo o barco se afastar de Amaralina
And watching the boat move away from Amaralina
Desesperadamente linda, soluçando e lentamente
Desperately beautiful, sobbing and slowly
E lentamente despiu o corpo moreno
And slowly undressed her dark-skinned body
E entre todos os presentes
And among all the guests
Até que seu amor sumisse
Until her love disappeared
Permaneceu no adeus chorando e nua
Remained crying and naked in the farewell
Para que a tivesse toda
So that he would have her entirely
Todo o tempo que existisse
All the time that existed
Que mistério tem Clarice
What mystery does Clarice have
Que mistério tem Clarice
What mystery does Clarice have
Pra guardar-se assim tão firme, no coração
To hold herself so firmly in the heart
Lyrics © Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: Caetano Emmanuel Viana Teles Veloso, Jose Carlos Capinan
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind