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.
Esoterico
Caetano Veloso Lyrics
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Porque mistério sempre há de pintar por aí
Pessoas até muito mais vão lhe amar
Até muito mais difíceis que eu pra você
Que eu, que dois, que dez, que dez milhões
Todos iguais
Até que nem tanto esotérico assim
Meu Deus é mais
Mistério sempre há de pintar por aí
Não adianta nem me abandonar
Nem ficar tão apaixonada
Que nada, que não sabe nada
Que morre afogada por mim
In Caetano Veloso's song Esoterico, the song's narrator tells the listener that it is pointless to abandon him because mystery will always abound in the world. Other people, even those much more difficult than him, will love the listener. The song's narrator tells us that everyone is equal, including himself, two people, ten people or ten million people. The song reveals that even if the singer is incomprehensible, God is even more mysterious. Therefore, we should not abandon the singer because there will always be a mystery worth exploring.
The song's message is one that encourages its listeners to embrace the unknown and to be open to the possibility of connection with others. It touches on the theme of human connection, love and the potential for human relationships to be joyful and fulfilling. Despite highlighting the different mystery that surrounds human beings, the song suggests that the listener won't necessarily find an explanation in leaving the singer. It is up to the listener to explore and embrace mystery, even if there is no easy answer to be found.
Line by Line Meaning
Não adianta nem me abandonar
There's no point in abandoning me
Porque mistério sempre há de pintar por aí
Because mystery will always appear out there
Pessoas até muito mais vão lhe amar
People will love you even more
Até muito mais difíceis que eu pra você
Even people more difficult for you than me
Que eu, que dois, que dez, que dez milhões
Than me, than two, than ten, than ten million
Todos iguais
All the same
Até que nem tanto esotérico assim
Until it's not that esoteric
Se eu sou algo incompreensível
If I'm something incomprehensible
Meu Deus é mais
My God is more
Mistério sempre há de pintar por aí
Mystery will always appear out there
Nem ficar tão apaixonada
Neither to be so in love
Que nada, que não sabe nada
That nothing, that don't know anything
Que morre afogada por mim
That dies drowned because of me
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA/AMCOS
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