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.
Rock'n'Raul
Caetano Veloso Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
A minha luta foi exibir
Uma vontade fela-da-puta
De ser americano
(E hoje olha os mano)
De ficar só no Arkansas
Dias ruins em New Orleans
O grande mago em Chicago
Ter um rancho de éter no Texas
Uma plantation de maconha no Wyoming
Nada de axé, Dodô e Curuzu
A verdadeira Bahia é o Rio Grande do Sul
Rock 'n' me
Rock 'n' you
Rock 'n' roll
Rock 'n' Raul
Hoje qualquer zé-mané
Qualquer caetano
Pode dizer
Que na Bahia
Meu Krig-Ha Bandolo
É puro ouro de tolo
(E o lobo bolo)
Mas minha alegria
Minha ironia
É bem maior do que essa porcaria
Ter um rancho de éter no Texas
Uma plantation de maconha no Wyoming
Nada de axé, Dodô e Curuzu
A verdadeira Bahia é o Rio Grande do Sul
Rock 'n' me
Rock 'n' you
Rock 'n' roll
Rock 'n' Raul
The lyrics to Caetano Veloso's song "Rock'n'Raul" depict the journey of a Brazilian who wants to be American. The individual wants nothing to do with Brazilian cultural elements like the music genre "axe" or the famous places Dodô and Curuzu. Instead, he desires to immerse himself in American culture by going to various American states such as Arkansas, California, New Orleans, and Chicago. He imagines himself having a ranch in Texas and a plantation of marijuana in Wyoming. The individual seems to be drawn to the American lifestyle, and the line "rock 'n' me, rock 'n' you, rock 'n' roll, rock 'n' Raul" portrays his love for rock music and how it connects him to his Brazilian roots and the influence of the famous Brazilian rock star, Raul Seixas.
The song is a commentary on the cultural and political influences of America on Brazil, particularly during the 1970s when the country was facing an oppressive dictatorship. The lyrics can be interpreted as a yearning for the freedoms and opportunities that America represented. The line "Meu Krig-Ha Bandolo é puro ouro de tolo" is a reference to one of Caetano Veloso's albums called "Araçá Azul," where he experimented with avant-garde music that was controversial and polarizing at the time. The line is also a nod to Raul Seixas, who collaborated with Veloso on the album.
Line by Line Meaning
Quando eu passei por aqui
When I passed by here
A minha luta foi exibir
My struggle was to exhibit
Uma vontade fela-da-puta
A damn strong desire
De ser americano
To be American
(E hoje olha os mano)
(And today look at these guys)
De ficar só no Arkansas
To stay only in Arkansas
Esbórnia na Califórnia
Wild partying in California
Dias ruins em New Orleans
Bad days in New Orleans
O grande mago em Chicago
The great wizard in Chicago
Ter um rancho de éter no Texas
To have an ether ranch in Texas
Uma plantation de maconha no Wyoming
A marijuana plantation in Wyoming
Nada de axé, Dodô e Curuzu
No axé, Dodô or Curuzu
A verdadeira Bahia é o Rio Grande do Sul
The true Bahia is Rio Grande do Sul
Rock 'n' me
Rock me
Rock 'n' you
Rock you
Rock 'n' roll
Rock and roll
Rock 'n' Raul
Rock and Raul
Hoje qualquer zé-mané
Today any zé-mané
Qualquer caetano
Any Caetano
Pode dizer
Can say
Que na Bahia
That in Bahia
Meu Krig-Ha Bandolo
My Krig-Ha Bandolo
É puro ouro de tolo
Is pure gold for fools
(E o lobo bolo)
(And the stupid wolf)
Mas minha alegria
But my joy
Minha ironia
My irony
É bem maior do que essa porcaria
Is much bigger than this crap
Ter um rancho de éter no Texas
To have an ether ranch in Texas
Uma plantation de maconha no Wyoming
A marijuana plantation in Wyoming
Nada de axé, Dodô e Curuzu
No axé, Dodô or Curuzu
A verdadeira Bahia é o Rio Grande do Sul
The true Bahia is Rio Grande do Sul
Rock 'n' me
Rock me
Rock 'n' you
Rock you
Rock 'n' roll
Rock and roll
Rock 'n' Raul
Rock and Raul
Contributed by Madelyn A. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
@suellemmadureirasaraiva2155
Quando eu passei por aqui
A minha luta foi exibir
Uma vontade fela-da-puta
De ser americano
(E hoje olha os mano) 2x
De ficar só no Arkansas
Esbórnia na Califórnia
Dias ruins em New Orleans
O grande mago em Chicago
Ter um rancho de éter no Texas
Uma plantation de maconha no Wyoming
Nada de axé, Dodô e Curuzu
A verdadeira Bahia é o Rio Grande do Sul
Rock'n'me
Rock'n'you
Rock'n'roll
Rock'n'Raul 2x
Hoje qualquer zé-mané
Qualquer caetano
Pode dizer
Que na Bahia
Meu Krig-Ha Bandolo
É puro ouro de tolo
(E o lobo bolo) 2x
Mas minha alegria
Minha ironia
É bem maior do que essa porcaria 2x
Ter um rancho de éter no Texas
Uma plantation de maconha no Wyoming
Nada de axé, Dodô e Curuzu
A verdadeira Bahia é o Rio Grande do Sul
Rock'n'me
Rock'n'you
Rock'n'roll
Rock'n'Raul 2x
@guitardosongs
Que raridade! Parabéns! Difícil encontrar material desse DVD hj em dia. Ainda mais no Youtube!
@bufakeovski
Caetano é phoda!!
@entulhos6546
Procurei várias vezes essa música, obrigado
@felipetosonbraga
Falem mal, falem bem, mas falem do Raul!!
@vagnerricardoguilhermebarr3973
Eu não entendo as letras do Caetano,mas a parte instrumental,os arranjos,os ritmos,as melodias são muito ricas.A musicalidade de Caetano é fora de serie,muito grande,eclética e indiscutível.
@pedrocosta684
A letra é um grande escracho no rock brasileiro, incluindo Raul Seixas.
@DAVIDBRASIL78
O fato de Raul ser um admirador inveterado do estilo de vida Yankee isso não é segredo e é amplamente divulgado em suas entrevistas e biografias. Caetano critica, com a canção, não Raul, e sim a modinha estrangeirista que o procedeu ("e hoje olha os mano").
Dois putas gênios são Caetano e Raul: aquele, de cara limpa.
@nanioliveira1502
Ele está claramente criticando o Raul. Não tem problema, já que Raul tentou achincalhar o Caetano primeiro, décadas atrás. Veja a canção Tapanacara, que é uma maneira elegante e bem swingada, de falar mal do Caetano.
@frasesdegessinger9042
"Mas eu nunca vi caetano fazer aquilo que Marcelo nova faz"
@alexandresaad5989
Um genio