Francisco Buarque de Hollanda, better know as Chico Buarque, is a Brazilian… Read Full Bio ↴Francisco Buarque de Hollanda, better know as Chico Buarque, is a Brazilian singer-songwriter, guitarist, composer, playwright, writer and poet. He is best known for his music, which often includes social, economic and cultural reflections on Brazil.

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.

Rio 42
Chico Buarque Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

Se a guerra for declarada
Em pleno domingo de carnaval
Verás que um filho não foge à luta
Brasil, recruta
O teu pessoal

Se a terra anda ameaçada
De se acabar numa explosão de sal

Se aliste, meu camarada
A gente vai salvar o nosso carnaval

Vai ter batalha de bombardino
A colombina na Cruz Vermelha
Vai ter centelha na batucada
Rajada de tamborim
A melindrosa mandando bala
O mestre-sala curvando a Europa
A tropa do general da banda
Dançando o samba em Berlim

Se a guerra for declarada
A rapaziada ganha na moral

Se aliste, meu camarada
A gente vai salvar o nosso carnaval

Overall Meaning

In Chico Buarque's song Rio 42, the lyrics talk about the possibility of war being declared on a carnival Sunday. The first verse speaks of a son not backing away from a fight if the country is at war and calls for Brazil to recruit its people. The second verse talks about the possibility of the earth being threatened with a salt explosion, and urges people to enlist to save their carnival. The lyrics compare enlisting to saving the carnival, indicating that it is an essential part of Brazilian culture and identity.

The lyrics continue to describe how, in the event of war, the carnival will continue as people fight for their country. The verse talks about a battle of the bombardino, a role played by a clown in the community, and how the women in the community, represented by the colombina, would help in the war effort as a part of the Cross of War organization. The lyrics also describe how the people would dance and play music, represented by the beating of drums and the melindrosa, or flapper girl, firing a gun. The lyrics end on a note of hope, stating that if war is declared, the people will win through their morale and fighting spirit.

Line by Line Meaning

Se a guerra for declarada
If war is declared

Em pleno domingo de carnaval
On a full-on Sunday carnival day

Verás que um filho não foge à luta
You'll see that a son doesn't run from the fight

Brasil, recruta
Brazil, recruits

O teu pessoal
Your personnel

Se a terra anda ameaçada
If the earth is threatened

De se acabar numa explosão de sal
To end in a salt explosion

Se aliste, meu camarada
Enlist, my comrade

A gente vai salvar o nosso carnaval
We'll save our carnival

Vai ter batalha de bombardino
There will be a tuba battle

A colombina na Cruz Vermelha
The Colombina in the Red Cross