Caetano Emanoel Viana Teles Veloso (born August 7, 1942 in Santo Amaro, Bah… Read Full Bio ↴Caetano Emanoel Viana Teles Veloso (born August 7, 1942 in Santo Amaro, Bahia, Brazil), professionally known as Caetano Veloso, is a singer, composer, musician, producer, arranger, writer and political activist, being one of the most popular and influential Brazilian MPB artists of all time. With a career that exceeds five decades, Caetano has built a musical work marked by renewal and widely considered to possess great intellectual and poetic value.

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.

Summertime
Caetano Veloso Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

Summertime the weather is easy.
Fish are jumping out
And the cotton is high

Your daddy's rich
And your ma is good-looking
So hush, pretty baby
Don't you cry, don't you cry.

One of these mornings
You've got to rise up singing,
Then you're spread your wings
And you'll take to the sky

But until that morning,
That ain't nothing can be and you

Please daddy and mammy
Standing by

Overall Meaning

The song Summertime by Caetano Veloso is a cover of the classic song written by George Gershwin, which was originally part of the opera Porgy and Bess. In Veloso’s version, he sings about the ease and beauty of summertime. The lyrics, “Summertime, the weather is easy. Fish are jumping out and the cotton is high,” suggest a tranquil and carefree atmosphere. The next lines, “Your daddy's rich, and your ma is good-looking,” speak to a certain level of privilege and comfort. The song then addresses a baby, telling them not to cry and that one day they will rise up singing and take flight with their wings.

The final lines suggest a sense of responsibility and duty, as the singer implores the baby to “please daddy and mammy” until they are able to spread their wings and take off. Veloso’s interpretation of Summertime highlights the contrast between the ease and beauty of summertime and the struggles and limitations of daily life. It speaks to the longing for freedom and a better life, while acknowledging the current societal structures that keep people in place.

Line by Line Meaning

Summertime the weather is easy.
During summertime, life is less complicated and stressful.

Fish are jumping out
The abundance of fish shows the richness of nature.

And the cotton is high
The fertile land allows for a successful cotton harvest.

Your daddy's rich
Your family is financially well-off.

And your ma is good-looking
Your mother is beautiful.

So hush, pretty baby
Be calm and peaceful, dear child.

Don't you cry, don't you cry.
There is no reason for tears and sadness.

One of these mornings
One day in the future.

You've got to rise up singing,
Start your day with energy and enthusiasm.

Then you're spread your wings
You will have the freedom to do as you please.

And you'll take to the sky
You will be able to reach great heights and achieve your dreams.