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.
Não Sonho Mais
Chico Buarque Lyrics
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Tanta desdita, amor
Nem te digo
Tanto castigo
Que eu tava aflita de te contar
Foi um sonho medonho
Desses que às vezes a gente sonha
E se urina toda
E quer sufocar
Meu amor
Vi chegando um trem de candango
Formando um bando
Mas que era um bando de orangotango
Pra te pegar
Vinha nego humilhado
Vinha morto-vivo
Vinha flagelado
De tudo que é lado
Vinha um bom motivo
Pra te esfolar
Quanto mais tu corria
Mais tu ficava
Mais atolava
Mais te sujava
Amor, tu fedia
Empestava o are
Tu, que foi tão valente
Chorou pra gente
Pediu piedade
E olha que maldade
Me deu vontade
De gargalhar
Ao pé da ribanceira
Acabou-se a liça
E escarrei-te inteira
A tua carniça
E tinha justiça
Nesse escarrar
Te rasgamo a carcaça
Descemo a ripa
Viramo as tripa
Comemo os ovo
Ai, e aquele povo
Pôs-se a cantar
Foi um sonho medonho
Desses que às vezes a gente sonha
E baba na fronha
E se urina toda
E já não tem paz
Pois eu sonhei contigo
E caí da cama
Ai, amor, não briga
Ai, não me castiga
Ai, diz que me ama
E eu não sonho mais
The lyrics of "Não Sonho Mais" by Chico Buarque describe a nightmare that the singer had about their lover. It starts with the singer telling their lover that they had a terrible dream, so bad that they were scared to tell them about it. The dream was really scary, one of those that leave a mark, make you sweat and pee in your sleep. It involved the lover being pursued by a group of people on a train, but the twist was that these people were actually orangutans. The lover was running and running, but the more they ran, the more they got stuck and covered in dirt, sweat, and filth. The singer describes the lover as being smelly and dirty to the point of emitting a repulsive smell. Eventually, the lover is caught and killed by the orangutans.
The lyrics of the song are full of imagery and metaphor. They describe a subconscious fear that the singer has about losing their lover or watching them suffer. The orangutans could symbolize the destructive and unpredictable nature of life, the dirty surroundings could represent the experiences that weigh us down, and the stench of the lover's sweat could symbolize the singer's fear of losing the connection or the passion in the relationship. The dream acts as a warning to the singer to appreciate and cherish their lover before it's too late. The final plea of the singer to their lover to say that they love them shows that the dream has strengthened their desire to hold onto the love they have.
Line by Line Meaning
Hoje eu sonhei contigo
Today I dreamed about you
Tanta desdita, amor
So much despair, my love
Nem te digo
I won't even tell you
Tanto castigo
So many punishments
Que eu tava aflita de te contar
That I was anxious to tell you
Foi um sonho medonho
It was a horrendous dream
Desses que às vezes a gente sonha
Those dreams that sometimes we have
E baba na fronha
And drool on the pillow
E se urina toda
And wet the bed
E quer sufocar
And want to suffocate
Meu amor
My love
Vi chegando um trem de candango
I saw a train of workers coming
Formando um bando
Forming a group
Mas que era um bando de orangotango
But it was a group of orangutans
Pra te pegar
To get you
Vinha nego humilhado
There came humiliated people
Vinha morto-vivo
There came the living dead
Vinha flagelado
There came the flogged
De tudo que é lado
From all sides
Vinha um bom motivo
There was a good reason
Pra te esfolar
To skin you alive
Quanto mais tu corria
The more you ran
Mais tu ficava
The more you stayed
Mais atolava
The more you got stuck
Mais te sujava
The more you got dirty
Amor, tu fedia
My love, you stank
Empestava o ar
Fouled the air
Tu, que foi tão valente
You, who were so brave
Chorou pra gente
Cried for us
Pediu piedade
Begged for mercy
E olha que maldade
And look how cruel
Me deu vontade
It made me want
De gargalhar
To laugh out loud
Ao pé da ribanceira
At the foot of the hill
Acabou-se a liça
The fight was over
E escarrei-te inteira
And I spat on you completely
A tua carniça
Your carcass
E tinha justiça
And there was justice
Nesse escarrar
In this spitting
Te rasgamo a carcaça
We tore your carcass apart
Descemo a ripa
We beat you down
Viramo as tripa
We turned your guts
Comemo os ovo
We ate your eggs
Ai, e aquele povo
Oh, and that people
Pôs-se a cantar
Started to sing
Foi um sonho medonho
It was a horrendous dream
Desses que às vezes a gente sonha
Those dreams that sometimes we have
E baba na fronha
And drool on the pillow
E se urina toda
And wet the bed
E já não tem paz
And no longer has peace
Pois eu sonhei contigo
Because I dreamed about you
E caí da cama
And fell off the bed
Ai, amor, não briga
Oh, my love, don't fight
Ai, não me castiga
Oh, don't punish me
Ai, diz que me ama
Oh, say that you love me
E eu não sonho mais
And I don't dream anymore
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
Written by: Francisco Buarque
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind