Dorival Caymmi (born April 30, 1914 in Salvador, Bahia - August 16, 2008, R… Read Full Bio ↴Dorival Caymmi (born April 30, 1914 in Salvador, Bahia - August 16, 2008, Rio de Janeiro) is considered to be one to the most important songwriters in Brazilian popular music. The son of an Italian immigrant and a black Bahian woman, he has a distinctive style of his own and is the writer of many classic songs. The sambas, such as 'O Samba Da Minha Terra', have become standards of Música Popular Brasileira. He also wrote ballads celebrating the fearless fishermen of Bahia, including Promessa de Pescador and O Vento.

Although his songs celebrate the people of Bahia and he himself is enshrined in the popular Brazilian imagination as the archetypal Bahian, he moved to Rio de Janeiro to find fame in the 1930's and never moved back to Bahia.

He became a contemporary and sometimes rival of composer Ary Barroso and enjoyed a lifelong friendship with Bahian author Jorge Amado. Dorival Caymmi first achieved success in the late 1930s with Carmen Miranda, for whom he composed 'O Que é Que a Baiana Tem?'. He recorded for five decades, both singing solo with his own guitar accompaniment, and backed by bands and orchestras. In the 1960s many of his songs were covered by bossa nova pioneer João Gilberto, and he collaborated with Antonio Carlos Jobim. Among the many musicians heavily influenced by Dorival Caymmi are Caetano Veloso and Gilberto Gil.

Dorival Caymmi passed away at age 94 on August 16, 2008 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, of multiple organ failure. He is survived by three children, all of whom are in the prominent musicians: Nana, Danilo and Dori Caymmi.

Eu Não Tenho Onde Morar
Dorival Caymmi Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

Eu não tenho onde morar
É por isso que eu moro na areia
Eu nasci pequenininho
Como todo mundo nasceu
Todo mundo mora direito
Quem mora torto sou eu
Eu não tenho onde morar
É por isso que eu moro na areia

Vivo na beira da praia
Com a sorte que deus me deu
Maria mora com as outras
Quem paga o quarto sou eu

Eu não tenho onde morar
É por isso que eu moro na areia

Overall Meaning

The lyrics of the song "Eu Não Tenho Onde Morar" by Dorival Caymmi describe the precarious living conditions of the singer, who has no proper place to reside and thus lives on the beach sand. The first verse establishes the main theme of the song, as the singer explains that he has no home and has to make do with the sand as his residence. The second verse emphasizes that the singer is just like everyone else, born as a small and defenseless child, but he has never had the privilege of enjoying a proper home like everyone else. The third verse introduces the contrast between the singer's situation and that of other people who live normally, "direito," implying that there's something wrong, "torto," with the way he lives his life.

The last verse reveals that the singer is not alone, but he has a companion, Maria, with whom he shares his difficult situation. However, even in this duo, the burden of paying for their accommodation falls on the singer. Overall, the lyrics evoke a sense of sadness and empathy towards the marginalized and the unfortunate, and also a criticism of the social inequalities that lead to people living in such precarious conditions.

Line by Line Meaning

Eu não tenho onde morar
I don't have a place to live.

É por isso que eu moro na areia
That's why I live on the sand.

Eu nasci pequenininho
I was born very little,

Como todo mundo nasceu
like everybody else was.

Todo mundo mora direito
Everyone else has a proper place to live,

Quem mora torto sou eu
but I'm the one who lives crooked.

Vivo na beira da praia
I live on the beachfront,

Com a sorte que deus me deu
with the luck that God gave me,

Maria mora com as outras
Maria lives with the others,

Quem paga o quarto sou eu
but I'm the one paying for the room.

Eu não tenho onde morar
I don't have a place to live.