Gal became one of Brazil's foremost Tropicália counterculture movement singers during the late 1960s and early 70s, quickly earning the title as one of the best and most acclaimed singers in Brazil, following a very succesful career with many hits and prestige over the years. During Tropicália, she became a political activist, coming into conflict with Brazil's government when dissent in music was censored, and later coming to represent the movement all alone in her country when her fellow Tropicália members and friends were exhiled to London due to the heavy dictatorship that was going on at the time.
Fellow musician Caetano Veloso, introduced her to Gilberto Gil and Tom Zé in 1963 (and later Maria Bethânia), who managed to secure her a recording deal in São Paulo for her debut album Domingo with Caetano Veloso. A bit before recording her first album, "Father of Bossa Nova" João Gilberto, met her and after a couple of hours hearing Gracinha (as she was known at the time) sing for him as he was playing the acoustic guitar, he said: "Gracinha, you're Brazil's greatest female singer". In the following years, Gal would prove his statement right with a fruitful and rewarding career, and with the encouragement of João Gilberto himself; her biggest idol.
Gal has recorded songs composed by a number of Brazil's most popular songwriters such as Antônio Carlos Jobim, Jorge Ben Jor, Chico Buarque, Rita Lee and especially her close friends Caetano Veloso and Gilberto Gil. She was also a member of the supergroup Doces Bárbaros, active in 1976, 1994 and 2002.
Folhas Secas
Gal Costa Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Caidas de uma mangueira
Penso na minha escola
E nos poetas da minha Estação Primeira
Não sei quantas vezes
Subi o morro cantando
Sempre o Sol me queimando
E assim vou me acabando
Que eu não posso mais cantar
Sei que vou sentir saudade
Ao lado do meu violão
Da minha mocidade
Quando eu piso em folhas secas
Caidas de uma mangueira
Penso na minha escola
E nos poetas da minha Estação Primeira
Não sei quantas vezes
Subi o morro cantando
Sempre o Sol me queimando
E assim vou me acabando.
The song "Folhas Secas" by Gal Costa reminisces about the singer's memories of her youth, specifically her school days and the poets of her neighborhood. The sound of her footsteps on dry leaves falling from a mango tree triggers these memories. The lyrics talk about how many times she climbed the hill singing and enduring the scorching sun. The repetition of these experiences reflects the nostalgia that she feels for these moments, and signifies their importance in defining her identity.
Gal Costa also talks about her fear of when her time to sing will eventually come to an end. She knows that eventually she will be unable to sing, and the thought of it creates a void in her, reminding her of her age and mortality. The memories of her school days and youth will always be intertwined with music, and she ends the song by saying that she will always miss her youth and the comfort of her guitar beside her as she sang.
Overall, the song is an ode to nostalgia and the memories that define us through the passage of time. It is a powerful representation of the way music can transport us back in time and remind us of how we have grown and changed over the years.
Line by Line Meaning
Quando eu piso em folhas secas
When I step on dried leaves
Caidas de uma mangueira
That have fallen from a mango tree
Penso na minha escola
I think of my school
E nos poetas da minha Estação Primeira
And the poets from my Estação Primeira
Não sei quantas vezes
I don't know how many times
Subi o morro cantando
I climbed the hill singing
Sempre o Sol me queimando
Always the sun burning me
E assim vou me acabando
And that's how I'm wearing myself out
Quando o tempo avisar
When time will warn
Que eu não posso mais cantar
That I can't sing anymore
Sei que vou sentir saudade
I know I will miss
Ao lado do meu violão
Being next to my guitar
Da minha mocidade
Of my youth
Quando eu piso em folhas secas
When I step on dried leaves
Caidas de uma mangueira
That have fallen from a mango tree
Penso na minha escola
I think of my school
E nos poetas da minha Estação Primeira
And the poets from my Estação Primeira
Não sei quantas vezes
I don't know how many times
Subi o morro cantando
I climbed the hill singing
Sempre o Sol me queimando
Always the sun burning me
E assim vou me acabando.
And that's how I'm wearing myself out.
Contributed by Alexandra K. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
Fabio Ferreira Brito
Sempre Gal. Essa gravação de "Folhas secas" ficou muito bonita. Boa parte do brilho da MPB nos últimos "cinquenta e alguns anos" passa, necessariamente, pela voz de Gal. Obrigado, Damião.
Danilo de Oliveira Azevedo
Melhor gravação entre as melhores!
Renata Caldeira
Canta muitooooo!!!