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.
Perdeu
Caetano Veloso Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Expeliu
Um Deus, um bicho
Um homem
Brotou alguém
Algum ninguém
O quê?
Surgiu, vagiu
Sumiu, escapuliu
No som, no sonho
Somem
São cem
São mil
São cem mil
Um milhão
Do mal, do bem
Lá vem um
Olhos vazios
De mata escura
E mar azul
Ai, dói no peito
Aparição assim
Vai na alvorada-manhã
Sai do mamilo marrom
O leite doce e sal
Tchau, mamãe
Valeu
Cresceu, vingou
Permaneceu, aprendeu
Nas bordas da favela
Mandou, julgou
Condenou, salvou
Executou, soltou
Prendeu
Colheu, esticou
Encolheu, matou
Furou, fodeu
Até ficar sem gosto
Ganhou, reganhou
Bateu, levou
Mamãe, perdeu, perdeu
Céu
Mar e mata
Mortos da luz desse olhar
Antes assim do que viver
Pequeno e bom
Não diz isso não
Diz isso não
A conta é outra
Têm que dar, têm que dar
Foi mal, papai
Anoiteceu
Brilhou, piscou
Bruxuleou
Ardeu, resplandeceu
A nave da cidade
O sol se pôs
Opôs, nasceu
E nada aconteceu
(2x):
O sol se pôs
Depois nasceu
E nada aconteceu
"Perdeu" by Caetano Veloso is a poetic song that explores the transient nature of life and the cyclical patterns of birth, growth, and decay. The lyrics begin by evoking the primal act of creation, with the spitting and expelling of a deity, an animal, and a human. From this fertile mixture emerges someone or something, and the questions of who and what remain unanswered. The song then moves through various phases of life, from infancy to adulthood, from love and hate to judgment and execution. The juxtaposition of natural images such as dark forests and blue seas with violent and destructive actions creates a tension that reflects the inherent contradictions of human behavior. The song concludes with a lament for the ephemeral nature of existence, underscored by the repeated refrain of the sun setting and rising without significant change.
At its core, "Perdeu" is an existential meditation on the human condition, highlighting the dualities of life and death, good and evil, and creation and destruction. The lyrics are richly poetic, full of vivid imagery and symbolism, and open to multiple interpretations. The song highlights the cycles of life, and the inevitability of change and mortality. Through its vivid language and musicality, "Perdeu" evokes the fragility and beauty of life, while also acknowledging its darker and more violent aspects.
Line by Line Meaning
Pariu, cuspiu
Creation and rejection
Expeliu
Exile
Um Deus, um bicho
A divine and animalistic origin
Um homem
A human emergence
Brotou alguém
Someone sprouted
Algum ninguém
A random person
O quê?
What?
A quem?
For whom?
Surgiu, vagiu
Birth and crying
Sumiu, escapuliu
Disappearance and escape
No som, no sonho
In sound and in dreams
Somem
They vanish
São cem
There are a hundred
São mil
There are a thousand
São cem mil
There are a hundred thousand
Um milhão
One million
Do mal, do bem
Of evil, of good
Lá vem um
Here comes one
Olhos vazios
Empty eyes
De mata escura
In a dark forest
E mar azul
And a blue sea
Ai, dói no peito
Ouch, it hurts in the chest
Aparição assim
Such an apparition
Vai na alvorada-manhã
Goes in the dawn-morning
Sai do mamilo marrom
Leaves the brown nipple
O leite doce e sal
The sweet and salty milk
Tchau, mamãe
Bye, mom
Valeu
Thanks
Cresceu, vingou
Grew up, triumphed
Permaneceu, aprendeu
Remained, learned
Nas bordas da favela
On the edges of the favela
Mandou, julgou
Ordered, judged
Condenou, salvou
Condemned, saved
Executou, soltou
Executed, released
Prendeu
Arrested
Colheu, esticou
Harvested, stretched
Encolheu, matou
Shrank, killed
Furou, fodeu
Pierced, fucked up
Até ficar sem gosto
Until it lost its taste
Ganhou, reganhou
Won, regained
Bateu, levou
Hit, took
Mamãe, perdeu, perdeu
Mom, lost, lost
Céu
Sky
Mar e mata
Sea and forest
Mortos da luz desse olhar
Dead from the light of this look
Antes assim do que viver
Better this way than to live
Pequeno e bom
Small and good
Não diz isso não
Don't say that, no
A conta é outra
The bill is different
Têm que dar, têm que dar
They have to give, they have to give
Foi mal, papai
Sorry, dad
Anoiteceu
Nightfall
Brilhou, piscou
Shone, blinked
Bruxuleou
Flickered
Ardeu, resplandeceu
Burned, shone brightly
A nave da cidade
The ship of the city
O sol se pôs
The sun set
Opôs, nasceu
Opposed, was born
E nada aconteceu
And nothing happened
Depois nasceu
Then it was born
E nada aconteceu
And nothing happened
Contributed by Caden M. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
kelmy b
Pariu, cuspiu
Expeliu
Um Deus, um bicho
Um homem
Brotou alguém
Algum ninguém
O quê?
A quem?
Surgiu, vagiu
Sumiu, escapuliu
No som, no sonho
Somem
São cem
São mil
São cem mil
Um milhão
Do mal, do bem
Lá vem um
Olhos vazios
De mata escura
E mar azul
Ai, dói no peito
Aparição assim
Vai na alvorada-manhã
Sai do mamilo marrom
O leite doce e sal
Tchau, mamãe
Valeu
Cresceu, vingou
Permaneceu, aprendeu
Nas bordas da favela
Mandou, julgou, condenou
Salvou, executou, soltou
Prendeu
Colheu, esticou
Encolheu, matou
Furou, fudeu
Até ficar sem gosto
Ganhou, reganhou
Bateu, levou
Mamãe, perdeu
Perdeu, perdeu
Céu
Mar e mata
Mortos da luz desse olhar
Antes assim do que viver
Pequeno e bom
Não diz isso não
Diz isso não
A conta é outra
Tem que dar, tem que dar
Foi mal, papai
Anoiteceu
Brilhou, piscou
Bruxuleou, ardeu, resplandeceu
A nave da cidade
O sol se pôs
Depois nasceu
E nada aconteceu
O sol se pôs
Depois nasceu
E nada aconteceu
O sol se pôs
Depois nasceu
E nada aconteceu
Patrick Guimarães
A genialidade de Caetano não se compara. REI !
Caetana Ednaldo da Silva
Eu gosto que só de Caetano.
Maria Clérici
tremendo