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.
Noite De Hotel
Caetano Veloso Lyrics
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A antena parabólica só capta videoclips
Diluição em água poluída
(E a poluição é química e não orgânica)
Do sangue do poeta
Cantilena diabólica, mímica pateta
Noite de hotel
Em que não reconheço o anjo torto de Carlos
Nem o outro
Só fúria e alegria
Pra quem titia Jagger pedia simpatia
Noite de hotel
Ódio a Graham Bell e à telefonia
(Chamada transatlântica)
Não sei o que dizer
A essa mulher potente e iluminada
Que sabe me explicar perfeitamente
E não me entende
E não me entende nada
Noite de hotel
Estou a zero, sempre o grande otário
E nunca o ato mero de compor uma canção
Pra mim foi tão desesperadamente necessário
The song "Noite de Hotel" by Caetano Veloso reflects the feelings of the poet staying in a hotel room. The first few lines talk about how the only thing that the satellite antenna can capture are music videos, which dilute into polluted water, signifying the degradation of art in contemporary society. The mention of chemical pollution hints at how even the blood of the poet is contaminated with the poison of modernity, making it difficult for him to write. The cantilena diabólica and mímica pateta suggest that the poet's creative process is fraught with struggle and internal conflict, as he tries to express himself in a world that doesn't seem to understand him.
As the song progresses, the poet talks about the presence of Satan in his hotel room, but it's not the traditional, recognizable image of the devil that he sees. Instead, he feels a mix of anger and joy, which are emotions that are difficult to reconcile. He also mentions Titia Jagger, which is probably a reference to the Rolling Stones' frontman Mick Jagger's aunt, who was an important figure in his life. This is followed by a mention of hatred towards Graham Bell and telephony, possibly hinting at the alienation that technology has brought in modern society. The woman on the phone is described as potent and illuminating, but even though she perfectly understands what he's saying, she doesn't really understand him.
The last lines of the song paint a picture of the poet feeling like a zero and a great fool, and not being able to write an ordinary song, which he feels is a desperate necessity. These lines reveal a sense of frustration and despair at not being able to create something meaningful in a world that's full of noise and distractions.
Line by Line Meaning
Noite de hotel
It's a night spent in a hotel
A antena parabólica só capta videoclips
The only thing the satellite dish captures is music videos
Diluição em água poluída
Dilution in polluted water
(E a poluição é química e não orgânica)
(And the pollution is chemical and not organic)
Do sangue do poeta
Of the poet's blood
Cantilena diabólica, mímica pateta
Diabolic cantilena, silly mime
E a presença satânica é a de um diabo morto
And the satanic presence is that of a dead devil
Em que não reconheço o anjo torto de Carlos
I don't recognize the twisted angel of Carlos
Nem o outro
Nor the other
Só fúria e alegria
Only rage and joy
Pra quem titia Jagger pedia simpatia
For whom Aunt Jagger asked for sympathy
Ódio a Graham Bell e à telefonia
Hate towards Graham Bell and telephony
(Chamada transatlântica)
(Transatlantic call)
Não sei o que dizer
I don't know what to say
A essa mulher potente e iluminada
To this powerful and enlightened woman
Que sabe me explicar perfeitamente
Who knows how to explain perfectly to me
E não me entende
And doesn't understand me
E não me entende nada
And doesn't understand anything about me
Estou a zero, sempre o grande otário
I'm at zero, always the big fool
E nunca o ato mero de compor uma canção
And never just the mere act of composing a song
Pra mim foi tão desesperadamente necessário
For me, it was so desperately necessary
Contributed by Alyssa J. Suggest a correction in the comments below.