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.
Minha Mulher
Caetano Veloso Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Que você é muito minha filha
Mas na verdade
Você é bem mais minha mãe
Meu bichinho bonito
Meu bichinho bonito
Meu bichinho bonito
Tudo é mesmo muito grande assim
Minha mulher
Minha mulher
Minha mulher
Quem vê assim pensa
Que você é muito minha filha
Mas na verdade
Você é bem mais minha mãe
Meu bichinho bonito
Meu bichinho bonito
Tudo é mesmo muito grande assim
Porque Deus quer
Minha mulher
Minha mulher
Minha mulher
Quando eu for velho
Quando eu for velhinho
Bem velhinho
Como seremos?
Como serei?
Como será?
Meu bichinho bonito
Meu bichinho bonito
Meu bichinho bonito
Tudo é mesmo muito grande assim
Porque Deus quer
Minha mulher
Minha mulher
Minha mulher
The lyrics of Caetano Veloso's "Minha Mulher" speaks about a complex and layered relationship, where the singer addresses their partner as both "my little daughter" and "my beautiful pet," implying that this woman is both a source of nurturing and protection as well as desire and adoration for the singer. The use of the words 'daughter' and 'mother' in the lyrics creates an ironic tension between the roles of caregiver and lover, the ways in which we love, and the power dynamics inherent in a relationship. The line "Tudo é mesmo muito grande assim / Porque Deus quer" could be interpreted as a sense of acceptance and awe of how vast and intricate the relationship between two people can be, almost as if it is part of God's plan.
The second half of the song moves into a meditation on old age and the unknown future, with the singer asking questions about what will become of them when they are "old and gray." This brings into play the theme of mortality, where the future is uncertain, and there is a sense of inevitability that comes with the passing of time. Through all of this, the woman remains a constant presence, a source of comfort and stability amidst the unknown.
Line by Line Meaning
Quem vê assim pensa
People who see us together might think you are my daughter, but the truth is that you are more of a mother figure to me.
Que você é muito minha filha
They might mistake you for my young daughter.
Mas na verdade
But really,
Você é bem mais minha mãe
you are more like a mother to me.
Meu bichinho bonito
My cute little pet
Meu bichinho bonito
My cute little pet
Meu bichinho bonito
My cute little pet
Tudo é mesmo muito grande assim
Everything seems much larger than life
Porque Deus quer
Because God wills it
Minha mulher
My woman
Minha mulher
My woman
Minha mulher
My woman
Quando eu for velho
When I am old
Quando eu for velhinho
When I am very old
Bem velhinho
Very old
Como seremos?
What will we be like?
Como serei?
What will I be like?
Como será?
What will it be like?
Meu bichinho bonito
My cute little pet
Meu bichinho bonito
My cute little pet
Meu bichinho bonito
My cute little pet
Tudo é mesmo muito grande assim
Everything seems much larger than life
Porque Deus quer
Because God wills it
Minha mulher
My woman
Minha mulher
My woman
Minha mulher
My woman
Contributed by Caleb M. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
BETO
Caetano era foda naquele tempo; muita poesia, sutil e delicada; uma ode à paixão, certamente!
Marlúccia Araújo
Caetano tatua a alma com palavras singelas e tocantes.
Valdson Tolentino Filho
Sem sombra de dúvida uma das mais belas músicas do Caetanos, sem falar nessa capa que é uma pérola!
of131ddfa
música linda
Marcos Vinícios Botelho
Essa música é do tipo que faz sentido e fica bonita pra quem acompanha Caetano completo, não por partes. Acho que por isso o estranhamento, ele tem bastante coisa nesse sentido. Muita coisa bela, mas não pra todos.
Jenny Marcela Rodríguez Andrade
Amé,.amo y amaré esta canción.
Jorge Luiz Lopes jorge
Estava morando no Extremo sul da Bahia, Vitória/Es a 230 kms, ouvia muito essa música com muita saudades de Salvador
Deborah Sartorio
Essa musica é tao linda, que dói.
Ronau Gomes
Dedicando a minha mulher.
Marcelo Arruda
Linda canção...