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.
dreamland
Caetano Veloso Lyrics
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Long way from Canada
A long way
From snow chains
Donkey vendors
Slicing coconut
No parkas to their name
Black babies
The cook's
Got a carnival song
We're going to lay down
Someplace shady
With dreamland coming on
Dreamland, dreamland
Dreamland, dreamland
Walter Raleigh
And Chris Columbus
Come marching
Out of the waves
And claim the beach
And all concessions
In the name
Of the suntan slave
I wrapped
That flag around me
Like a
Dorothy Lamour sarong
And I lay down
Thinking national
With dreamland coming on
Dreamland, dreamland
Dreamland, dreamland
Goodtime Mary
And a fortune hunter
All dressed up
To follow the drums
Mary in a feather
Hula-hoop
Miss fortune
With a rose
On her big game gun
All saints
All sinners shining
Heed those trumpets
All night long
Propped up
On a samba beat
With dreamland coming on
Dreamland, dreamland
Dreamland, dreamland
Tar baby
And the great white wonder
Talking over
Aa glass of rum
Burning on the inside
With the knowledge
Of things to come
There's gambling out
On the terrace
And midnight
Ramblin' on the lawn
As they lead
Toward temptation
With dreamland coming on
Dreamland, dreamland
Dreamland, dreamland
In a plane
Flying back to winter
In shoes
Full of tropic sand
A lady
In a foreign flag
On the arm of her
Marlboro man
The hawk howls
In New York City
Six foot drifts
On myrtle's lawn
As they push
The recline buttons down
With dreamland coming on
Dreamland, dreamland
Dreamland, dreamland
La, la, la, la
African sand
On the trade winds
And the sun on the amazon
As they push
The reline buttons down
With dreamland coming on
Dreamland, dreamland
Dreamland, dreamland
The lyrics of Caetano Veloso's Dreamland are a surrealistic representation of a world of paradoxes and contradictions. The song describes how the singer feels far away from the conventional ways of life, as he is surrounded by a mix of cultures and traditions that create a dream-like and confusing reality. The first stanza refers to the singer's origins, Canada, a land far from the tropical paradise he finds himself in. He observes donkey vendors, black babies covered in baking flour, and a cook singing a carnival song with no snow chains or parkas in sight. This exotic picture creates a setting for dreamland to come in and break the barriers of reality.
In the second stanza, Walter Raleigh and Christopher Columbus march out of the waves and claim the beach in the name of a suntan slave, drowning in the sun's rays. The flag wraps around the singer like a Dororthy Lamour sarong, drawing a parallel between patriotism and a seductive garment. The lyrics convey the idea that the American dream is only attainable with the sacrifice of personal freedom, representing the cost of the pursuit of power.
The third stanza portrays a group of figures engaging in wild and hedonistic activities, such as gambling and midnight rambling, all leading towards temptation, and dreamland coming on. The final stanza describes a character's journey back to a wintery reality, reminiscing about the African sand and the sun on the Amazon as the recline button goes down, once again inviting the dreamlike reality of the tropic paradise. The lyrics are open to interpretation, but the overall theme of Dreamland seems to be the search for freedom and identity in a world that imposes limits and boundaries.
Line by Line Meaning
It's a long
The distance is far
Long way from Canada
Much further than Canada
A long way
A considerable distance
From snow chains
Far from needing to use snow chains
Donkey vendors
Merchants selling goods using donkeys
Slicing coconut
Cutting coconut
No parkas to their name
They don't own any parkas
Black babies
African offspring
Covered in baking flour
Coated in flour used for baking
The cook's
The chef's
Got a carnival song
Singing a festive tune
We're going to lay down
We will rest
Someplace shady
In a cool, sheltered spot
With dreamland coming on
With an imaginary or idealistic location in mind
Walter Raleigh
A famous British explorer
And Chris Columbus
Another esteemed explorer
Come marching
Approach with pride
Out of the waves
Emerging from the ocean
And claim the beach
Staking their ownership of the shoreline
And all concessions
And all the businesses or activities taking place there
In the name
Representing
Of the suntan slave
Of the person who is a slave to sunbathing
I wrapped
I covered
That flag around me
A national flag that I draped over myself
Like a
Similar to
Dorothy Lamour sarong
A type of skirt commonly worn by the actress Dorothy Lamour
And I lay down
And I rested
Thinking national
Proudly considering my national identity
With dreamland coming on
With fantasies of the ideal location materializing
Goodtime Mary
A woman named Mary who always has a good time
And a fortune hunter
And someone obsessed with acquiring wealth
All dressed up
Wearing fancy clothes
To follow the drums
To follow the rhythm of music
Mary in a feather
Mary with a feathered accessory
Hula-hoop
A toy hoop spun around the waist in dancing
Miss fortune
A female personification of bad luck
With a rose
Holding a flower rose
On her big game gun
On her large hunting rifle
All saints
All the virtuous people
All sinners shining
Even the sinners are celebrated
Heed those trumpets
Listen to the sound of the trumpets
All night long
Throughout the night
Propped up
Leaning against something for support
On a samba beat
On a rhythm commonly associated with samba music
With dreamland coming on
With anticipation of the ideal setting arising
Tar baby
A derogatory name for a black person
And the great white wonder
And the amazing Caucasian person
Talking over
Having a discussion
Aa glass of rum
While drinking rum
Burning on the inside
Feeling an intense sensation internally
With the knowledge
Knowing something important
Of things to come
Referring to future events
There's gambling out
People are gambling outside
On the terrace
On an outdoor platform
And midnight
At midnight
Ramblin' on the lawn
Strolling across the grass
As they lead
As they follow
Toward temptation
Making decisions that are not responsible
With dreamland coming on
With an imaginary or idealistic location in mind
In a plane
Aboard an airplane
Flying back to winter
Returning to a cold season
In shoes
Wearing footwear
Full of tropic sand
Containing sand from a tropical locale
A lady
A woman
In a foreign flag
Wearing a garment featuring a different country's flag
On the arm of her
Being escorted by her
Marlboro man
A fictitious male figure associated with smoking Marlboro brand cigarettes
The hawk howls
A bird of prey makes a plaintive cry
In New York City
Located in the metropolis named New York
Six foot drifts
Snowbanks reaching six feet in height
On myrtle's lawn
On the property belonging to someone named Myrtle
As they push
As they prompt
The recline buttons down
Lowering the angle of their chairs
With dreamland coming on
With an imaginary or idealistic location in mind
La, la, la, la
Referring to nonsensical or meaningless singing
African sand
Sand collected from Africa
On the trade winds
Being carried by the wind while engaged in commerce
And the sun on the amazon
It is sunny in the Amazon region
As they push
As they prompt
The reline buttons down
Lowering the angle of their chairs
With dreamland coming on
With an imaginary or idealistic location in mind
Contributed by Riley G. Suggest a correction in the comments below.