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.
Valsa De Uma Cidade
Caetano Veloso Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
E o sol a queimar, queimar
Calçada cheia de gente
A passar e a me ver passar
Rio de Janeiro, gosto de você
Gosto de quem gosta
Deste céu, desse mar,
Dessa gente feliz
Um poema de amor e o amor
Estava em tudo que eu quis
Em tudo quanto eu amei
E no poema que eu fiz
Tinha alguém mais feliz que eu
O meu amor
Que não me quis
Em tudo quanto eu amei
E no poema que eu fiz
Tinha alguém mais feliz que eu
O meu amor
The lyrics to Caetano Veloso's "Valsa De Uma Cidade" express a deep longing for a place, Rio de Janeiro, and the people and experiences associated with it. The singer describes the feeling of the sea wind on his face and the burning heat of the sun, which evoke a sense of carefree abandon and pleasure. The bustling crowds on the street observe him as he passes, and he takes joy in their presence. The repetition of the phrase "Rio de Janeiro, gosto de você" ("Rio de Janeiro, I like you") emphasizes the singer's attachment to the city and its inhabitants.
The singer confesses that he attempted to write a love poem, but found that he could not capture the essence of his own feelings in words. He realizes that his love for Rio de Janeiro and the memories he has of the place and the people he loves are already a poem. The final stanza brings a note of sadness to the song, as he reflects that despite his love for another person, they did not return his affection. However, even in this unhappy situation, his love for Rio de Janeiro and the beauty of the world around him is still present.
Line by Line Meaning
Vento do mar no meu rosto
Feeling the wind from the sea on my face
E o sol a queimar, queimar
And the scorching sun burning, burning
Calçada cheia de gente
Sidewalk full of people
A passar e a me ver passar
Passing by and seeing me pass by
Rio de Janeiro, gosto de você
Rio de Janeiro, I like you
Gosto de quem gosta
I like those who like
Deste céu, desse mar, dessa gente feliz
Of this sky, this sea, this happy people
Bem que eu quis escrever
I really wanted to write
Um poema de amor e o amor
A love poem and love
Estava em tudo que eu quis
Was in everything I wanted
Em tudo quanto eu amei
In everything I loved
E no poema que eu fiz
And in the poem I made
Tinha alguém mais feliz que eu
There was someone happier than me
O meu amor que não me quis
My love who didn't want me
Em tudo quanto eu amei
In everything I loved
E no poema que eu fiz
And in the poem I made
Tinha alguém mais feliz que eu
There was someone happier than me
O meu amor
My love
Contributed by Cole C. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
@polinatyrina
Thank you so much! Hello from Kazakhstan!
@gillesbrosh
Hello, ..., but I cannot read your name....what is your name in english ?.....thank you, very much too, I like listening to you....how did you came to like so much the Brazilian music ?
@polinatyrina
gillesbrosh you can call me Lina. How we can explain love? I cant explain my love to bossa nova. Its beautifull music. Thats why I love to play and sing it.
@gillesbrosh
yes Lina, I've got the same emotion too, when the first time I listened Joao Gilberto, this is a so rich music, I was just suprise little bit, because, I did't know that this kind of music was famous in Kazakhstan...really, big bravo for your nice playing and singing ! have a nice week !
@gillesbrosh
and hello from Israel !
@MsAfjm
you aren't portugese, are you? it's lovely :)
@gillesbrosh
sorry to answer only now .... no, I am french