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 Joana
Caetano Veloso Lyrics
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Nem batucada quem não tem um pandeiro
Não vive bem quem nunca teve dinheiro
Nem tem casa pra morar
Não cai na roda quem tem perna bamba
Não é de nada quem não é de samba
Não tem valor quem vive de muamba
Pra não ter que trabalhar
Porque eu não vou deixar a vida sem viver
Mas acontece que a Maria Joana
Acha que é pobre, mas nasceu pra bacana
Mora comigo, mesmo assim não me engana
Ela pensa em me deixar
Já decidiu que vai vencer na vida
Saiu de casa toda colorida
Levou dinheiro pra comprar comida
Mas não sei se vai voltar
Eu vou perguntar
Joana, o que aconteceu?
Dinheiro não faz você mais rica do que eu
The lyrics of Caetano Veloso and Gal Costa's song Maria Joana talk about the importance of having certain things in life to be able to fully live it. The song begins with the idea that if you don't have a "terreiro" (a space to practice Afro-Brazilian religions), then there's no point in pretending you know how to practice it. Similarly, if you don't have a "pandeiro" (a Brazilian percussion instrument), you can't play a "batucada" (a type of Brazilian drumming), and if you've never had money, then you don't really know what it's like to live comfortably in a house. The lyrics argue that certain things in life are necessary to fully live and understand them.
The song's title character, Maria Joana, is presented as someone who thinks she's poor but actually comes from a wealthy family. She lives with the singer, but the singer suspects that she's planning to leave him to pursue her own success. Joana takes money with her when she leaves, but the singer questions whether that's enough to truly make her rich. The lyrics seem to be suggesting that the pursuit of wealth and status can be hollow and deceptive, and that true happiness and fulfillment come from living authentically and appreciating what you have.
Line by Line Meaning
Não faz feitiço quem não tem um terreiro
You can't practice witchcraft if you don't have a space for it.
Nem batucada quem não tem um pandeiro
You can't play batucada if you don't have a pandeiro.
Não vive bem quem nunca teve dinheiro
One can't live well without ever having money.
Nem tem casa pra morar
And one can't have a home to live in.
Não cai na roda quem tem perna bamba
One can't dance in the roda if they have shaky legs.
Não é de nada quem não é de samba
One is nothing if they're not into samba.
Não tem valor quem vive de muamba
One has no value if they're only into cheap, informal trade goods.
Pra não ter que trabalhar
So that they don't have to work.
Eu vou procurar um jeito de não padecer
I'm going to find a way not to suffer.
Porque eu não vou deixar a vida sem viver
Because I won't let life pass me by without living it.
Mas acontece que a Maria Joana
But the thing is, Maria Joana
Acha que é pobre, mas nasceu pra bacana
Thinks she's poor, but she was born to be a socialite.
Mora comigo, mesmo assim não me engana
Lives with me, but still doesn't fool me.
Ela pensa em me deixar
She's thinking about leaving me.
Já decidiu que vai vencer na vida
She's already decided that she's going to be successful in life.
Saiu de casa toda colorida
Left the house all dressed up.
Levou dinheiro pra comprar comida
Took money to buy food.
Mas não sei se vai voltar
But I don't know if she'll come back.
Eu vou perguntar
I'm going to ask her.
Joana, o que aconteceu?
Joana, what happened?
Dinheiro não faz você mais rica do que eu
Money doesn't make you richer than me.
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
Written by: SIDNEY MILLER
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind