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.
Maria Bethânia
Caetano Veloso Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Chegou a hora, não dá mais pra segurar
Quem me chamou, chamou pra sambar
Não mexe comigo, eu sou a menina de Oyá
Não mexe comigo, eu sou a menina de Oyá
Raiou, senhora mãe da tempestade
A sua força me invade, o vento sopra e anuncia
O abebé reluz axé
Fiz um pedido pro Bonfim abençoar
Oxalá, Xeu Êpa Babá
Oh Minha Santa me proteja, me alumia
Trago no peito o Rosário de Maria
Sinto o perfume, mel, pitanga e dendê
No embalo do xirê, começou a cantoria
Vou no toque do tambor ô ô ô
Deixo o samba me levar, saravá
É no dengo da baiana, meu sinhô
Que a Mangueira vai passar
Voa carcará Leva meu dom ao Teatro Opinião
Faz da minha voz um retrato desse chão
Sonhei que nessa noite de magia
Em cena, encarno toda poesia
Sou abelha rainha, fera ferida, bordadeira da canção
De pé descalço, puxo o verso e abro a roda
Firmo na palma, no pandeiro e na viola
Sou trapezista num céu de lona verde e rosa
Que hoje brinca de viver a emoção
Explode coração
The lyrics of Caetano Veloso's song Maria Bethânia are a tribute to the Brazilian singer with the same name. The song starts with someone (possibly an announcer) calling for Mangueira, one of the most traditional samba schools in Rio de Janeiro. The singer then says that it's time to party and dance samba. She warns others not to mess with her, saying that she is the girl of Oyá, an Afro-Brazilian goddess of winds, lightning, and violent storms. The singer then invokes Oyá, giving her faith and asking for her blessings, while also making offerings to other deities such as Oxalá.
The chorus of the song is an invitation to join the carnival parade of Mangueira, which is known for its dengo (graceful and charming) baianas (women from Bahia), who wear voluminous skirts and headwraps adorned with beads and flowers. The singer says that she lets the samba take control, and she dances with joy and devotion. In the second verse, the singer imagines herself performing in a theater, where her voice becomes a portrait of Brazilian culture and identity. She dreams that she embodies all the poetry, artistry, and resilience of her people. She compares herself to a bee queen, a wounded animal, and a song embroiderer. She also mentions musical instruments such as the pandeiro (a type of frame drum) and the viola (a plucked string instrument). Finally, the singer expresses her feeling of being part of a circus troupe that flies in a green and pink tent, experiencing the thrill of living intensely.
Overall, the song Maria Bethânia celebrates the joy, spirituality, and creativity of Brazilian culture, as embodied by the singer who bears the name of the song. It evokes the syncretism of African, Indigenous, and European influences that have shaped the country's identity, and asserts the power of music and dance to express and heal the joys and sorrows of life.
Line by Line Meaning
Quem me chamou Mangueira
Someone called me to Mangueira
Chegou a hora, não dá mais pra segurar
The time has come, it can't be held back anymore
Quem me chamou, chamou pra sambar
Whoever called me, called me to samba
Não mexe comigo, eu sou a menina de Oyá
Don't mess with me, I am the girl of Oyá
Raiou, senhora mãe da tempestade
Dawn broke, lady mother of the storm
A sua força me invade, o vento sopra e anuncia
Your strength invades me, the wind blows and announces
Oyá Entrego a ti a minha fé
Oyá, I give you my faith
O abebé reluz axé
The abebé shines with axé
Fiz um pedido pro Bonfim abençoar
I made a request for Bonfim to bless
Oxalá, Xeu Êpa Babá
Oxalá, Xeu Êpa Babá
Oh Minha Santa me proteja, me alumia
Oh my Santa, protect me, enlighten me
Trago no peito o Rosário de Maria
I carry the Rosary of Maria in my heart
Sinto o perfume, mel, pitanga e dendê
I feel the scent of honey, pitanga and dendê
No embalo do xirê, começou a cantoria
To the rhythm of xirê, the singing began
Vou no toque do tambor ô ô ô
I go to the beat of the drum ô ô ô
Deixo o samba me levar, saravá
I let the samba take me, saravá
É no dengo da baiana, meu sinhô
It's in the dengo of the baiana, my lord
Que a Mangueira vai passar
That the Mangueira will pass
Voa carcará Leva meu dom ao Teatro Opinião
Fly, carcará, take my talent to Teatro Opinião
Faz da minha voz um retrato desse chão
Make my voice a portrait of this ground
Sonhei que nessa noite de magia
I dreamed that on this magical night
Em cena, encarno toda poesia
On stage, I embody all poetry
Sou abelha rainha, fera ferida, bordadeira da canção
I am the queen bee, wounded beast, embroiderer of the song
De pé descalço, puxo o verso e abro a roda
Barefoot, I pull the verse and open the circle
Firmo na palma, no pandeiro e na viola
I make my mark on the palm, on the pandeiro and on the viola
Sou trapezista num céu de lona verde e rosa
I am a trapeze artist in a green and pink canvas sky
Que hoje brinca de viver a emoção
That today plays with living the emotion
Explode coração
Heart explodes
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: Alexandre Augusto Panzoldo, Braz Almyr Tartarone Filho, Carlos Eduardo Zugliani De Sa, Lacir Alves De Oliveira, Paulo Soares Ramos, Renan Brandao Alves
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Yurungai
O ARRANJO DESSE SOM É MUITO FODAA! Olha essas cordas no fim AA
Arno Ar gueta
sem dúvida minha música favorita do Caetano... uma música quase uma oração entre o mar e o sertão baiano, porém feito no exilio. Só Caetano pra genialidade dessa.
easylistening77
written and recorded during his exile to Britain. rough time but this is what came out of that experience.
Lucas Andrade
O refrão dessa música me mata ❤️🔥
Πρακτορείο Αλεξάνδεια Ημαθίας
PERFECT PERFECT SONG,. CAETANO WE LOVE YOU FROM GREECE!!!!!
marco antonio barreto
Se n é Caetano! 🤦🏻♀️🤣
O que seria da verdade, nesses dias?!
Gente, traduz a música, antes de só ouvir o refrão!!!!
Ou entao, falem o indioma da música!🤦🏻♀️🤣
Amo esse cara! ❤️
Adriano Dias Casais
What a poet!👏👏👏
n
perfeito ♥️
Cristian Rodrigues de Freitas
Acho que Bethania estava longe quando Caetano compos esta música... e eu aqui tomando uma cervejinha na vespera de carnaval!!
patoorange
Amazing song. Caetano is god.