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.
Itapuã
Caetano Veloso Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Sobre as águas que se movem
Ela foi a minha guia
Quando eu era alegre e jovem
Nosso ritmo, nosso brilho
Nosso fruto do futuro
Tudo estava de manhã
Nosso sexo, nosso estilo
Tudo esteve Itapuã
Itapuã
Tuas luas cheias
Tuas casas feias
Viram tudo, tudo
Inteiro de nós
Itapuã
Tuas lamas algas
Almas que amalgamas
Guardam todo, todo
O cheiro de nós
Abaeté
Essa areia branca
Ninguém nos arranca
É o que em Deus nos fiz
Nada estanca Itapuã
Ainda sou feliz
Itapuã
Quando tu me faltas
Tuas palmas altas
Mandam um vento a mim
Assim: Caymmi
Itapuã
O teu sol me queima
E o meu verso teima
Em cantar teu nome
Teu nome sem fim
Abaeté
Tudo meu e dela
A lagoa bela
Sabe, cala e diz
Eu cantar-te nos constela em ti
E eu sou feliz
Ela foi a minha guia
Quando eu era alegre e jovem
The lyrics to Caetano Veloso's song "Itapuã" speaks about the euphoria of young love experienced in the sleepy, coastal town of Itapuã. The first lines describe how their love shone bright like a luminous beacon, even above the ebb and flow of the city's waters. The lines 'Nosso ritmo, nosso brilho, nosso fruto do futuro' indicate the passion and potential of their love as they navigated the world together. 'Tudo esteve Itapuã', meaning, everything was encompassed by Itapuã, suggests that for the singer, the town was a physical embodiment of their love.
As the song progresses, the singer slips into the present and reminisces about the memories of his love that Itapuã holds. The lines 'Tuas lamas algas, almas que amalgamas' compares the town's mud and algae to their conjoined souls that continue to linger in the place they once loved. He speaks about "Abaeté" as their shared space, a metaphor that she has left a lasting imprint on him, much like the white sand on the coast, where nothing can wash it away. When the singer mentions the wind that carries the swaying palms, he remembers the influence of the legendary Brazilian composer, Dorival Caymmi, who is known for his song "O Vento" (The Wind). In the last stanza, the singer speaks about his love and how it will always be a part of him, even when he is without Itapuã, and how he is still happy, nevertheless.
Line by Line Meaning
Nosso amor resplandecia
Our love was shining brightly
Sobre as águas que se movem
Above the moving waters
Ela foi a minha guia
She was my guide
Quando eu era alegre e jovem
When I was happy and young
Nosso ritmo, nosso brilho
Our rhythm, our shine
Nosso fruto do futuro
Our fruit for the future
Tudo estava de manhã
Everything was in the morning
Nosso sexo, nosso estilo
Our sex, our style
Nosso reflexo do mundo
Our reflection of the world
Tudo esteve Itapuã
Everything was in Itapuã
Itapuã
Itapuã
Tuas luas cheias
Your full moons
Tuas casas feias
Your ugly houses
Viram tudo, tudo
Saw everything, everything
Inteiro de nós
Full of us
Itapuã
Itapuã
Tuas lamas algas
Your mud and algae
Almas que amalgamas
Souls that amalgamate
Guardam todo, todo
Keep everything, everything
O cheiro de nós
The scent of us
Abaeté
Abaeté
Essa areia branca
This white sand
Ninguém nos arranca
No one can take us away
É o que em Deus nos fiz
It's what God made us
Nada estanca Itapuã
Nothing stops Itapuã
Ainda sou feliz
I'm still happy
Itapuã
Itapuã
Quando tu me faltas
When you're not here with me
Tuas palmas altas
Your tall palms
Mandam um vento a mim
Send me a breeze
Assim: Caymmi
Like this: Caymmi
Itapuã
Itapuã
O teu sol me queima
Your sun burns me
E o meu verso teima
And my verse persists
Em cantar teu nome
To sing your name
Teu nome sem fim
Your name without end
Abaeté
Abaeté
Tudo meu e dela
Everything mine and hers
A lagoa bela
The beautiful lagoon
Sabe, cala e diz
Knows, stays quiet and tells
Eu cantar-te nos constela em ti
I sing you in constellations in you
E eu sou feliz
And I am happy
Ela foi a minha guia
She was my guide
Quando eu era alegre e jovem
When I was happy and young
Contributed by Leah H. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
Aline Viana
2019 e eu morrendo de amor por aqui
Geane Soeiro
Essa música marcou minha vida!
Miggy qqcker
linda musica,faz viajar...
musicfanBRA
Letra maravilhosa.
Fab Dias
Maravilhosa
dolfus anne marie
Belleza pura!