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.
Jóia
Caetano Veloso Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Beira de mar
Beira de mar na América do Sul
Um selvagem levanta o braço
Abre a mão e tira um cajú
Um momento de grande amor
De grande amor
Copacabana
Louca total e completamente louca
A menina muito contente
Toma a Coca-Cola na boca
Um momento de puro amor
De puro amor
The song Jóia by Caetano Veloso is a mesmerizing piece of music that takes us on a journey to the coast of South America. The lyrics "Beira de mar, Beira de mar, Beira de mar na América do Sul" is an indication of the location of the song. The singer is observing the surroundings as a wild person lifts their hand and picks a juicy cashew fruit. The next verse describes Copacabana, an infamous beach in Rio de Janeiro known for its crazy atmosphere. The singer observes a happy girl sipping on a Coca-Cola. Both verses end with "Um momento de grande amor, De grande amor" which translates to "A moment of great love, Of great love."
Line by Line Meaning
Beira de mar
By the seashore
Beira de mar
By the seashore
Beira de mar na América do Sul
By the South American seashore
Um selvagem levanta o braço
A savage raises his arm
Abre a mão e tira um cajú
Opens his hand and takes a cashew
Um momento de grande amor
A moment of great love
Copacabana
Copacabana
Copacabana
Copacabana
Louca total e completamente louca
Totally and completely crazy
A menina muito contente
The happy girl
Toma a Coca-Cola na boca
Drinks Coca-Cola in her mouth
Um momento de puro amor
A moment of pure love
Contributed by Micah C. Suggest a correction in the comments below.