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.
Tigresa
Caetano Veloso Lyrics
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Uma mulher, uma beleza que me aconteceu
Esfregando a pele de ouro marrom do seu corpo contra o meu
Me falou que o mal é bom e o bem, cruel
Enquanto os pelos dessa deusa tremem ao vento ateu
Ela me conta sem certeza tudo o que viveu
Que gostava de política em mil novecentos e sessenta e seis
Ela me conta que era atriz e trabalhou no Hair
Com alguns homens foi feliz, com outros foi mulher
Que tem muito ódio no coração, que tem dado muito amor
E espalhado muito prazer e muita dor
Mas ela ao mesmo tempo diz que tudo vai mudar
Pois ela vai ser o que quis, inventando um lugar
Onde a gente e a natureza feliz
Vivam sempre em comunhão
E a tigresa possa mais do que o leão
As garras da felina me marcaram o coração
Mas as besteiras de menina que ela disse, não
E eu corri pro violão, num lamento, e a manhã nasceu azul
Como é bom poder tocar um instrumento
Uma tigresa de unhas negras e íris cor de mel
Uma mulher, uma beleza que me aconteceu
Esfregando a pele de ouro marrom do seu corpo contra o meu
Me falou que o mal é bom e o bem, cruel
Enquanto os pelos dessa deusa tremem ao vento ateu
Ela me conta sem certeza tudo o que viveu
Que gostava de política em mil novecentos e sessenta e seis
E hoje dança no frenetic Dancin' Days
Ela me conta que era atriz e trabalhou no Hair
Com alguns homens foi feliz, com outros foi mulher
Que tem muito ódio no coração, que tem dado muito amor
E espalhado muito prazer e muita dor
Mas ela ao mesmo tempo diz que tudo vai mudar
Pois ela vai ser o que quis, inventando um lugar
Onde a gente e a natureza feliz
Vivam sempre em comunhão
E a tigresa possa mais do que o leão
As garras da felina me marcaram o coração
Mas as besteiras de menina que ela disse, não
E eu corri pro violão, num lamento, e a manhã nasceu azul
Como é bom poder tocar um instrumento
The lyrics to Caetano Veloso's song "Tigresa" tell the story of a woman who is both stunningly beautiful and enigmatic. Described as a tiger with black claws and honey-colored eyes, the woman tells the singer that "evil is good and good is cruel" as she rubs her golden-brown skin against his. She shares her life story with him, from her days as a politically-active actress in 1966 to her present whereabouts as a dancer at the frenzied nightclub, Dancin' Days.
The woman admits to having both love and hate in her heart, having given both pleasure and pain in her life. However, she also declares her desire to create a world where nature and humans can live in harmony and where the tiger can reign supreme. The song ends with the singer finding solace in playing his guitar as he contemplates the woman's story and the complexities of life.
Overall, the lyrics of "Tigresa" are a powerful reflection on the duality and unpredictability of life, as well as the struggle for balance in a world that often seems to be in chaos.
Line by Line Meaning
Uma tigresa de unhas negras e íris cor de mel
Describes a woman with black claws and honey-colored irises
Uma mulher, uma beleza que me aconteceu
The person singing encountered this beautiful woman
Esfregando a pele de ouro marrom do seu corpo contra o meu
The woman rubbed her brown-golden skin against the singer's body
Me falou que o mal é bom e o bem, cruel
The woman expressed that bad is good, and good is cruel
Enquanto os pelos dessa deusa tremem ao vento ateu
The woman's hair trembles in the atheist wind
Ela me conta sem certeza tudo o que viveu
The woman tells the singer about her life, uncertainly
Que gostava de política em mil novecentos e sessenta e seis
She liked politics in 1966
E hoje dança no frenetic Dancin' Days
Now she dances at the frenetic Dancin' Days
Ela me conta que era atriz e trabalhou no Hair
She was an actress and worked in Hair
Com alguns homens foi feliz, com outros foi mulher
She was happy with some men, and with others, she was a woman
Que tem muito ódio no coração, que tem dado muito amor
She has a lot of hate in her heart but has also given a lot of love
E espalhado muito prazer e muita dor
She has spread a lot of pleasure and pain
Mas ela ao mesmo tempo diz que tudo vai mudar
But she also says that everything will change
Pois ela vai ser o que quis, inventando um lugar
She will become what she wants, inventing a new place
Onde a gente e a natureza feliz
Where people and nature are happy
Vivam sempre em comunhão
Living together in perfect harmony
E a tigresa possa mais do que o leão
And the tigress can be stronger than the lion
As garras da felina me marcaram o coração
The claws of the feline marked the singer's heart
Mas as besteiras de menina que ela disse, não
But the silly things she said did not affect him
E eu corri pro violão, num lamento, e a manhã nasceu azul
The singer went to his guitar, and morning broke blue
Como é bom poder tocar um instrumento
How good it feels to be able to play an instrument
Lyrics © Tratore, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: Caetano Emmanuel Viana Teles Veloso
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind