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.
E Dai?
Milton Nascimento Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Com brilho de trinta velas
Do sexo pulam sementes
Explodindo locomotivas
Tenho os intestinos roucos
Num rosário de lombrigas
Os meus músculos são poucos
Pra essa rede de intrigas
Meus gritos afro-latidos
Implodem, rasgam, esganam
E nos meus dedos dormidos
A lua das unhas ganem
E daí?
Meu sangue de mangue sujo
Sobe a custo, à contragosto
E tudo aquilo que fujo
Tirou prêmio, aval e posto
Entre hinos e chicanas
Entre dentes, entre dedos
No meio destas bananas
Os meus ódios e os meus medos
E daí?
Iguarias na baixela
Vinhos finos nesse odre
E nessa dor que me pela
Só meu ódio não é podre
Tenho séculos de espera
Nas contas da minha costela
Tenho nos olhos quimeras
Com brilho de trinta velas
E daí?
The lyrics of "E Dai?" by Milton Nascimento are full of vivid imagery and emotion, expressing the singer's inner turmoil and struggles with his identity and place in the world. The opening lines evoke a sense of fantasy and magic, as the singer speaks of his eyes being filled with "quimeras" (chimeras), shining like thirty candles. He then goes on to describe the explosive power of his sexuality, which seems to overwhelm and even destroy everything in its path. The later lines speak to the singer's physical and emotional distress, as his insides are compared to a rosary of worms, and his muscles are not strong enough to withstand the "network of intrigues" that surround him. The chorus of the song is a simple question: "E dai?" (so what?), which seems to be a sort of resigned acceptance of his situation, mixed with a defiant refusal to be defeated by it.
The next verse continues the themes of violence and pain, as the singer's "afro-latino" screams "implode, tear, strangle" around him, and his fingers seem to ache with the light of the moon. The final lines of the verse are once again a simple "E dai?", which contrasts with the powerful emotions expressed in the preceding lines. The final verse speaks to the singer's sense of isolation and alienation, as he reflects on the luxuries of food and drink that surround him, and the pain that seems to be his only constant companion. Once again, the chorus comes back with its simple question, of what it all really means.
Line by Line Meaning
Tenho nos olhos quimeras
I have illusions in my eyes
Com brilho de trinta velas
As bright as thirty candles
Do sexo pulam sementes
Seeds jump from my sex
Explodindo locomotivas
Exploding locomotives
Tenho os intestinos roucos
My intestines are hoarse
Num rosário de lombrigas
In a string of worms
Os meus músculos são poucos
My muscles are few
Pra essa rede de intrigas
For this web of intrigue
Meus gritos afro-latidos
My Afro-Latin screams
Implodem, rasgam, esganam
Explode, tear, strangle
E nos meus dedos dormidos
And in my numb fingers
A lua das unhas ganem
The nails' moon Moans
E daí?
So what?
Meu sangue de mangue sujo
My dirty mangrove blood
Sobe a custo, à contragosto
Rises reluctantly, at a cost
E tudo aquilo que fujo
And everything I run from
Tirou prêmio, aval e posto
Won a prize, an appraisal, and a position
Entre hinos e chicanas
Between hymns and trickery
Entre dentes, entre dedos
Between teeth, between fingers
No meio destas bananas
In the middle of these bananas
Os meus ódios e os meus medos
My hatred and my fears
E daí?
So what?
Iguarias na baixela
Delicacies on the plate
Vinhos finos nesse odre
Fine wines in that skin bag
E nessa dor que me pela
And in this pain that peels me
Só meu ódio não é podre
Only my hatred is not rotten
Tenho séculos de espera
I have centuries of waiting
Nas contas da minha costela
In the accounts of my ribs
E daí?
So what?
Contributed by James R. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
JESS
Tenho nos olhos quimeras
Com brilho de trinta velas
Do sexo pulam sementes
Explodindo locomotivas
Tenho os intestinos roucos
Num rosário de lombrigas
Os meus músculos são poucos
Pra essa rede de intrigas
Meus gritos afro-latidos
Implodem, rasgam, esganam
E nos meus dedos dormidos
A Lua das unhas ganem
E daí?
Meu sangue de mangue sujo
Sobe a custo, a contragosto
E tudo aquilo que fujo
Tirou prêmio, aval e posto
Entre hinos e chicanas
Entre dentes, entre dedos
No meio destas bananas
Os meus ódios e os meus medos
E daí?
Iguarias na baixela
Vinhos finos nesse odre
E nessa dor que me pela
Só meu ódio não é podre
Tenho séculos de espera
Nas contas das minhas costelas
Tenho nos olhos quimeras
Com brilho de trinta velas
E daí?
JESS
Tenho nos olhos quimeras
Com brilho de trinta velas
Do sexo pulam sementes
Explodindo locomotivas
Tenho os intestinos roucos
Num rosário de lombrigas
Os meus músculos são poucos
Pra essa rede de intrigas
Meus gritos afro-latidos
Implodem, rasgam, esganam
E nos meus dedos dormidos
A Lua das unhas ganem
E daí?
Meu sangue de mangue sujo
Sobe a custo, a contragosto
E tudo aquilo que fujo
Tirou prêmio, aval e posto
Entre hinos e chicanas
Entre dentes, entre dedos
No meio destas bananas
Os meus ódios e os meus medos
E daí?
Iguarias na baixela
Vinhos finos nesse odre
E nessa dor que me pela
Só meu ódio não é podre
Tenho séculos de espera
Nas contas das minhas costelas
Tenho nos olhos quimeras
Com brilho de trinta velas
E daí?
Sonia Maria Marchesin
Maravilhoso
Louis Edward A.
Voz sobre voz com contra-canto ...em terça acima...em quinta! Genial. Milton é supremo
MARCIA CRISTINA
Sim, ele é. Milton é minha religião.
André Rodrigues de Andrade
Nunca uma música foi tão atual!
Alex Leccxo
Que loucura essa música! Que beleza cortante, contundente! Choro de emoção!
Fábio Marcone
Forte demais, Seus do céu!!!
MARCIA CRISTINA
Como é bom vir aqui e ver outras pessoas descobrindo essa beleza, ouvindo essa música linda, na voz fenomenal desse cantor que é minha religião.♥️♥️♥️
Brenno Metzker
Que coisa mais linda!
Maria Tereza Noronha Siqueira
Linda demais !!!Olhe só a letra e vozes!!!Nossa!!!Meu Deus !!!