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.
Metamorfose Ambulante
Ney Matogrosso Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Prefiro ser essa metamorfose ambulante
Do que ter aquela velha opinião formada sobre tudo
Eu quero dizer agora o oposto do que eu disse antes
Prefiro ser essa metamorfose ambulante
Do que ter aquela velha opinião formada sobre tudo
Do que ter aquela velha opinião formada sobre tudo
Sobre o que é o amor
Sobre o que eu nem sei quem sou
Hoje eu sou estrela amanhã já se apagou
Se hoje eu te odeio amanhã lhe tenho amor
Lhe tenho amor
Lhe tenho horror
Lhe faço amor
Eu sou um ator
É chato chegar a um objetivo num instante
Eu quero viver essa metamorfose ambulante
Do que ter aquela velha opinião formada sobre tudo
Do que ter aquela velha opinião formada sobre tudo
Sobre o que é o amor
Sobre o que eu nem sei quem sou
Hoje eu sou estrela amanhã já se apagou
Se hoje eu te odeio amanhã lhe tenho amor
Lhe tenho amor
Lhe tenho horror
Lhe faço amor
Eu sou um ator
Eu vou desdizer aquilo tido que eu lhes disse antes
Prefiro ser essa metamorfose ambulante
Do que ter aquela velha opinião formada sobre tudo
Do que ter aquela velha opinião formada sobre tudo
Do que ter aquela velha opinião formada sobre tudo
Do que ter aquela velha opinião formada sobre tudo
Do que ter aquela velha opinião formada sobre tudo
Do que ter aquela velha opinião formada sobre tudo
Do que ter aquela velha opinião formada sobre tudo
Ney Matogrosso's song "Metamorfose Ambulante" is about the desire for change and transformation. The lyrics express a preference for being a constantly changing and evolving person instead of having a fixed and stagnant opinion about everything. The repetition of "Prefiro ser essa metamorfose ambulante" ("I prefer to be this ambulant metamorphosis") emphasizes this message and reinforces the idea that being open to change is more important than clinging to a set of beliefs.
The lyrics also explore the themes of love and identity. The lines "Sobre o que é o amor / Sobre o que eu nem sei quem sou" ("About what love is / About who I don't even know I am") suggest a certain confusion and uncertainty about these topics. The verses also suggest a certain fickleness, with lines like "Se hoje eu te odeio amanhã lhe tenho amor" ("If today I hate you tomorrow I love you") and "Hoje eu sou estrela amanhã já se apagou" ("Today I am a star, tomorrow I have dimmed").
Overall, "Metamorfose Ambulante" celebrates the idea of embracing change and rejecting a fixed worldview. Ney Matogrosso's passionate delivery of the lyrics adds to the song's emotional impact and reinforces the message of transformation and growth.
Line by Line Meaning
Prefiro ser essa metamorfose ambulante
I'd rather be a constant transformation than to have a fixed, unchanging opinion about everything.
Do que ter aquela velha opinião formada sobre tudo
Because I don't want to limit myself by having a particular set of beliefs that can't evolve over time.
Eu quero dizer agora o oposto do que eu disse antes
I'm open to expressing the opposite of what I said before, because I'm always changing and growing.
Sobre o que é o amor
I'm not sure what love is all about.
Sobre o que eu nem sei quem sou
And sometimes I'm not even sure about my own identity.
Hoje eu sou estrela amanhã já se apagou
I can be popular one day, and forgotten the next. Fame is fickle.
Se hoje eu te odeio amanhã lhe tenho amor
My feelings towards someone can change dramatically over time.
Lhe tenho horror
And sometimes I might even feel disgusted or repelled by someone.
Lhe faço amor
But other times, I might feel deeply attracted to that person.
Eu sou um ator
I see myself as a performer, because I play many different roles in my life.
É chato chegar a um objetivo num instante
I find it boring to achieve a goal too quickly or easily.
Eu quero viver essa metamorfose ambulante
Because I want to embrace constant change and transformation as a way of living my life.
Eu vou lhes dizer aquilo tido que eu lhes disse antes
And even if I contradict myself from time to time, that's okay, because I'm always evolving.
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: Raul Santos Seixas
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind