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.
Lágrima
Chico Buarque Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Derramei com você
Nenhuma lágrima
Derramei com você
Quando você foi embora
Meu coração não parou
Sei que você hoje chora
Porque não tem mais o meu amor
Derramei com você
Nenhuma lágrima
Derramei com você
Quando você foi embora
Meu coração não parou
Sei que você hoje chora
Porque não tem mais o meu amor
Nenhuma lágrima
Derramei com você
Nenhuma lágrima
Derramei com você
Quando você foi embora
Meu coração não parou
Sei que você hoje chora
Porque não tem mais o meu amor
Nenhuma lágrima
Derramei com você
Nenhuma lágrima
Derramei com você
In Chico Buarque's song Lágrima, the singer is expressing their lack of tears after their lover has left them. They claim to not have shed a single tear with their former partner, but now that they are gone, the singer's heart has not stopped aching. The lyrics suggest that the ex-partner is now the one crying because they no longer have the singer's love.
The repetition of "Nenhuma lágrima" emphasizes the singer's emotional detachment from the breakup. It is possible that the singer may have been hurt so many times in the past that they have become immune to the pain of heartbreak. Alternatively, they may have pushed themselves to hold back tears because they refuse to let their ex-partner have that power over them. Even though they did not cry, the pain is still present. The phrase "meu coração não parou" (my heart did not stop) suggests that the singer is constantly thinking about their ex-partner, indicating that the breakup has affected them deeply.
Overall, this song expresses a sense of pride in one's resilience and strength amidst heartbreak. Even though tears were not shed, the lyrics suggest that the singer still suffered from their lover's departure. The repetition creates a sense of melancholy that lingers throughout the song.
Line by Line Meaning
Nenhuma lágrima
I didn't shed any tears
Derramei com você
When you left, I didn't cry with you
Quando você foi embora
When you left
Meu coração não parou
My heart didn't stop
Sei que você hoje chora
I know you cry today
Porque não tem mais o meu amor
Because you don't have my love anymore
Contributed by Zachary J. Suggest a correction in the comments below.