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.
Sampa
Caetano Veloso Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Que só quando cruza a Ipiranga e Avenida São João
É que quando eu cheguei por aqui, eu nada entendi
Da dura poesia concreta de tuas esquinas
Da deselegância discreta de tuas meninas
Ainda não havia para mim Rita Lee
A tua mais completa tradução
Alguma coisa acontece no meu coração
Quando eu te encarei frente à frente e não vi o meu rosto
Chamei de mau gosto o que vi, de mau gosto, mau gosto
É que Narciso acha feio o que não é espelho
E à mente apavora o que ainda não é mesmo velho
Nada do que não era antes quando não somos mutantes
E foste um difícil começo
Afasto o que não conheço
E quem vem de outro sonho feliz de cidade
Aprende depressa a chamar-te de realidade
Porque és o avesso do avesso do avesso do avesso
Do povo oprimido nas filas, nas vilas, favelas
Da força da grana que ergue e destrói coisas belas
Da feia fumaça que sobe, apagando as estrelas
Eu vejo surgir teus poetas de campos, espaços
Tuas oficinas de florestas, teus deuses da chuva
Pan-Américas de Áfricas utópicas, túmulo do samba
Mas possível novo quilombo de Zumbi
E os Novos Baianos passeiam na tua garoa
E novos baianos te podem curtir numa boa
The lyrics to Caetano Veloso's song "Sampa" describe the feeling of experiencing São Paulo for the first time. The song opens with the singer stating that there is something that happens in their heart only when they cross the intersection of Ipiranga and Avenida São João. When the singer first arrived in São Paulo, they did not understand the hard concrete poetry of the city's corners or the discreet lack of elegance in its women. It was only when they had been in São Paulo for a while that they understood it fully and saw Rita Lee, who represented the complete translation of the city to them.
The second half of the song goes deeper into the singer's thoughts on the city. They compare themselves to Narcissus, who only sees beauty in mirrors, meaning they only used to see beauty in things that were familiar to them. However, by coming to São Paulo, they were forced out of their comfort zone and had to confront things that were unfamiliar to them. The lyrics discuss the struggles that the oppressed people of São Paulo face, but also show the beauty in the poetry, forests, and gods of the city. The final line mentions the Novos Baianos, a Brazilian musical group, who are able to enjoy São Paulo in their own way.
Overall, the song captures the complexity of São Paulo and how it takes time to understand and appreciate all that the city has to offer.
Line by Line Meaning
Alguma coisa acontece no meu coração
There's something that stirs my heart
Que só quando cruza a Ipiranga e Avenida São João
That only happens when I cross Ipiranga and São João Avenue
É que quando eu cheguei por aqui, eu nada entendi
When I arrived here, I didn't understand a thing
Da dura poesia concreta de tuas esquinas
From the harsh concrete poetry of your street corners
Da deselegância discreta de tuas meninas
From the subtle impoliteness of your girls
Ainda não havia para mim Rita Lee
Rita Lee wasn't known to me yet
A tua mais completa tradução
Your most complete translation
Quando eu te encarei frente à frente e não vi o meu rosto
When I faced you and didn't see my own reflection
Chamei de mau gosto o que vi, de mau gosto, mau gosto
I called it bad taste, bad taste, bad taste
É que Narciso acha feio o que não é espelho
It's because Narcissus thinks what isn't a mirror is ugly
E à mente apavora o que ainda não é mesmo velho
And the mind gets scared of what's not even old yet
Nada do que não era antes quando não somos mutantes
Nothing is the same as it was before when we aren't mutants
E foste um difícil começo
And you were a difficult beginning
Afasto o que não conheço
I push away what I don't know
E quem vem de outro sonho feliz de cidade
And those coming from another happy city dream
Aprende depressa a chamar-te de realidade
Quickly learn to call you reality
Porque és o avesso do avesso do avesso do avesso
Because you're the opposite of the opposite of the opposite of the opposite
Do povo oprimido nas filas, nas vilas, favelas
Of the oppressed people in lines, villages, slums
Da força da grana que ergue e destrói coisas belas
Of the power of money that builds and destroys beautiful things
Da feia fumaça que sobe, apagando as estrelas
Of the ugly smoke that rises, hiding the stars
Eu vejo surgir teus poetas de campos, espaços
I see your poets emerge from fields, spaces
Tuas oficinas de florestas, teus deuses da chuva
Your forest workshops, your rain gods
Pan-Américas de Áfricas utópicas, túmulo do samba
Pan-American and utopian Africas, tomb of samba
Mas possível novo quilombo de Zumbi
But also a possible new Quilombo of Zumbi
E os Novos Baianos passeiam na tua garoa
And the Novos Baianos walk in your drizzle
E novos baianos te podem curtir numa boa
And new Baianos can enjoy you just fine
Lyrics © Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: Caetano Emmanuel Viana Teles Veloso
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind