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.
Paisagem Util
Caetano Veloso Lyrics
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Sobre o espaço do Aterro
Sobre o espaço, sobre o mar
O mar vai longe do Flamengo
O céu vai longe e suspenso
Em mastros firmes e lentos
Frio palmeiral de cimento
O céu vai longe do Outeiro
O céu vai longe da Glória
O céu vai longe suspenso
Em luzes de luas mortas
Luzes de uma nova aurora
Que mantém a grama nova
E o dia sempre nascendo
Quem vai ao cinema
Quem vai ao teatro
Quem vai ao trabalho
Quem vai descansar
Quem canta, quem canta
Quem pensa na vida
Quem olha a avenida
Quem espera voltar
Os automóveis parecem voar
Os automóveis parecem voar
Mas já se acende e flutua
No alto do céu uma lua
Oval, vermelha e azul
No alto do céu do Rio
Uma lua oval da Esso
Comove e ilumina o beijo
Dos pobres tristes felizes
Corações amantes do nosso Brasil
The lyrics of Caetano Veloso's song "Paisagem Util" (Useful Landscape) describe a scene of open-eyed observation of the surroundings, particularly focusing on the Aterro do Flamengo, a park in Rio de Janeiro. The singer reflects on the vastness of the sea and the sky, emphasizing their distance from the Flamengo neighborhood and their suspended presence in the city. Descriptions of the sky extending beyond other landmarks like Outeiro and Glória further emphasize the vastness and expansiveness of nature.
The lyrics also touch upon the mundaneness of everyday life, as people go to the cinema, theater, work, or rest. The repetition of "Quem vai" (Who goes) highlights the various activities and thoughts individuals engage in. Meanwhile, the mention of the cars appearing to fly suggests a sense of speed and movement in the city.
The song takes a poetic turn towards the end as it depicts a moon floating in the sky, specifically mentioning the iconic Esso moon (Esso being an oil company). The moon becomes a symbol of beauty and inspiration, bringing a sense of awe and illumination to the lives of the "pobres tristes felizes" (happy sad poor people) and the hearts of those who love their country, Brazil.
Line by Line Meaning
Olhos abertos em vento
Eyes open in the wind
Sobre o espaço do Aterro
Above the Aterro's space
Sobre o espaço, sobre o mar
Above the space, above the sea
O mar vai longe do Flamengo
The sea goes far from Flamengo
O céu vai longe e suspenso
The sky goes far and suspended
Em mastros firmes e lentos
In firm and slow masts
Frio palmeiral de cimento
Cold palm grove of cement
O céu vai longe do Outeiro
The sky goes far from Outeiro
O céu vai longe da Glória
The sky goes far from Glória
O céu vai longe suspenso
The sky goes far and suspended
Em luzes de luas mortas
In lights of dead moons
Luzes de uma nova aurora
Lights of a new dawn
Que mantém a grama nova
That keeps the grass new
E o dia sempre nascendo
And the day always dawning
Quem vai ao cinema
Who goes to the cinema
Quem vai ao teatro
Who goes to the theater
Quem vai ao trabalho
Who goes to work
Quem vai descansar
Who goes to rest
Quem canta, quem canta
Who sings, who sings
Quem pensa na vida
Who thinks about life
Quem olha a avenida
Who looks at the avenue
Quem espera voltar
Who waits to return
Os automóveis parecem voar
The cars seem to fly
Mas já se acende e flutua
But already lights up and floats
No alto do céu uma lua
In the high of the sky a moon
Oval, vermelha e azul
Oval, red and blue
No alto do céu do Rio
In the high of Rio's sky
Uma lua oval da Esso
An oval moon from Esso
Comove e ilumina o beijo
Moves and illuminates the kiss
Dos pobres tristes felizes
Of the sad happy poor
Corações amantes do nosso Brasil
Loving hearts of our Brazil
Lyrics © Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: Caetano Emmanuel Viana Teles Veloso
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind