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.
Fora Da Ordem
Caetano Veloso Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Foi encontrado na ruína de uma escola em construção
Aqui tudo parece que é ainda construção e já é ruína
Tudo é menino e menina no olho da rua
O asfalto, a ponte, o viaduto ganindo pra lua
Nada continua
E o cano da pistola que as crianças mordem
Reflete todas as cores da paisagem da cidade que é muito
muito mais intensa do que um cartão postal
Alguma coisa está fora da ordem
Fora da nova ordem mundial
Escuras coxas duras tuas duas de acrobata mulata,
Tua batata da perna moderna, a trupe intrépida em que fluis
Te encontro em Sampa de onde mal se vê quem sobe
ou desce a rampa
Alguma coisa em nossa transa é quase luz forte demais
Parece pôr tudo à prova, parece fogo, parece, parece paz
Parece paz
Pletora de alegria, um show de Jorge Benjor dentro de nós
É muito, é grande, é total
Alguma coisa está fora da ordem
Fora da nova ordem mundial
Meu canto esconde-se como um bando de ianomânis
na floresta
Na minha testa caem, vêm colar-se plumas de um velho cocar
Estou de pé em cima do monte de imundo lixo baiano
Cuspo chicletes do ódio no esgoto exposto do Leblon
Mas retribuo a piscadela do garoto de frete do Trianon
Eu sei o que é bom
Eu não espero pelo dia em que todos os homens concordem
Apenas sei de diversas harmonias bonitas possíveis sem juízo final
Alguma coisa está fora da ordem
Fora da nova ordem mundial
"Fora da ordem" is a song by Caetano Veloso that talks about how life in Brazil can be chaotic, yet beautiful at the same time. The song opens with the lines, "Vapor Barato, um mero serviçal do narcotráfico, foi encontrado na ruína de uma escola em construção." This translates to "Cheap vapor, a mere servant of drug trafficking, was found in the ruins of a school under construction." The opening lines set the tone for the rest of the song, as life in Brazil is often described as being chaotic and lawless.
The song talks about the beauty of Brazil despite all its chaos. The lyrics state that "the city is much more beautiful and much more intense than a postcard." In other words, Brazil is more than just its problems, and there is still beauty to be found in the country. The song also touches on social issues, such as poverty and violence. "O cano da pistola que as crianças mordem" is a reference to how children in Brazil are exposed to violence from a young age. The song ends on a note of hope and acceptance, with the lines "I don't wait for the day when all men agree. I just know of different, beautiful harmonies possible without a final judgment."
Line by Line Meaning
Vapor Barato, um mero serviçal do narcotráfico,
Vapor Barato is a mere servant of drug trafficking, found in the ruin of a school under construction.
Aqui tudo parece que é ainda construção e já é ruína
Everything here seems like it's still being built, yet it's already falling apart.
Tudo é menino e menina no olho da rua
Everyone on the street is a child, regardless of gender.
O asfalto, a ponte, o viaduto ganindo pra lua
The pavement, the bridge, and the viaduct all howl at the moon.
Nada continua
Nothing stays the same.
E o cano da pistola que as crianças mordem
The barrel of the gun that children bite on.
Reflete todas as cores da paisagem da cidade que é muito mais bonita e muito mais intensa do que um cartão postal
Reflects all the colors of the city landscape, which is much more beautiful and intense than a postcard.
Alguma coisa está fora da ordem
Something is out of order.
Fora da nova ordem mundial
Outside the new world order.
Escuras coxas duras tuas duas de acrobata mulata,
Your dark hard thighs, two of an acrobat mulata.
Tua batata da perna moderna, a trupe intrépida em que fluis
Your modern leg muscle, the intrepid troupe you flow with.
Te encontro em Sampa de onde mal se vê quem sobe ou desce a rampa
I find you in Sampa where you can hardly see who's going up or down the ramp.
Alguma coisa em nossa transa é quase luz forte demais
Something about our lovemaking is almost too bright.
Parece pôr tudo à prova, parece fogo, parece, parece paz
It seems to test everything, seems like fire, seems like peace.
Pletora de alegria, um show de Jorge Benjor dentro de nós
A plethora of joy, a Jorge Benjor show inside us.
É muito, é grande, é total
It's very, it's big, it's complete.
Alguma coisa está fora da ordem
Something is out of order.
Fora da nova ordem mundial
Outside the new world order.
Meu canto esconde-se como um bando de ianomânis na floresta
My song hides like a group of Ianomâmis in the forest.
Na minha testa caem, vêm colar-se plumas de um velho cocar
Feathers from an old headdress fall onto my forehead and stick there.
Estou de pé em cima do monte de imundo lixo baiano
I'm standing on top of a pile of filthy Bahian garbage.
Cuspo chicletes do ódio no esgoto exposto do Leblon
I spit hate gum into the exposed sewer of Leblon.
Mas retribuo a piscadela do garoto de frete do Trianon
But I return the wink of the Trianon delivery boy.
Eu sei o que é bom
I know what is good.
Eu não espero pelo dia em que todos os homens concordem
I don't wait for the day when all men agree.
Apenas sei de diversas harmonias bonitas possíveis sem juízo final
I only know of many beautiful harmonies possible without a final judgment.
Alguma coisa está fora da ordem
Something is out of order.
Fora da nova ordem mundial
Outside the new world order.
Contributed by Aaron C. Suggest a correction in the comments below.