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.
Por Toda A Minha Vida
Caetano Veloso Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Quero fazer de um juramento
Uma canção
Eu prometo
Por toda a minha vida
Ser somente teu
Como nunca
Ninguém jamais
Amou ninguém
Minha bem-amada
Estrela pura, aparecida
Eu te amo
E te proclamo o meu amor
O meu amor
Maior que tudo quanto existe
Ó meu amor
Ó meu amor
These beautiful and romantic lyrics are from the song "Por Toda a Minha Vida" by Caetano Veloso. The song is about a man declaring his eternal love and promising to be faithful to his beloved for the rest of his life. The opening lines, "Minha bem amada, quero fazer de um juramento uma canção" (My beloved, I want to turn a vow into a song), express the singer's desire to make a solemn promise to his lover in the form of music.
The verses that follow, "Eu prometo por toda a minha vida ser somente teu, e amar-te como nunca ninguém jamais amou ninguém" (I promise to be only yours for my entire life, and to love you like no one ever loved another), further reinforce the idea of an undying love that will never fade away. When the singer says "like no one ever loved another," he is implying that his love is unique and unparalleled among all others.
The chorus of the song, "Minha bem-amada, estrela pura, aparecida, eu te amo, e te proclamo o meu amor" (My beloved, pure star that has appeared, I love you, and I proclaim my love for you), reinforces the idea of the singer's intense and passionate feeling towards his lover. He compares her to a pure star, which implies a sense of beauty and transcendence, emphasizing the notion of a love that is out of this world.
Overall, "Por Toda a Minha Vida" is a beautiful and deeply romantic song that speaks of a love that will last forever. It expresses the desire for commitment, faithfulness, and an undying passion that will never wane.
Line by Line Meaning
Minha bem amada
My beloved
Quero fazer de um juramento
I want to turn a promise
Uma canção
Into a song
Eu prometo
I promise
Por toda a minha vida
For all my life
Ser somente teu
To be only yours
E amar-te
And love you
Como nunca
Like never
Ninguém jamais
Nobody ever
Amou ninguém
Loved anyone
Minha bem-amada
My beloved
Estrela pura, aparecida
Pure star, revealed
Eu te amo
I love you
E te proclamo o meu amor
And proclaim my love for you
O meu amor
My love
Maior que tudo quanto existe
Greater than everything that exists
Ó meu amor
Oh my love
Writer(s): Antonio Carlos Jobim, Vinicius De Moraes
Contributed by Layla O. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
@TheElite2001
Ó, meu bem amado
Quero fazer de um juramento uma canção
Eu prometo por toda a minha vida
Ser somente tua e amar-te como nunca
Ninguém jamais amou ninguém
Ó, meu bem amado
Estrela pura aparecida
Eu te amo e te proclamo
O meu amor, o meu amor
Maior que tudo quanto existe
@MarlonAmaro
Caetano visivelmente emocionado na expressão e na voz, Quando o coração bate forte, o ar falta mesmo.
@adrianagonzalez595
Emocionante.... No pude evitar las lágrimas impetusas que no dejaron de correr por mi rostro... Pero venían del alma 💞
@Steve-ps4bk
Ci sono canzoni che interpretate da Veloso fanno sussultare il cuore.
@danielemarques1859
"Mesmo que ele morrido. Ele continua guardado em meu coração. Te amo J.C "💔🖤
@danielemarques1859
Vou te amar por toda vida,J.C! 🖤💔🖤
@zeh_vidal
Perfeito.
@ritadecassiadonascimentosi6952
Oh Música linda.
é linda na voz de Elis e na Voz de Caetano Também... 😍😍👏👏
@mariafernandamoco8545
Tão bonito que até dói
@davivilela5750
Emocionante!!!! Arrepiado!!!
@rachelsilva1587
Que pérola, nos toca profundamente .💥🌟