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.
Na baixa do sapateiro
Caetano Veloso Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
A morena mais frajola da Bahia
Pedi-lhe um beijo, não deu
Um abraço, sorriu
Pedi-lhe a mão
Não quis dar, fugiu
Bahia, terra da felicidade
Meu Senhor do Bonfim
Arranje outra morena igualzinha pra mim
Oh! amor, ai
Amor bobagem
Que a gente não explica, ai, ai
Prova um bocadinho, ô
Fica envenenado, ô
E pro resto da vida é um tal de sofrer
Ôlará, ôleré
Ô Bahia
Bahia que não me sai do pensamento
Ouve o meu lamento, ô
Na desesperança, ô
De encontrar nesse mundo
Um amor que eu perdi na Bahia, vou contar
Ô Bahia,
Bahia que não me sai do pensamento . . .
The lyrics of Caetano Veloso's song "Na Baixa do Sapateiro" describe the singer's encounter with a beautiful woman in the city of Salvador, in the state of Bahia in Brazil. The woman, described as the "most delicate" or "most fragile" (depending on the translation) of Bahia, initially rejects the singer's advances for a kiss, hug, and hand, but then smiles and runs away. The singer laments his lost chance with the woman and expresses his longing for the state of Bahia, which he describes as a land of happiness.
The lyrics capture the idea of fleeting love that leaves a lasting impression on the heart. The singer's pursuit of the woman is romantic but ultimately unsuccessful, and the song suggests that love is sometimes a game of chance that can result in heartache. The repeated refrain of "Ô Bahia" emphasizes the singer's nostalgia for the state and the people he has loved and lost there.
The song has become an anthem for Bahia, celebrating the state's unique culture, music, and people. It is often played during the Carnival festivities in Salvador and has been covered by many artists, including Frank Sinatra. The song's popularity has helped to solidify it as a classic of Brazilian music.
Line by Line Meaning
Na Baixa do Sapateiro eu encontrei um dia
I once found myself in the Lowlands of Sapateiro on a day
A morena mais frajola da Bahia
There, I saw the most delicate and charming brunette in all of Bahia
Pedi-lhe um beijo, não deu
I asked for a kiss, but she refused
Um abraço, sorriu
I asked for a hug, and she only smiled
Pedi-lhe a mão
I then requested her hand in marriage
Não quis dar, fugiu
But she refused and ran away
Bahia, terra da felicidade
Bahia - the land of happiness
Morena, eu ando louco de saudade
I'm going crazy with missing that brown-skinned girl
Meu Senhor do Bonfim
My Lord of Bonfim
Arranje outra morena igualzinha pra mim
Please find me another girl just like her
Oh! amor, ai
Oh, love! My goodness!
Amor bobagem
Love can be such a silly thing
Que a gente não explica, ai, ai
It's something that cannot be explained
Prova um bocadinho, ô
But once you taste it a little
Fica envenenado, ô
You become utterly poisoned
E pro resto da vida é um tal de sofrer
And for the rest of your life, you suffer greatly
Ôlará, ôleré
Oh-lar-ah, oh-lei-rei
Ô Bahia
Oh, Bahia
Bahia que não me sai do pensamento
Bahia, you never leave my thoughts
Ouve o meu lamento, ô
Hear my lament
Na desesperança, ô
In despair
De encontrar nesse mundo
Of finding, in this world
Um amor que eu perdi na Bahia, vou contar
The love I lost in Bahia, I shall recount
Contributed by Ava N. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
StraightAway Project
Ô Bahia, iaiá
Bahia que não me sai do pensamento
Faço o meu lamento, oi
Na desesperança, oi
De encontrar nesse mundo
O amor que eu perdi na Bahia
Vou contar
Na Baixa do Sapateiro
Eu encontrei um dia
A morena mais frajola da Bahia
Pedi um beijo, não deu
Um abraço, sorriu
Pedi a mão, não quis dar
Fugiu
Bahia, terra de felicidade
Morena, ah morena
Eu ando louco de saudade
Meu Senhor do Bonfim
Arranje outra morena
Igualzinha prá mim
Ai Bahia, iaiá
Lais Denise Amaral
Minha Vahia. Minha Salvador. Amo demais...
Denise Amaral 🤩 Salvador Bahia 🤩 Brasil
Augusto Nomberto
wonderful arrangement
Helio Monteiro
Que baile! ♥️
Fahid Tahan Sab
Homenagem ao aniversário de Salvador
laurenlucille
where are the lyrics for this?
Luis Caprara
Me ajudem:
Temos aí um naipe de saxes, um trombone baixo e um trompete?
A interpretação de Caetano é linda.
Mas este arranjo de sopros é "Qualquer coisa..."!
magicguitarpedal
introdução horrivel, que coisa mais sintética, pode até ser real mas parece teclado, ou então teve os beats corrigidos no software de mixagem. Na execução real ninguem toca tão em cima do beat, as pessoas desencontram (porque é o normal do ser humano) e isso é que faz o realismo da execução. Alem de um arranjo muito besta.
Wesley Guedes
Eu achei a releitura e arranjo bastante interessante. Experimentação musical faz parte e acho que esse é o grande barato da música.