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.
Drão
Caetano Veloso Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
O amor da gente é como um grão
Uma semente de ilusão
Tem que morrer pra germinar
Plantar nalgum lugar
Ressuscitar no chão
Nossa semeadura
Quem poderá fazer
Nossa caminhadura
Dura caminhada
Pela noite escura
Drão
Não pense na separação
Não despedace o coração
O verdadeiro amor é vão
Estende-se, infinito
Imenso monolito
Nossa arquitetura
Quem poderá fazer
Aquele amor morrer
Nossa caminha dura
Cama de tatame
Pela vida afora
Drão
Os meninos são todos sãos
Os pecados são todos meus
Deus sabe a minha confissão
Não há o que perdoar
Por isso mesmo é que há
De haver mais compaixão
Quem poderá fazer
Aquele amor morrer
Se o amor é como um grão
Morre e nasce, trigo
Vive morre, pão
Drão, drão
Caetano Veloso's song Drao is a deeply philosophical and reflective exploration of the nature of love and the human experience. The lyrics suggest that love is like a seed of illusion which must die before it can be reborn and ultimately grow into something beautiful. The process of planting and resurrection is not an easy one, and the singer highlights the challenges of the human journey as being both difficult and dark.
The song encourages the listener to reflect on the nature of love and see it as an experience that goes beyond the physical and the emotional. In the context of the song, love is something that is infinite and immeasurable. It is an architecture that cannot be destroyed easily and requires compassion to sustain it. The singer emphasizes the importance of embracing the difficulties of love and not thinking about separation or heartbreak.
The lyrics go on to underscore the importance of forgiveness and the role it plays in sustaining love. Love is not about perfection, and the singer recognizes their sins and shortcomings as a part of the human experience, and thus something to be forgiven rather than judged. Overall, Drao is a powerful and reflective song that invites the listener to explore the deeper meaning of love and how it relates to the complexities of the human condition.
Line by Line Meaning
Drão
The title of the song
O amor da gente é como um grão
Our love is like a seed
Uma semente de ilusão
It's a seed of illusion
Tem que morrer pra germinar
It has to die to sprout
Plantar nalgum lugar
Plant it somewhere
Ressuscitar no chão
It will be reborn on the ground
Nossa semeadura
Our sowing
Quem poderá fazer
Who can make
Aquele amor morrer
That love die
Nossa caminhadura
Our journey
Dura caminhada
Tough journey
Pela noite escura
Through the dark night
Não pense na separação
Don't think about separation
Não despedace o coração
Don't break your heart
O verdadeiro amor é vão
True love is empty
Estende-se, infinito
It spreads, infinite
Imenso monolito
Gigantic monolith
Nossa arquitetura
Our architecture
Quem poderá fazer
Who can make
Aquele amor morrer
That love die
Nossa caminha dura
Our tough journey
Cama de tatame
Bed of mats
Pela vida afora
Throughout life
Os meninos são todos sãos
The boys are all healthy
Os pecados são todos meus
The sins are all mine
Deus sabe a minha confissão
God knows my confession
Não há o que perdoar
There's nothing to forgive
Por isso mesmo é que há
That's why there's
De haver mais compaixão
The need for more compassion
Se o amor é como um grão
If love is like a seed
Morre e nasce, trigo
It dies and sprouts, wheat
Vive morre, pão
It lives, dies, bread
Drão, drão
Repetition of the song's title
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: Gilberto Passos Gil Moreira
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind