Nascimento was born in Rio de Janeiro, and grew up in Três Pontas, Minas Gerais. His mother was the maid Maria do Carmo Nascimento. When he was just a few months old, the boy was adopted by the family for whom his mother had previously worked: the couple Josino Brito Campos (a banker, mathematics teacher and electronic technician) and Lília Silva Campos (a music teacher). He lived in the boroughs of Laranjeiras and Tijuca in Rio de Janeiro. When he was 18 months old, his biological mother died and he moved with his adoptive parents to the city of Três Pontas, in the State of Minas Gerais.
In the earlier stages of his career, Nascimento played in two samba groups, Evolussamba and Sambacana. In 1963 he moved to Belo Horizonte, and his friendship with the Borges brothers (Marilton, Márcio e Lô Borges) led to the Clube da Esquina ("corner club") movement. Other members included Beto Guedes, Toninho Horta, Wagner Tiso, and Flavio Venturini.
Nascimento is famous for his chime-clear falsetto and tonal range, as well for highly acclaimed songs such as "Canção da América" ("Song from America") and "Coração de Estudante" ("Student's Heart"). The lyrics of "Coração de Estudante" remembers the funeral of the student Edson Luís, killed by police officers in 1968. The song became the hymn for the diretas Já campaign in 1984 and it was also played in the funeral of the late president Tancredo Neves the next year, who died before assuming the presidency.
While his reputation within Brazil was firmly established with his Clube da Esquina works, Nascimento's international breakthrough came with his appearance on jazz saxophonist Wayne Shorter's 1974 album "Native Dancer". This led to widespread acclaim, and collaborations with American stars such as Paul Simon, James Taylor, and Pat Metheny.
Through his friendship with guitarist Warren Cuccurullo, Nascimento came to work with the pop-rock band Duran Duran in 1993. Nascimento co-wrote and performed (in the Portuguese language) the song "Breath After Breath", featured on the band's 1993 album "Duran Duran". He also performed with the band in concert when they toured in Brazil, in support of that album. Nascimento earned a Grammy award for "Best World Music Album" in 1998 for his album "Nascimento", and was also nominated in 1991 and 1995.
Dos Cruces
Milton Nascimento Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Com a sua lua prateada
Testemunha de nosso amor
Debaixo da noite quieta
Nós nos quisemos você e eu
Com um amor sem pecado
Mas o destino quis
Que nós vivamos separados
São pregadas duas cruzes
No monte do esquecimento
Para dois amores que morreram
Sem term sido compreendidos
São pregadas duas cruzes
No monte do esquecimento
Para dois amores que morreram
E eles são seu e meu
Oh, bairro de Santa Cruz
Oh, praça de Sra. Elvira
Eu o devolvo se lembrar
E me parece mentira
Tudo o que já aconteceu
Tudo estava no esquecimento
Nossas promessas de amores
No ar eles se perderam
São pregadas duas cruzes
No monte do esquecimento
Para dois amores que morreram
Sem terem sido compreendidos
São pregadas duas cruzes
No monte do esquecimento
Para dois amores que morreram
Que eles são seu e meu
Que eles são seu e meu
The song "Dos Cruces" by Milton Nascimento is a poignant narration of a love that had to endure separation and the pain that comes with it. The first stanza takes us back to Seville where two people who loved each other deeply saw the beauty of night beaming down on them. The moon that witnessed their love story served as a symbol of purity due to their sinless love. However, fate intervened, and they were forced to live apart from each other. The second stanza talks about two crosses attached to the mountain of oblivion, commemorating their love, which died without being understood. The singer wishes to convey a message that even though their love went uncomprehended, it belonged to both of them, and both were suffering in their own way.
The third stanza laments the painful irony of things, that places and remembrances they once shared are now but vague memory, left to oblivion. Their promise of love and their undying passion are floating in the air, as if they never existed. The recurring stanza reinforces the theme of lost love and remembrance by emphasizing the pain of separation and the reality that even though they went unnoticed, their love was real.
Line by Line Meaning
Sevilha teve que ser
Seville had to be
Com a sua lua prateada
With its silver moon
Testemunha de nosso amor
Witness to our love
Debaixo da noite quieta
Under the quiet night
Nós nos quisemos você e eu
We loved each other, you and I
Com um amor sem pecado
With a sinless love
Mas o destino quis
But fate willed
Que nós vivamos separados
That we live apart
São pregadas duas cruzes
Two crosses are nailed
No monte do esquecimento
On the hill of forgetfulness
Para dois amores que morreram
For two loves that died
Sem term sido compreendidos
Without having been understood
Eles são seu e meu
They are yours and mine
Oh, bairro de Santa Cruz
Oh, neighborhood of Santa Cruz
Oh, praça de Sra. Elvira
Oh, square of Mrs. Elvira
Eu o devolvo se lembrar
I'll return it if you remember
E me parece mentira
And it seems like a lie
Tudo o que já aconteceu
Everything that has happened
Tudo estava no esquecimento
Everything was forgotten
Nossas promessas de amores
Our promises of love
No ar eles se perderam
In the air, they were lost
São pregadas duas cruzes
Two crosses are nailed
No monte do esquecimento
On the hill of forgetfulness
Para dois amores que morreram
For two loves that died
Sem terem sido compreendidos
Without having been understood
Que eles são seu e meu
That they are yours and mine
Contributed by Joshua J. Suggest a correction in the comments below.