The firstborn son of Sérgio Buarque de Hollanda, Buarque lived at several locations throughout his childhood, though mostly in Rio de Janeiro, São Paulo, and Rome. He wrote and studied literature as a child and found music through the bossa nova compositions of Tom Jobim and João Gilberto. He performed as a singer and guitarist in the 1960s as well as writing a play that was deemed dangerous by the Brazilian military dictatorship of the time. Buarque, along with several Tropicalist and MPB musicians, was threatened by the Brazilian military government and eventually left Brazil for Italy in 1969. However, he came back to Brazil in 1970, and continued to record, perform, and write, though much of his material was suppressed by government censors. He released several more albums in the 1980s and published three novels in the 1990s and 2000s.
In 2019, Buarque was awarded the Camões Prize, the most important prize for literature in the Portuguese language.
Ela
Chico Buarque Lyrics
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Acabar brincadeira, bandeiras se desmanchando
E ela inda está sambando
Ela desatinou, viu morrer alegrias, rasgar fantasias
Os dias sem sol raiando e ela inda está sambando
Ela não vê que toda gente
Já está sofrendo normalmente
Toda a cidade anda esquecida, da falsa vida, da avenida
Acabar brincadeira, bandeiras se desmanchando
E ela inda está sambando
Ela desatinou, viu morrer alegrias, rasgar fantasias
Os dias sem sol raiando e ela inda está sambando
Quem não inveja a infeliz, feliz
No seu mundo de cetim, assim
Debochando da dor, do pecado
Do tempo perdido, do jogo acabado
These lyrics are from Chico Buarque's song "Ela" which talks about a woman who seems to have gone mad, as she continues to dance and enjoy herself despite the world around her falling apart. The lyrics use vivid imagery to describe the woman's experience, as she watches the fun and games come to an end, but keeps dancing. The repetition of the lines "Ela desatinou" which means "she went crazy" emphasizes the woman's mental state and her detachment from the world.
The song speaks to the idea that sometimes people can become so absorbed in their own lives and pleasures that they fail to see the suffering and pain of others around them. While the woman keeps dancing, the rest of the city is forgetting the false life of the avenue, where the woman's craziness took place. The line "Quem não inveja a infeliz, feliz" suggests that despite her madness, the woman is still enviable because she seems to be enjoying herself without caring about the world's problems. The song might also be seen as a critique of Brazilian society during the military dictatorship, where people were expected to keep dancing and enjoying themselves despite political repression and social injustice.
Line by Line Meaning
Ela desatinou, viu chegar quarta-feira
She lost her mind, saw Wednesday arriving
Acabar brincadeira, bandeiras se desmanchando
The fun is over, flags are falling apart
E ela inda está sambando
And she is still dancing samba
Ela desatinou, viu morrer alegrias, rasgar fantasias
She lost her mind, saw joy dying, and fantasies tearing apart
Os dias sem sol raiando e ela inda está sambando
Days without sunshine, yet she is still dancing samba
Ela não vê que toda gente
She doesn't see that everyone
Já está sofrendo normalmente
Is already suffering normally
Toda a cidade anda esquecida, da falsa vida, da avenida
The whole city walks forgetful of the false life on the avenue
Onde Ela desatinou, viu chegar quarta-feira
Where she lost her mind, saw Wednesday arriving
Acabar brincadeira, bandeiras se desmanchando
The fun is over, flags are falling apart
E ela inda está sambando
And she is still dancing samba
Ela desatinou, viu morrer alegrias, rasgar fantasias
She lost her mind, saw joy dying, and fantasies tearing apart
Os dias sem sol raiando e ela inda está sambando
Days without sunshine, yet she is still dancing samba
Quem não inveja a infeliz, feliz
Who doesn't envy the unhappy happy
No seu mundo de cetim, assim
In her world of satin, like this
Debochando da dor, do pecado
Mocking pain, sin
Do tempo perdido, do jogo acabado
Of the time lost, of the game ended
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
Written by: Francisco Buarque De Hollanda
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind