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.
Rocks
Caetano Veloso Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
chegou com a boca roxa de botox
exigindo rocks
animais
metais
totais
letais
eu não dei letra
mas cê foi mesmo rata demais
meu grito inimigo é:
você foi mor rata comigo
você foi concreta e simplesmente
rata comigo demais,
rata comigo demais
rata
The lyrics to Caetano Veloso's song "Rocks" tell the story of a person who tattoos a Ganesh on their thigh and arrives with lips stained from Botox injections, demanding "rocks" - animals, metals, total, lethal. The singer refuses to indulge this person's desires, even though they acknowledge their genius and beauty. This refusal prompts the angry retort that the singer is too much of a "rat" - concrete and simple - in their dealings. The lyrics end with a repeated chorus of "rata comigo demais" - rat with me too much.
The lyrics suggest a clash of values and aesthetics between the singer and the person with the Ganesh tattoo. The demand for "rocks" seems to represent a desire for excess and intense experiences, while the singer values simplicity and restraint. The Ganesh tattoo, a symbol of the Hindu deity who is the remover of obstacles and the guardian of intellect and wisdom, may be intended to suggest a superiority or enlightenment on the part of the tattooed person, but the singer sees their behavior as shallow and self-centered.
Overall, the lyrics to "Rocks" offer a critique of excess and superficiality, and assert the value of simplicity and authenticity in personal relationships.
Line by Line Meaning
tatuou um ganesh na coxa
She got a tattoo of Ganesh on her thigh
chegou com a boca roxa de botox
She arrived with bruised lips from botox injections
exigindo rocks
Demanding drugs (rocks)
animais
Animals (likely a reference to drug dealers)
metais
Metals (also a possible reference to drugs)
totais
Totals (likely a reference to the cost of drugs)
letais
Lethal (referring to the dangerous nature of drugs)
eu não dei letra
I didn't give her attention
tu é gênia, gata, etc.
You're a genius, a pretty girl, etc.
mas cê foi mesmo rata demais
But you were really sneaky
meu grito inimigo é:
My enemy's cry is:
você foi mor rata comigo
You were too sneaky with me
você foi concreta e simplesmente
You were concrete and simply
rata comigo demais,
Too sneaky with me
rata comigo demais
Too sneaky with me
rata
Sneaky
Contributed by Isabella H. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
Chilha Nunes
Ele também é Rock 'n' rooll.
Thiago Figueiredo
tao bom procurar uma musica pra ouvir e achar aqui, no youtube. obrigado!
Carolina Fróes
Foda!!!!! arrasou de postar essa beleza.
Obrigada mesmo salvou meu dia! incredible
Julia Osório
Amo!
Edivania VN Souza
🤣 🤣 🤣 Adorei
Paulo Fernando
Tatuou um ganech na coxa
Chegou com a boca roxa de botox
Exigindo rocks
Só Caetano tem a manha e o poder de dizer certas coisas. Na cara. Na lata. Puta rock.
CamilaCarvalhorio
Essa música eh mt um lance que eu tive.
Arthur Leite
Você foi mó Paula Lavigne comigo! rsrsrsrssr
Juliana Karla
como faço pra baixar essa musica?
Leonardo Cunha
20 anos depois...