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.
Saudosismo
Caetano Veloso Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Já temos um passado, meu amor
Um violão guardado
Aquela flor
E outras mumunhas mais
Eu, você, João
Girando na vitrola sem parar
E o mundo dissonante que nós dois
Tentamos inventar tentamos
A felicidade a felicidade
A felicidade a felicidade
Eu, você, depois
Quarta-feira de cinzas no país
E as notas dissonantes se integraram
Ao som dos imbecis
Sim, você, nós dois
Já temos um passado, meu amor
A bossa, a fossa, a nossa grande dor
Como dois quadradões
Lobo, lobo bobo
Lobo, lobo bobo
Eu, você, João
Girando na vitrola sem parar
E eu fico comovido de lembrar
O tempo e o som
Ah! Como era bom
Mas chega de saudade
A realidade é que
Aprendemos com João
Pra sempre
A ser desafinados
Ser desafinados
Ser desafinados
Ser
Chega de saudade
Chega de saudade
Chega de saudade
Chega de saudade
The song Saudosismo by Caetano Veloso is a reflection on the past, and the bittersweet memories that it evokes. The opening lines of the song, "Eu, você, nós dois/Já temos um passado, meu amor" (Me, you, the two of us/We already have a past, my love), suggest that the relationship between the singer and his lover is one that has been in existence for a while. The mention of a "violão guardado" (a kept guitar) and "aquela flor" (that flower) are likely to be symbolic of more than just physical objects. They probably represent the emotional remnants of the past that the singer continues to hold onto. The next stanza talks about the music that they used to listen to and the dissonance that they tried to create. This could refer to a time when they tried to find a unique identity within the larger society, or it could be about trying to stay together despite their differences.
The song then shifts to the present when the singer talks about "Quarta-feira de cinzas no país" (Ash Wednesday in the country), which is symbolic of a difficult time that they are currently going through. They are trying to integrate the "notas dissonantes" (dissonant notes) into their lives, but it's not easy. The final stanza talks about how they learned from João to always be "desafinados" (out of tune) and that they should accept who they are. The line "Chega de saudade" (Enough of nostalgia) is a reference to one of the most popular bossa nova songs of all time, written by Tom Jobim, which is about being unable to forget a former lover. It could be interpreted as the singer's way of saying that they need to move on and accept the present, regardless of how difficult it may be.
Line by Line Meaning
Eu, você, nós dois
The singer and his lover have a shared history and possessions, such as a guitar and a flower.
Já temos um passado, meu amor
They have already experienced much together, as a couple.
Um violão guardado
They have a guitar stored away.
Aquela flor / E outras mumunhas mais
They have other trinkets and mementos.
Eu, você, João / Girando na vitrola sem parar
The artist, his lover, and João are spinning on a record player, trying to invent a new, dissonant sound.
E o mundo dissonante que nós dois / Tentamos inventar tentamos inventar / Tentamos inventar tentamos
They are trying to create a dissonant sound together, but it's not easy.
A felicidade a felicidade / A felicidade a felicidade
They are searching for happiness.
Eu, você, depois / Quarta-feira de cinzas no país / E as notas dissonantes se integraram / Ao som dos imbecis
They listen to dissonant music on Ash Wednesday, with the noise of idiots accompanying them.
Sim, você, nós dois / Já temos um passado, meu amor / A bossa, a fossa, a nossa grande dor / Como dois quadradões
They have a shared history of experiencing bossa nova music and heartbreak that made them feel stifled and square.
Lobo, lobo bobo / Lobo, lobo bobo
The artist is mocking someone or something, calling them a foolish wolf.
Eu, você, João / Girando na vitrola sem parar / E eu fico comovido de lembrar / O tempo e o som / Ah! Como era bom
The singer feels emotional recalling the time when they played records continuously with João and their old music sound.
Mas chega de saudade / A realidade é que / Aprendemos com João / Pra sempre / A ser desafinados / Ser desafinados / Ser desafinados / Ser
But now, they need to move on from their nostalgia and accept that they have learned from João how to be off-key and dissonant forever.
Chega de saudade / Chega de saudade / Chega de saudade / Chega de saudade
They need to let go of their sentimental longing for the past.
Contributed by Harper N. Suggest a correction in the comments below.