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.
Piaba
Caetano Veloso Lyrics
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Gastar tanta energia pra nada
Piaba, piaba
Mas é comigo que o mergulho
Um dia você vai dar
Piaba, piaba
Gastar tanta energia pra nada
Mas é comigo que o mergulho
Um dia você dá
Um cardume de surfistas
Anda zanzando à sua procura
Deslizando sobre as cristas
Das ondas do mar dessa loucura
Piaba e acaba, ninguém te ganha
Acaba ninguém te fatura
Pois nesses três dias
É só comigo que você fatura
The song "Piaba" by Caetano Veloso is a cautionary tale about a fish called piaba. The fish is a metaphor for anyone who puts in a lot of effort in vain, and comes across as unnecessary. The lyrics question the fish's intelligence, asking why it expends so much energy for nothing. It also talks about the fish's destiny, which is to one day end up caught by the singer. The song takes a philosophical approach, delving into the idea that we are all like piabas, expending unnecessary energy and, ultimately, subject to fate.
One can also interpret the song as a warning to those who seek pleasure and adrenaline-fueled pursuits, like a school of surfers chasing waves. The lyrics suggest the transience of these experiences, that they are fleeting and ultimately, meaningless. The singer advises that one should be careful about where they expend their energy and to whom they give their loyalty. Ultimately the fish, and by extension the listener, will have to face up to the choices made in life and the inevitability of fate.
Line by Line Meaning
Piaba, piaba
Referring to a small and insignificant fish, as if calling someone weak or unimportant.
Gastar tanta energia pra nada
Spending a lot of energy on things that are ultimately pointless or futile.
Mas é comigo que o mergulho / Um dia você vai dar
Implying that even though the person being called piaba may be insignificant now, they will eventually come to rely on the singer for success or to dive deeper into something deeper.
Um cardume de surfistas / Anda zanzando à sua procura / Deslizando sobre as cristas / Das ondas do mar dessa loucura
A group of surfers are searching for something, trying to find their way in the chaotic waves of life.
Piaba e acaba, ninguém te ganha / Acaba ninguém te fatura
Being piaba means that you are easily caught and have little value or reward. No one will benefit or profit from you.
Pois nesses três dias / É só comigo que você fatura
In a limited time frame or specific situation, the singer is the only person who can help the other person succeed or gain profit.
Contributed by Colton E. Suggest a correction in the comments below.