He was one of the samba composers and founders of the Estação Primeira de Mangueira, and has credit for both the name of the school and its colors: green and pink. Cartola composed, alone and alongside others, more than 500 songs.
"Cartola did not exist. He was a dream we had."
(Nelson Sargento)
Silêncio De Um Cipreste
Cartola Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
De viver cantando
O meu único defeito
É viver pensando
Em que não realizei
E é difícil realizar
Se eu pudesse dar um jeito
Mudaria o meu pensar
O pensamento é uma folha desprendida
Do galho de nossas vidas
Que o vento leva e conduz
É uma luz vacilante e cega
É o silêncio do cipreste
Escoltado pela cruz
In Cartola's song "Silêncio De Um Cipreste," the lyrics express the singer's contemplation about his life and the opportunities he missed. The opening lines express that everyone has the right to live their lives singing and enjoying themselves, however, the singer's only flaw is that he always thinks about what he has not achieved. He recognizes that it is difficult to achieve things in life when you are always stuck in negative thoughts. He wishes he could change his way of thinking, but it seems to be very challenging for him.
The following lines of the song use beautiful metaphors to describe the nature of thoughts. The singer analogizes thoughts to a leaf falling from a tree branch and getting carried away by the wind. Our thoughts can be compared to a flickering candle flame; they can be unsteady and blind. The singer concludes his thoughts by describing the silence of a cypress tree accompanied by a cross, which could symbolize death.
Overall, the song reflects on the human condition of regret, and it expresses the innate struggles of trying to live with positivity and avoid dwelling on negative past experiences.
Line by Line Meaning
Todo mundo tem o direito
Everyone has the right
De viver cantando
To live singing
O meu único defeito
My only flaw
É viver pensando
Is to live thinking
Em que não realizei
About what I haven't accomplished
E é difícil realizar
And it's difficult to accomplish
Se eu pudesse dar um jeito
If I could find a way
Mudaria o meu pensar
I would change my way of thinking
O pensamento é uma folha desprendida
Thought is a detached leaf
Do galho de nossas vidas
From the branch of our lives
Que o vento leva e conduz
That the wind carries and guides
É uma luz vacilante e cega
It's a flickering and blind light
É o silêncio do cipreste
It's the silence of the cypress
Escoltado pela cruz
Escorted by the cross
Contributed by Sophie W. Suggest a correction in the comments below.