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.
No Dia Que Eu Vim-Me Embora
Caetano Veloso Lyrics
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Minha mãe chorava em ai
Minha irmã chorava em ui
E eu nem olhava pra trás
No dia que eu vim-me embora
Não teve nada de mais
Mala de couro forrada com pano forte brim cáqui
Minha mãe até a porta
Minha irmã até a rua
E até o porto meu pai
O qual não disse palavra durante todo o caminho
E quando eu me vi sozinho
Vi que não entendia nada
Nem de pro que eu ia indo
Nem dos sonhos que eu sonhava
Senti apenas que a mala de couro que eu carregava
Embora estando forrada
Fedia, cheirava mal
Afora isto ia indo, atravessando, seguindo
Nem chorando nem sorrindo
Sozinho pra Capital
Nem chorando nem sorrindo
Sozinho pra Capital
Sozinho pra Capital
Sozinho pra Capital
Sozinho pra Capital
The lyrics of Caetano Veloso's song "No dia que eu vim-me embora" portray the emotional turmoil of leaving one's hometown for an unknown future. The singer describes leaving his family and hometown without looking back even as his mother and sister weep. He is numb to the people and places he is leaving behind, only aware of the foul smell emanating from his leather suitcase. As he travels alone to the Capital, he is neither happy nor sad but instead is filled with uncertainty about his future.
The song represents the complex emotions that come with leaving home and starting a new life. The singer is torn between his desire for independence and fear of the unknown. His family's sorrow reminds him of the gravity of his decision, yet he remains resolute in his desire to move forward. Furthermore, the reference to the malodor emanating from his suitcase suggests that the singer has been carrying emotional baggage, while the absence of any mention of what he is leaving behind implies that he may not have fully processed his decision.
The song has a universal appeal to anyone who has ever left their home, marking Veloso as an insightful lyricist who truly knows how to create an emotional resonance with his audience.
Line by Line Meaning
No dia em que eu vim-me embora
On the day I left,
Minha mãe chorava em ai
My mother cried 'ai'
Minha irmã chorava em ui
My sister cried 'ui'
E eu nem olhava pra trás
And I didn't even look back
Não teve nada de mais
There was nothing special about it
Mala de couro forrada com pano forte brim cáqui
Leather suitcase lined with strong khaki fabric
Minha vó já quase morta
My grandma, who was almost dead
Minha mãe até a porta
My mother to the door
Minha irmã até a rua
My sister to the street
E até o porto meu pai
And my father to the port
O qual não disse palavra durante todo o caminho
He didn't say a word the whole way
E quando eu me vi sozinho
And when I found myself alone
Vi que não entendia nada
I realized I didn't understand anything
Nem de pro que eu ia indo
Not even why I was going there
Nem dos sonhos que eu sonhava
Nor the dreams I dreamed
Senti apenas que a mala de couro que eu carregava
I only felt that the leather suitcase I carried
Embora estando forrada
Even though it was lined
Fedia, cheirava mal
Smelled bad
Afora isto ia indo, atravessando, seguindo
Besides that, I was going, crossing, following
Nem chorando nem sorrindo
Neither crying nor smiling
Sozinho pra Capital
Alone to the capital
Sozinho pra Capital
Alone to the capital
Sozinho pra Capital
Alone to the capital
Sozinho pra Capital
Alone to the capital
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: Emanuel Viana Teles Veloso Caetano, Gilberto Passos Gil Moreira
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind