An uncommon artist with an uncommon sopranino voice, Ney Matogrosso fell in the Brazilian popular music scene like a bomb in the '70s aboard the Secos & Molhados. The end of the group marked the beginning of a fertile and successful solo career in which he began exploring his sensuous and charismatic persona through satiric and ironic repertories. As time passed, he substituted self-contained and deeply sensitive interpretations of classics for the popular and classical Brazilian music. Along with his representative and prolific solo discography, for which he received three platinum and three gold records, Matogrosso recorded in Itália with Astor Piazzola, performed in Argentina, Uruguay, participated in two Montreux Jazz Festivals (Switzerland), and toured Portugal several times. He also performed in Israel and the U.S., but always refused invitations to develop an international career. Matogrosso also worked as an actor in Sonho de Valsa (by Ana Carolina, the director, not the singer/composer) and Caramujo Flor (short subject by Joel Pizzini), and directed shows by RPM, Cazuza, and Simone.
Arriving in Rio de Janeiro in 1966, Matogrosso became a hippie leather artisan and divided his time between Rio, São Paulo, and Brasília, where he was a close friend of singer/composer Luli. Through her he met João Ricardo, who had a vision for a groundbreaking group and was searching for a high-pitched male voice. Invited by Ricardo, Matogrosso moved to São Paulo where he spent one year dedicating himself to exhaustive rehearsals, artisanship, and theater plays. With the explosive success of Secos e Molhados and the group's final dissolution, Matogrosso started his solo career exploring his unusual voice timbre, his mesmerizing scenic persona, and his androgynous visuals, enhanced by innovative and exotic costumes. A second solo album, Água do Céu - Pássaro, was supported by the show Homem de Neanderthal, in 1975, with which Matogrosso opened in Rio de Janeiro, drawing both raves and packed houses. "Barco Negro" and "Homem com H" appeared amongst considerable polemics aroused by the usual conservatives on duty. In that period, he worked with Astor Piazzola in Milan, Italy, where he recorded a double single with the Argentinean composer. A cleaner Matogrosso recorded Bandido in 1976, having his first national hit as a solo artist with "Bandido Corazón," written especially for him by Rita Lee.
Ate O Fim
Ney Matogrosso Lyrics
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O chato dumb querubim
E decretou que eu tava predestinado
A ser errado assim
Já de saída a minha estrada entortou
Mas vou até o fim
Inda garoto deixei de ir à escola
Não sou ladrão, eu não sou bom de bola
Nem posso ouvir clarim
Um bom futuro é o que jamais me esperou
Mas vou até o fim
Eu bem que tenho ensaiado um progresso
Virei cantor de festim
Mamãe contou que eu faço um bruto sucesso
Em Quixeramobim
Não sei como o maracatu começou
Mas vou até o fim
Por conta de umas questões paralelas
Quebraram meu bandolim
Não querem mais ouvir as minhas mazelas
E a minha voz chinfrim
Criei barriga, minha mula empacou
Mas vou até o fim
Não tem cigarro, acabou minha renda
Deu praga no meu capim
Minha mulher fugiu com o dono da venda
O que será de mim?
Eu já nem lembro pronde mesmo que vou
Mas vou até o fim
Como já disse era um anjo safado
O chato dumb querubim
Que decretou que eu tava predestinado
A ser todo ruim
Já de saída a minha estrada entortou
Mas vou até o fim
The lyrics of Ney Matogrosso's "Até o Fim" depict the struggles and challenges that the singer has faced throughout his life. The song begins with the singer saying that when he was born, a mischievous angel decided he was predestined to be wrong in every way. Despite this, he declares that he will continue on his path until the end. The singer then goes on to describe his troubled upbringing - he didn't go to school, he lacked talent in sports or music, and his future didn't seem bright. However, he continues to push through and tries to make progress as a festival singer. Despite his efforts, he faces setbacks, such as the destruction of his instrument and the loss of his income and wife.
The tone throughout the song is one of resilience and determination. Despite everything that has gone wrong for the singer, he refuses to give up and continues to move forward. The repetition of the phrase "mas vou até o fim" ("but I'll go until the end") at the end of each stanza reinforces this idea of persistence.
This song is a powerful message of resilience and perseverance, reminding listeners that even in the face of adversity, one can continue on and strive towards their goals.
Line by Line Meaning
Quando nasci veio um anjo safado
When I was born, a mischievous angel came
O chato dumb querubim
The annoying and dumb cherubim
E decretou que eu tava predestinado
And decreed that I was predestined
A ser errado assim
To be just this way, wrong
Já de saída a minha estrada entortou
From the very beginning, my path turned crooked
Mas vou até o fim
But I'll go until the end
Inda garoto deixei de ir à escola
Even as a boy, I stopped going to school
Cassaram meu boletim
They revoked my report card
Não sou ladrão, eu não sou bom de bola
I'm not a thief, I'm not good at soccer
Nem posso ouvir clarim
Nor can I stand the sound of a bugle
Um bom futuro é o que jamais me esperou
A good future is something that never waited for me
Mas vou até o fim
But I'll go until the end
Eu bem que tenho ensaiado um progresso
I've been trying to make progress
Virei cantor de festim
I became a party singer
Mamãe contou que eu faço um bruto sucesso
Mom told me I'm having great success
Em Quixeramobim
In Quixeramobim
Não sei como o maracatu começou
I don't know how the maracatu began
Mas vou até o fim
But I'll go until the end
Por conta de umas questões paralelas
Because of some parallel issues
Quebraram meu bandolim
They broke my bandolin
Não querem mais ouvir as minhas mazelas
They don't want to hear my troubles anymore
E a minha voz chinfrim
And my voice squeaky
Criei barriga, minha mula empacou
I got a potbelly, my mule got stuck
Mas vou até o fim
But I'll go until the end
Não tem cigarro, acabou minha renda
No cigarettes, my income is gone
Deu praga no meu capim
My grass got diseased
Minha mulher fugiu com o dono da venda
My wife ran away with the owner of the shop
O que será de mim?
What will become of me?
Eu já nem lembro pronde mesmo que vou
I don't even remember where I'm going
Mas vou até o fim
But I'll go until the end
Como já disse era um anjo safado
As I said before, it was a mischievous angel
O chato dumb querubim
The annoying and dumb cherubim
Que decretou que eu tava predestinado
That decreed that I was predestined
A ser todo ruim
To be all bad
Já de saída a minha estrada entortou
From the very beginning, my path turned crooked
Mas vou até o fim
But I'll go until the end
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
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