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.
Romance
Gal Costa Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Sua casca é um romance
Muito boinha você, viu, laranjinha doce?
Dulcíssima...
Pitomba jura
Amargura no caroço
Goiaba quase devez
Mamoeiro dá um leite, que fel
Amor de maçã
Debaixo do frio
Por dentro do mato
Fruto do ato
Ligado à resina de cajá
Manga espada inchada
Eu sou do mato
Brinquei com maturi
Vou ficando por aqui
Nas costas da madrugada
Por dentro do mato
Fruto do ato
Ligado à resina de cajá
Manga espada inchada
Eu sou do mato
Brinquei com maturi
Vou ficando por aqui
Meu bem, me abraça
E a lua quer me dizer te amo
Te amo, te amo
The song "Romance" by Gal Costa describes various fruits found in Brazil and their different characteristics. The lyrics use the fruits as metaphors for love and relationships. The opening lines talk about the "fruta de conde" or sugar apple, and how its exterior represents a romance. The next lines describe the "pitomba," which has bitterness in its core, symbolizing the ups and downs of a relationship. The lyrics then talk about the sweetness of the "laranjinha doce" or sweet orange, before moving on to the "goiaba" or guava, which is almost ripe but not quite.
The song continues to describe different fruits and their symbolism in relationships. The "mamoeiro" or papaya is said to have a bitter milk, representing the challenges that come with love. The "pitanga do céu" or cherry is described as a love akin to that of an apple, one that is grown in the cold and in secret places. The "manga espada" or sword mango represents the singer's connection to the jungle and her childhood memories of playing with "maturi," a type of fruit found in the Amazon.
The song's chorus repeats the lines "Por dentro do mato/Fruto do ato/Ligado à resina de cajá" which can be translated as "Inside the woods/Fruit of action/Connected to the cajá resin." This signifies how love is not just about the surface-level aspects, but rather a deeper connection that lies within. The song ends with the singer saying "Meu bem, me abraça/E a lua quer me dizer te amo/Te amo, te amo" meaning "My love, embrace me/And the moon wants to tell you 'I love you'/'I love you, I love you.'"
Line by Line Meaning
Fruta de conde
A kind of fruit known as sugar-apple
Sua casca é um romance
The texture of the fruit's skin suggests an alluring and romantic quality
Muito boinha você, viu, laranjinha doce?
A playful and endearing expression meaning 'you are so cute and sweet, little orange'
Dulcíssima...
Very sweet and delightful
Pitomba jura
A type of fruit known as Suriname cherry
Amargura no caroço
The pit or seed inside the fruit is bitter
Goiaba quase devez
Guava is almost always in season
Mamoeiro dá um leite, que fel
Milk from a papaya tree tastes bitter
Pitanga do céu
Heavenly cherry fruit
Amor de maçã
A metaphorical expression meaning 'love like that of apples'
Debaixo do frio
In a cold place
Por dentro do mato
Inside the forest
Fruto do ato
The result of an action, possibly referring to the act of love or sex
Ligado à resina de cajá
Connected to the resin of the cajá fruit, possibly suggesting a sticky and sensual quality
Manga espada inchada
A type of mango known as the sword mango, which is plump with fruit
Eu sou do mato
I belong to the forest, suggesting a connection to nature and wildness
Brinquei com maturi
Played around with a kind of fruit known as the maturi, possibly suggesting innocence and joy in nature
Vou ficando por aqui
I'll stay here, in this place
Nas costas da madrugada
In the early morning hours
Meu bem, me abraça
My love, hug me
E a lua quer me dizer te amo
And the moon wants to tell me 'I love you'
Te amo, te amo
I love you, I love you
Contributed by Andrew N. Suggest a correction in the comments below.