Born 27 January 1949, in Alagoas, Brazil, Djavan combines traditional brazi… Read Full Bio ↴Born 27 January 1949, in Alagoas, Brazil, Djavan combines traditional brazilian rhythms with popular music drawn from all over the american continent, Europe and Africa.

Born into a poor family in Maceió (capital of Alagoas, Northeast Brazil), Djavan formed the group Luz, Som, Dimensão (LSD - "Light, Sound, Dimension"), playing Beatles covers. In 1973 Djavan moved to Rio de Janeiro and started singing in local nightclubs. After competing in several festivals he gained attention and recorded the album A Voz, o Violão e a Arte de Djavan in 1976. The album included the song "Flor de Lis" which became one of his most memorable hits. Albums that followed included his other musical influence, African music, and additional hits followed like "Açaí", "Sina" and "Samurai", which featured Stevie Wonder's harmonica. His best known compositions are: "Meu Bem Querer", "Oceano", "Faltando um Pedaço", "Esquinas", "Seduzir", "Pétala", "Lilás", "A Ilha", "Fato Consumado", "Álibi", "Azul" and "Serrado".

His songs have been recorded by Al Jarreau, Carmen McRae, The Manhattan Transfer, and, in Brazil by Gal Costa, Dori Caymmi, Nana Caymmi, Lenine, João Bosco, Chico Buarque, Daniela Mercury, Ney Matogrosso, Dominguinhos, Caetano Veloso, Maria Bethânia, Johnny Alf, and other artists. The 1988 Epic Records single, "Stephen's Kingdom", featured a guest appearance from Stevie Wonder.

In 1999, his live concert double-volume album, Ao Vivo, has sold 1.2 million copies and the song, "Acelerou" became the Best Brazilian song of the year at 2000 Latin Grammy Awards.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Djavan

Imposto
Djavan Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

IPVA, IPTU
CPMF forever
É tanto imposto
Que eu já nem sei!...
ISS, ICMS
PIS e COFINS, pra nada...
Integração Social, aonde?
Só se for no carnaval

Eles nem tchum
Mas tu paga tudo
São eles os senhores da vez
Tu é comum, eles têm fundo
Pra acumular, com o respaldo da lei
Essa gente não quer nada
É praga sem precedente
Gente que só sabe fazer
Por si, por si
Tudo até parece claro
À luz do dia
Mas claro que é escuso
Não pense que é só isso
Ainda tem a farra do I.R.
Dinheiro demais!
Imposto a mais, desvio a mais
E o benefício é um horror
Estradas, hospitais, escolas
Tsunami a céu aberto,
Não está certo.
Pra quem vai tanto dinheiro?
Vai pro homem que recolhe
O imposto
Pois o homem que recolhe

O imposto
É o impostor

Overall Meaning

In Djavan's song "Imposto," the lyrics paint a vivid picture of frustration and disillusionment towards the prevalence of taxes and corruption in society. The song opens with a list of various taxes in Brazil, including IPVA (vehicle tax), IPTU (property tax), and CPMF (financial transactions tax). The repetition of "é tanto imposto" ("so many taxes") emphasizes the overwhelming burden of taxes on individuals. The following lines criticize the lack of transparency and fairness in tax distribution, with the question "Pra quem vai tanto dinheiro?" ("Who is all this money for?") pointing to the suspicion of corruption.

The second half of the song addresses the corruption and misuse of tax money, particularly in the context of public services such as hospitals and schools. The line "Tsunami a céu aberto" ("Open-air tsunami") paints a powerful image of the devastation and neglect caused by these issues. The song concludes with a play on words, using "imposto" (tax) to also mean "impostor" (imposter) to suggest that those in power who collect taxes are not using them for the benefit of the people.

Line by Line Meaning

IPVA, IPTU
Reference to Brazilian taxes: IPVA (vehicle tax) and IPTU (property tax)

CPMF forever
Reference to a former Brazilian financial transaction tax called CPMF which was eliminated, but some politicians intend to reinstate it

É tanto imposto
There are so many taxes

Que eu já nem sei!...
That Djavan is overwhelmed and does not know what more to say or do about it

ISS, ICMS
Reference to two taxes: ISS (Service Tax) and ICMS (Sales Tax)

PIS e COFINS, pra nada...
Reference to two taxes: PIS (Social Integration Program Contribution) and COFINS (Social Security Funding Contribution). According to the artist, they do not bring benefits to the society

Integração Social, aonde?
Where is the social integration (the purpose of the PIS) happening?

Só se for no carnaval
It only happens during carnival, metaphorically speaking, since it seems that there are no other positive outcomes of this tax

Eles nem tchum
Politicians do not care, are not aware, or pretend not to know about the people's struggles with high taxes

Mas tu paga tudo
But you pay for everything anyway, regardless of their ignorance

São eles os senhores da vez
The politicians are the current rulers

Tu é comum, eles têm fundo
You are common, they have financial support

Pra acumular, com o respaldo da lei
They accumulate wealth with the support of the law

Essa gente não quer nada
Politicians do not want anything productive for society, only personal benefits

É praga sem precedente
It is an unprecedented plague that is harmful to the population

Gente que só sabe fazer
Politicians who only know how to act in their own interest

Por si, por si
For themselves only

Tudo até parece claro
Everything may look transparent

À luz do dia
In the brightness of the day

Mas claro que é escuso
But it is clear that something is not right

Não pense que é só isso
Do not think that this is all

Ainda tem a farra do I.R.
Reference to the personal income tax (Imposto de Renda), which is accompanied by many deductions and loopholes that benefit wealthy taxpayers

Dinheiro demais!
Too much money collected from taxpayers

Imposto a mais, desvio a mais
Too much tax and embezzlement

E o benefício é um horror
And the result is terrible

Estradas, hospitais, escolas
Reference to public goods like roads, hospitals, and schools which are poorly funded and maintained despite high levels of taxes collected

Tsunami a céu aberto
Open sky tsunami, a metaphorical reference to public mismanagement that floods the streets with problems

Não está certo.
It is not right

Pra quem vai tanto dinheiro?
Who benefits from so much money collected through taxes?

Vai pro homem que recolhe
It goes to the man who collects

O imposto
The tax

Pois o homem que recolhe
And that man who collects

O imposto
The tax

É o impostor
Is actually the imposter (a play on words with the similarity of the words 'imposto' meaning tax and 'impostor' meaning impostor)

Writer(s): Djavan Caetano Viana Copyright: Luanda Ed. Musicais Ltda

Contributed by Ryan N. Suggest a correction in the comments below.

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