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.
Lost_In_The_Paradise
Caetano Veloso Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Cannot fly very high
I find you so far from my side
I'm lost in my old in my own green light
Don't help me, my love
My brother, my girl
Just tell her name
Her big white plastic finger
Surrounds my dark green hair,
But it's not your unknown right hand
But it's not your unknown right hand
Oh, don't help me, my love
My brother, my girl
Just tell her name
Just let me say who am I
I am the sun, the darkness,
My name is green wave death, salt
South America's my name
World is my name, my size
And honor my name
Hear my
My little grasshopper airplane
Cannot fly very high
Oh, don't help me, my love
My brother, my girl
Just tell her name
Just let me say who am I
The song "Lost in the Paradise" by Caetano Veloso is a melancholic tune that speaks about feeling lost and disconnected from oneself and the world around them. The lyric "my little grasshopper airplane cannot fly very high" suggests that the singer feels limited and unable to reach their full potential. They are unable to fly high and are grounded in their own sense of inadequacy. This line is followed by "I find you so far from my side, I'm lost in my own green light", which implies that the singer has lost touch with someone they care about, and perhaps even themselves. The "green light" could symbolize envy or desire, but also the immaturity and inexperience that can prevent us from seeing things clearly.
The singer then asks for no help from their love, brother or girl, and instead asks to be able to say who they are. They feel the need to assert their identity, but seem to be struggling to do so, as shown in the line "Her big white plastic finger surrounds my dark green hair, but it's not your unknown right hand". This line is a metaphor for being trapped and unable to express oneself fully.
In the final verse, the singer declares who they are: "I am the sun, the darkness, my name is green wave death, salt, South America's my name, world is my name, my size, and honor my name." This could be taken as an expression of self-realization, but it could also be interpreted as a sarcastic statement, as if the singer is mocking their own attempts to assert their identity.
Overall, "Lost in the Paradise" is a song that speaks to the universal experience of feeling lost and disconnected from oneself and the world, and the struggle to find meaning and identity.
Line by Line Meaning
My little grasshopper airplane
The airplane that I have is not very advanced.
Cannot fly very high
It cannot go to great heights.
I find you so far from my side
I feel distant from you.
I'm lost in my old in my own green light
I feel confused and stuck in my own world.
Don't help me, my love
I do not want or need help from my loved one.
My brother, my girl
Other people who are close to me.
Just tell her name
Just give me a name.
Just let me say who am I
Let me express myself and who I am.
Her big white plastic finger
Her dominating and artificial presence.
Surrounds my dark green hair,
It covers me and overshadows my natural self.
But it's not your unknown right hand
It is not a comforting touch from someone I don't know.
Oh, don't help me, my love
Again, I do not want help from my significant other.
My brother, my girl
These people are still present and I still do not want their help.
Just tell her name
My request for a name still stands.
Just let me say who am I
I still need to express who I am.
I am the sun, the darkness,
I am everything - both the light and the dark.
My name is green wave death, salt
These are images to represent elements of life and death.
South America's my name
I represent and belong to this part of the world.
World is my name, my size
I am a part of the world and encompass everything.
And honor my name
Respect and celebrate who I am and what I represent.
Hear my
Listen to what I have to say.
Contributed by Jordyn V. Suggest a correction in the comments below.