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.
Coisa Mais Linda
Caetano Veloso Lyrics
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Assim, justinho você
Eu juro,eu não sei porque você
Você é mais bonita que a flor
Quem dera, a primavera da flor
Tivesse todo esse aroma
De beleza que é o amor
Perfumando a natureza
Numa forma de mulher
Porque tão linda assim não existe a flor
Nem mesmo a cor não existe
E o amor
Nem mesmo o amor existe
Porque tão linda assim não existe
A flor
Nem mesmo a cor não existe
E o amor
Nem mesmo o amor existe
The opening lyrics of Caetano Veloso's song "Coisa Mais Linda" express admiration towards the beauty of the person being addressed. The singer is impressed with the addressee's appearance, noting that they are even more beautiful than a flower. This comparison to a flower and the imagery associated with it continues in the next few lines, as the singer wishes that the aroma of love could be as potent and pervasive as the springtime scent of flowers. The singer marvels at how this person's beauty surpasses that of any flower or even any color, and concludes that the very concept of love itself pales in comparison.
The song beautifully captures the feeling of being awe-struck by someone's beauty, describing it in vivid floral language. But it goes beyond physical beauty, suggesting that the addressee's allure is a kind of natural force that influences and enhances the world around them. The theme of love as an intangible, potent force is intertwined with the theme of beauty and nature, as the singer reflects on the wonder of being in the presence of something so extraordinary. Overall, "Coisa Mais Linda" is a poetic tribute to the power of beauty and love, and the way they can transform our perception of the world.
Line by Line Meaning
Coisa mais bonita é você
You are the most beautiful thing
Assim, justinho você
Exactly as you are
Eu juro,eu não sei porque você
I swear, I don't know why you are so beautiful
Você é mais bonita que a flor
You are even more beautiful than a flower
Quem dera, a primavera da flor
If only the spring of the flowers
Tivesse todo esse aroma
Had all this fragrance
De beleza que é o amor
Of the beauty that is love
Perfumando a natureza
Perfuming nature
Numa forma de mulher
In the form of a woman
Porque tão linda assim não existe a flor
Because a flower doesn't exist as beautiful as you
Nem mesmo a cor não existe
Not even the color exists
E o amor
And love
Nem mesmo o amor existe
Not even love exists
Porque tão linda assim não existe
Because nothing exists as beautiful as you
A flor
The flower
Nem mesmo a cor não existe
Not even the color exists
E o amor
And love
Nem mesmo o amor existe
Not even love exists
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Spirit Music Group
Written by: VINICIUS DE MORAES, CARLOS EDUARDO LYRA BARBOSA CARLOS LYRA
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind