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.
Outro
Caetano Veloso Lyrics
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Quando eu passar por você
Você nem vai me reconhecer
Quando eu passar por você
Você nem vai me reconhecer
Quando eu passar por você
De cara alegre e cruel
Acendendo-se no escuro
Cascavel
Eriçada na moita
Concentrada e afoita
Eu já chorei muito por você
Também já fiz você chorar
Agora olhe pra lá porque
Eu fui me embora
Você nem vai me reconhecer
Quando eu passar por você
Você nem vai me reconhecer
Quando eu passar por você
Você nem vai me reconhecer
Quando eu passar por você
De cara alegre e cruel
Feliz e mau como um pau duro
Acendendo-se no escuro
Cascavel
Eriçada na moita
Concentrada e afoita
Eu já chorei muito por você
Também já fiz você chorar
Agora olhe pra lá porque
Eu fui me embora
Você nem vai me reconhecer
Quando eu passar por você
Você nem vai me reconhecer
Quando eu passar por você
Você nem vai me reconhecer
Quando eu passar por você
Você nem vai me reconhecer
Quando eu passar por você
De cara alegre e cruel
Feliz e mau como um pau duro
Acendendo-se no escuro
Cascavel
Eriçada na moita
Concentrada e afoita
Eu já chorei muito por você
Também já fiz você chorar
Agora olhe pra lá porque
Eu fui me embora
Você nem vai me reconhecer
Quando eu passar por você
Caetano Veloso's song "Outro" is a poignant reflection on the nature of change and the toll that it takes on a relationship. From the opening lines, Veloso speaks to the idea that we may not recognize someone we once were close to when they resurface after a long absence. Through the repeated refrain of "Você nem vai me reconhecer quando eu passar por você" (You won't even recognize me when I pass by you), he highlights the way in which time and distance can alter our perception of others.
The song's use of the metaphor of a rattlesnake (cascavel) underscores the sense of danger and unpredictability that can accompany change. The snake is described as "erect in the thicket, concentrated and eager," a powerful manifestation of the emotional intensity that can arise when two people part ways. The final lines, "Eu já chorei muito por você, também já fiz você chorar / Agora olhe pra lá porque eu fui me embora" (I've cried a lot for you, I've made you cry too / Now look over there because I've gone away), emphasize the sense of finality that can come with separating from someone we care about deeply.
Overall, "Outro" captures the bittersweet nature of moving on, acknowledging the pain of leaving a relationship behind while also recognizing that it may be the best option for both parties involved.
Line by Line Meaning
Você nem vai me reconhecer
Quando eu passar por você
I have changed so much that you won't even recognize me when I walk by
De cara alegre e cruel
Feliz e mau como um pau duro
Acendendo-se no escuro
I am two-faced, happy and cruel, and my sexuality burns brightly in the dark
Cascavel
Eriçada na moita
Concentrada e afoita
I am like a rattlesnake, alert and poised in the bushes
Eu já chorei muito por você
Também já fiz você chorar
Agora olhe pra lá porque
Eu fui me embora
I have cried and made you cry too, but now I left, so please don't look back
Você nem vai me reconhecer
Quando eu passar por você
I have changed so much that you won't even recognize me when I walk by
Lyrics © TERRA ENTERPRISES, INC.
Written by: CAETANO EMMANUEL VIANA TELES VELOSO
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
JOZIE MARANHÃO
Demais.
Francisco Taboza
eriçada na moita!
Erick Mateus
Essa música me lembra Cher Antoine e Deixa o Verão do Los hermanos
Mayara Albuquerque
acendendo-se no escuro
David Leal
cascavel!