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.
Two Naira Fifty Kobo
Caetano Veloso Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Faz força com o pé na África
O certo é ser gente linda
E dançar, dançar, dançar
O certo é fazendo música
A força vem dessa pedra que canta Itapuã
É lindo vê-lo bailando
Ele é tão pierrô, pierrô
Ali no meio da rua lá
Ôh-ô-ô!
Ôh-ô-ô-ô!
Ôh-ô-ô!
Ôh-ô-ô-ô!
Ôh-ô-ô!
Ôh-ô-ô-ô!
Ôh-ô-ô!
Ôh-ô-ô-ô!
No meu coração da mata gritou Pelé, Pelé
Faz força com o pé na África
O certo é ser gente linda
E dançar, dançar, dançar
O certo é fazendo música
A força vem dessa pedra que canta Itapuã
Fala tupi, fala iorubá
É lindo vê-lo bailando
Ele é tão pierrô, pierrô
Ali no meio da rua lá
Ôh-ô-ô!
Ôh-ô-ô-ô!
Ôh-ô-ô!
Ôh-ô-ô-ô!
Ôh-ô-ô!
Ôh-ô-ô-ô!
Ôh-ô-ô!
Ôh-ô-ô-ô!
No meu coração da mata gritou Pelé, Pelé
Faz força com o pé na África
O certo é ser gente linda
E dançar, dançar, dançar
O certo é fazendo música
A força vem dessa pedra que canta Itapuã
Fala tupi, fala iorubá
É lindo vê-lo bailando
Ele é tão pierrô, pierrô
Ali no meio da rua lá
The lyrics of Caetano Veloso’s song “Two Naira Fifty Kobo” tell of the beauty and power of music and dance in Brazil and Africa. The song begins with the introduction of Pelé – a Brazilian football legend, and how his presence makes the forests of Brazil come alive with spontaneous screams of his name. The mention of Pelé’s force being from his foot on African soil is a reference to how the influence of African rhythms and culture is a driving force in Brazilian music and dance.
The song’s refrain emphasizes the importance of being beautiful and dancing, with music being the means to achieve this. The lyrics celebrate the power of music to draw on the strength of the land and connect people across different cultures and languages. The mention of the stone that sings in Itapuã, where Caetano Veloso was born, signifies how music and dance are deeply ingrained in the land, culture, and history of Brazil.
The reference to pierrô – a character from Brazilian carnival folklore – dancing in the street further emphasizes the centrality of dance to Brazilian culture. Overall, the song celebrates the unity of Brazil and Africa through music, dance, and culture.
Line by Line Meaning
No meu coração da mata gritou Pelé, Pelé
In my heart of the forest, Pelé cried out, Pelé
Faz força com o pé na África
Exerts strength with his foot in Africa
O certo é ser gente linda
The right thing is to be beautiful people
E dançar, dançar, dançar
And dance, dance, dance
O certo é fazendo música
The right thing is to make music
A força vem dessa pedra que canta Itapuã
The strength comes from this singing rock in Itapuã
Fala tupi, fala iorubá
It speaks Tupi, it speaks Yoruba
É lindo vê-lo bailando
It's beautiful to see it dancing
Ele é tão pierrô, pierrô
It's so Pierrot, Pierrot
Ali no meio da rua lá
There in the middle of the street
Ôh-ô-ô!
Oh-oh-oh!
Ôh-ô-ô-ô!
Oh-oh-oh-oh!
Contributed by Abigail F. Suggest a correction in the comments below.