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.

Tempo e artista
Chico Buarque Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

Imagino o artista num anfiteatro
Onde o tempo é a grande estrela
Vejo o tempo obrar a sua arte
Tendo o mesmo artista como tela

Modelando o artista ao seu feitio
O tempo, com seu lápis impreciso
Põe-lhe rugas ao redor da boca

Como contrapesos de um sorriso

Já vestindo a pele do artista
O tempo arrebata-lhe a garganta
O velho cantor subindo ao palco
Apenas abre a voz, e o tempo canta

Dança o tempo sem cessar, montando
O dorso do exausto bailarino
Trêmulo, o ator recita um drama
Que ainda está por ser escrito

No anfiteatro, sob o céu de estrelas
Um concerto eu imagino

Onde, num relance, o tempo alcance a glória
E o artista, o infinito

Overall Meaning

The lyrics to Chico Buarque's song Tempo e artista convey his reflection on the relationship between time and art. The song paints a vivid picture of an artist performing in an amphitheater with time as its primary star. The artist is perceived as a canvas for time's artistry, as time molds and shapes the artist's voice, face, and movements with its imprecise pencil. The wrinkles around the artist's mouth, seemingly weighing down a smile, are examples of time's contrapuntal artistic expression.

The lyrics also suggest that time does not solely impose itself on the artist, but rather works in tandem with them. This can be heard in the line "Já vestindo a pele do artista / O tempo arrebata-lhe a garganta," where time facilitates the artist's performance. The song highlights how time affects different artists, such as the dancer and the actor, with varying degrees of intensity, communicating the idea that time is not impartial; it plays favorites. The song goes on to suggest a symbiotic relationship between the artist and time, ending the song with the image of an amphitheater concert, where the artist and time together reach sublime heights.

Overall, Buarque's poetic lyrics present time as a poignant metaphor for the passage of life and the physical and artistic changes that this passage brings. It shows how artists must make peace with time and accept its role in shaping their art and their being. The song invites listeners to reflect on how time affects their own lives and artistic expressions.

Line by Line Meaning

Imagino o artista num anfiteatro
I imagine the artist in an amphitheater

Onde o tempo é a grande estrela
Where time is the big star

Vejo o tempo obrar a sua arte
I see time working its art

Tendo o mesmo artista como tela
Using the same artist as the canvas

Modelando o artista ao seu feitio
Molding the artist to its liking

O tempo, com seu lápis impreciso
Time, with its imprecise pencil

Põe-lhe rugas ao redor da boca
Puts wrinkles around his mouth

Como contrapesos de um sorriso
Like counterweights to a smile

Já vestindo a pele do artista
Already wearing the artist's skin

O tempo arrebata-lhe a garganta
Time snatches his throat

O velho cantor subindo ao palco
The old singer going up on stage