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.
Tradicão
Caetano Veloso Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Uma garota do barulho
Namorava um rapaz que era muito inteligente
Um rapaz muito diferente
Inteligente no jeito de pongar no bonde
E diferente pelo tipo
De camisa aberta e certa calça americana
Arranjada de contrabando
E sair do banco e, desbancando, despongar do bonde
Sempre rindo e sempre cantando
Sempre lindo e sempre, sempre, sempre, sempre, sempre
Sempre rindo e sempre cantando
Conheci essa garota que era do Barbalho
Essa garota do barulho
No tempo que Lessa era goleiro do Bahia
Um goleiro, uma garantia
No tempo que a turma ía procurar porrada
Na base da vã valentia
No tempo que preto não entrava no Bahiano
Nem pela porta da cozinha
Conheci essa garota que era do Barbalho
No lotação de Liberdade
Que passava pelo ponto dos Quinze Mistérios
Indo do bairro pra cidade
Pra cidade, quer dizer, pro Largo do Terreiro
Pra onde todo mundo ía
Todo dia, todo dia, todo santo dia
Eu, minha irmã e minha tia
No tempo quem governava era Antônio Balbino
No tempo que eu era menino
Menino que eu era e veja que eu já reparava
Numa garota do Barbalho
Reparava tanto que acabei já reparando
No rapaz que ela namorava
Reparei que o rapaz era muito inteligente
Um rapaz muito diferente
Inteligente no jeito de pongar no bonde
E diferente pelo tipo
De camisa aberta e certa calça americana
Arranjada de contrabando
E sair do banco e, desbancando, despongar do bonde
Sempre rindo e sempre cantando
Sempre lindo e sempre, sempre, sempre, sempre, sempre
Sempre rindo e sempre cantando
Sempre lindo e sempre
Sempre rindo e sempre
Sempre lindo e sempre
Sempre rindo e sempre me olhando
The song "Tradição" by Caetano Veloso is a nostalgic and reflective tune about the memories of the singer from his childhood. The lyrics talk about a girl he knew from Barbalho, a neighborhood in Salvador, Brazil, and her boyfriend, who was different from the others. The girl was always causing a commotion, while the boyfriend was extremely intelligent and had a unique way of riding the bus. He wore American pants that were smuggled and always had a button-up shirt open, and he would jump on and off the bus, always laughing and singing. The lyrics describe the joy and freedom that they felt despite the oppressive social and political confines of the time.
The song depicts the time when Antônio Balbino was the governor and the Bahia soccer goalkeeper was Lessa, indicating that the events of the song take place during a time of social and economic turmoil in Brazil. The lyrics also make reference to the racial discrimination that was prevalent, with the line "No tempo que preto não entrava no Bahiano, nem pela porta da cozinha," meaning "a time when Black people were not allowed in the Bahian club, not even through the kitchen door."
In summary, the song Tradição by Caetano Veloso is a recollection of a time and place with a unique ambiance and its inhabitants who defied the usual social norms, amidst a turbulent and unjust period in Brazil's history.
Line by Line Meaning
Conheci uma garota que era do Barbalho
I once met a lively girl from the Barbalho neighborhood
Namorava um rapaz que era muito inteligente
She was dating a very intelligent guy
Inteligente no jeito de pongar no bonde
He was smart in the way he could hop on and off the tram
E diferente pelo tipo
And different in his demeanor
De camisa aberta e certa calça americana
He wore an open shirt and certain American pants
Arranjada de contrabando
Acquired through smuggling
E sair do banco e, desbancando, despongar do bonde
He would leave the bank and jump off the tram, disrupting it
Sempre rindo e sempre cantando
Always laughing and always singing
Conheci essa garota que era do Barbalho
I met this lively girl from Barbalho again
No tempo que Lessa era goleiro do Bahia
Back when Lessa was the goalkeeper of Bahia's soccer team
No tempo que a turma ía procurar porrada
Back when people would look for fights
Na base da vã valentia
Using vain bravado
No tempo que preto não entrava no Bahiano
Back when black people were not allowed into Bahiano
Nem pela porta da cozinha
Not even through the back door
No lotação de Liberdade
On the Liberdade bus
Que passava pelo ponto dos Quinze Mistérios
That passed by the Quinze Mistérios stop
Indo do bairro pra cidade
Going from the neighborhood to the city
Pra cidade, quer dizer, pro Largo do Terreiro
To the city, meaning to Largo do Terreiro
Pra onde todo mundo ía
Where everyone would go
Todo dia, todo dia, todo santo dia
Every day, every day, without fail
Eu, minha irmã e minha tia
Me, my sister, and my aunt
No tempo quem governava era Antônio Balbino
Back when Antônio Balbino was in power
No tempo que eu era menino
Back when I was a child
Menino que eu era e veja que eu já reparava
Even as a child, I noticed things
Numa garota do Barbalho
In this lively girl from Barbalho
Reparava tanto que acabei já reparando
I noticed so much that I kept noticing
No rapaz que ela namorava
In the guy she was dating
Sempre lindo e sempre
Always beautiful and always
Sempre rindo e sempre
Always laughing and always
Sempre lindo e sempre
Always beautiful and always
Sempre rindo e sempre me olhando
Always laughing and always looking at me
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: Gilberto Passos Gil Moreira
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
pablo carabajal
increíble, hermosa y llena de humor, GENIOS!!!
Elizabeth Steele
Quase hipnótica - almost hypnotic - rolls and rolls sem esforço
Cobi Lybham
Nothing sweeter than this...
Leão do Norte
Antônio Balbino de Carvalho Filho jornalista, professor, advogado e político brasileiro foi governador do estado da Bahia de: 7 de abril de 1955
até: 7 de abril de 1959.
Neste período de tempo, Gilberto Gil tinha de 13 a 17 anos. Tempo esse em que ele, sua irmã e sua tia iam para o largo do terreiro todos os dias.
P Mon
Je vous retrouve Lesprilib.Notre amour commun de la musique brésilienne.Un beau morceau de Tropicalia.Justement j'ai déniché l'été dernier dans une vente de garage 3 fameux disques de Gilberto Gil et Caetano Veloso.Du Pur Tropicalia.Don Pedro De Montreal.
Manuela Assuncao
Imagem e movimento
Felipe Celline
Fico pensando se essa letra é um indicativo de uma possível bissexualidade do caetano - ou até mesmo uma curiosidade muito discreta e utópica
Carla Costa Oliveira
O compositor eh Seu Gilberto.
Stéphanie Araújo
Tu é gato ein
Felipe Celline
@Carla Costa Oliveira ops, entao uma curiosidade do gilberto :P