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.
Diferentemente
Caetano Veloso Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Uma canção de Madona
"When you look at me
I don't know who I am"
E desentendi
Pois comigo, é você quem
Me olhando, detona
A explosão de seu saber
Eu nunca imaginei que nesse mundo
Alguma vez
Alguém soubesse quem é
Ma se você me vê
Seus olhos são mais do que meus
Pois eu amo e você ama
Então o indizível se divisa
E a luz de muitos céus
Inunda a mente
E no entanto
Diferentemente de Osama e Condoleezza
Eu não acredito em Deus
The lyrics of "Diferentemente" by Caetano Veloso talk about the power of love and how it can make us see ourselves differently. The song begins with the singer referencing a Madonna song, where she sings about not recognizing herself when someone looks at her. However, the singer admits that when he is looked at by his partner, he feels a powerful explosion of knowledge about who he truly is. He never thought that someone could know him so well, but the love he shares with his partner allows him to see himself more clearly.
The chorus of the song emphasizes the idea that the love between the singer and his partner is so deep and true that it transcends language and can be felt without words. The indescribable feeling they share connects them to something greater than themselves and allows them to see the world in a different light. They are able to transcend their own individual experiences and connect with something universal.
Towards the end of the song, the singer contrasts his belief in the power of love with the beliefs of people like Osama bin Laden and Condoleezza Rice, and makes the point that he doesn't believe in God. This statement is significant because it reinforces the idea that the song is about the transcendent power of human love, rather than relying on supernatural forces to connect with something greater than ourselves.
Line by Line Meaning
Acho que ouvi
I think I heard something
Uma canção de Madona
A Madonna song
"When you look at me
"When you look at me
I don't know who I am"
I don't know who I am"
E desentendi
And I misunderstood it
Pois comigo, é você quem
Because with me, it's you who
Me olhando, detona
By looking at me, detonates
A explosão de seu saber
The explosion of your knowledge
Quem eu sou
Who I am
Eu nunca imaginei que nesse mundo
I never imagined in this world
Alguma vez
Ever
Alguém soubesse quem é
Anyone would know who I am
Ma se você me vê
But if you see me
Seus olhos são mais do que meus
Your eyes are more than mine
Pois eu amo e você ama
Because I love and you love
Então o indizível se divisa
Then the indescribable becomes clear
E a luz de muitos céus
And the light of many skies
Inunda a mente
Floods the mind
E no entanto
And yet
Diferentemente de Osama e Condoleezza
Unlike Osama and Condoleezza
Eu não acredito em Deus
I don't believe in God
Contributed by Josiah V. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
Klaf Samuca
maravilhoso!
Luiz Lobo Oficial
Desculpem, por favor o palavreado mas que som do CACETE de BOM!
Fernando Graça
Bossanovístico.
Ilda Paula Ribeiro
Ouvindo domingo a noite,música de melhor qualidade,simplesmente amo demais!!!
Matheus Lino
autêntico Caetano
RomeroMarcius Psi
Caetano parece que não voltou até hoje de uma viagem de ayahuasca que fez, conforme o ouvi declarar, afirmando não ter certeza se havia voltado da tal viagem, num vídeo gravado na TV que se não me engano foi no Programa do Jô: ainda bem néh? Graaande Caetano!
Vinícius Rafael Fiuza
mais ou menos isso , a historia que ele contou no Jô foi que o Gil trouxe o chá do Amazonas e serviu a todos, ouvindo pink floyd, ele disse ` - ou não fez efeito em mim, ou o efeito ta durando até hoje´
Matheus Cruz
RomeroMarcius Psi hahaha essa entrevista é genial!
Lucas Bezerra
tooooooop
José Paulon
e no entanto diferentemente...