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.
Minha História
Ney Matogrosso Lyrics
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Sem muito explicar eu só sei que falava e
Cheirava e gostava de mar
Sei que tinha tatuagem no braço
E dourado no dente e minha mãe se entregou
A esse homem perdidamente
Ele assim como veio partiu não
Olhar cada dia mais longe
Esperando, parada, pregada na pedra do porto
Com seu único velho vestido
Cada dia mais curto
Quando enfim eu nasci minha
Mãe embrulhou-me num manto
Me vestiu como se fosse assim
Uma espécie de santo
Mas por não se lembrar de
AcalanEle vinha sem muita conversa
Sem muito explicar eu só sei que falava e
Cheirava e gostava de mar
Sei que tinha tatuagem no braço
E dourado no dente e minha mãe se entregou
A esse homem perdidamente
Ele assim como veio partiu não
Se sabe pra onde e deixou minha mãe com o
Olhar cada dia mais longe
Esperando, parada, pregada na pedra do porto
Com seu único velho vestido
Cada dia mais curto
Quando enfim eu nasci minha
Mãe embrulhou-me num manto
Me vestiu como se fosse assim
Uma espécie de santo
Mas por não se lembrar de acalantos
A pobre mulher
Me ninava cantando cantigas de cabará
Minha mãe não tardou a
Lertar toda a vizinhança
A mostrar que ali estava bem
Mais que uma simples criança
E não sei bem se por ironia ou se por amor
Resolveu me chamar com o nome do Nosso Senhor
Minha história é esse nome que
Ainda hoje carrego comigo
Quando vou bar em bar, viro a mesa, berro
Bebo e brigo os ladrões e as amantes
Meus colegas de copo e de cruz
Me conhecem só pelo meu nome Menino Jesus
The lyrics of Ney Matogrosso's song "Minha História" tell a story of a woman who falls deeply in love with a mysterious man. The man is described as someone who doesn't talk much and doesn't give many explanations. He has a fondness for the sea and has tattoos on his arm and gold teeth. The woman's mother becomes completely infatuated with this man, despite knowing very little about him.
However, just as mysteriously as he arrived, the man leaves, leaving the woman's mother with a distant gaze. She waits and hopes for his return, feeling stuck in her longing and wearing the same old, short dress. Eventually, the woman is born, and her mother wraps her in a blanket, dressing her as if she were a saint. Unfortunately, due to her mother's absent-mindedness, she doesn't remember any lullabies and ends up singing songs from the cabaret.
The singer's mother quickly spreads the news of the child's birth to the whole neighborhood, wanting to show off that she has more than just a typical child. Perhaps driven by irony or love, she decides to name the child after Jesus Christ. The name "Minha História" ("My Story") represents the weight and significance of this name that the singer carries with them throughout their life.
In the last paragraph, the singer describes their life in bars, where they regularly turn tables, shout, drink, and fight with thieves and lovers. These activities have become a part of their identity, and they are only known by the name "Menino Jesus" ("Baby Jesus") among their drinking companions and acquaintances. The lyrics suggest that the singer's life is filled with excitement and chaos, leaving behind a trail of stories and experiences.
Line by Line Meaning
Ele vinha sem muita conversa
He would come without much conversation
Sem muito explicar eu só sei que falava e
Without much explanation, I only know that he spoke and
Cheirava e gostava de mar
He smelled and loved the sea
Sei que tinha tatuagem no braço
I know he had a tattoo on his arm
E dourado no dente e minha mãe se entregou
And gold in his tooth, and my mother surrendered to him
A esse homem perdidamente
To this man wholeheartedly
Ele assim como veio partiu não
He left just as he came
Se sabe pra onde e deixou minha mãe com o
No one knows where, and left my mother with
Olhar cada dia mais longe
A gaze that grew more distant each day
Esperando, parada, pregada na pedra do porto
Waiting, still, stuck on the port's stone
Com seu único velho vestido
With her only old dress
Cada dia mais curto
Each day shorter
Quando enfim eu nasci minha
When finally I was born, my
Mãe embrulhou-me num manto
Mother wrapped me in a shawl
Me vestiu como se fosse assim
Dressed me as if
Uma espécie de santo
Some kind of saint
Mas por não se lembrar de
But because she didn't remember
Acalantos
Lullabies
A pobre mulher
The poor woman
Me ninava cantando cantigas de cabaré
Rocked me to sleep singing cabaret songs
Minha mãe não tardou a
My mother quickly
Lertar toda a vizinhança
Alerted the whole neighborhood
A mostrar que ali estava bem
To show that everything was fine there
Mais que uma simples criança
More than just a child
E não sei bem se por ironia ou se por amor
And I don't know if it was irony or love
Resolveu me chamar com o nome do Nosso Senhor
She decided to call me by the name of Our Lord
Minha história é esse nome que
My story is this name that
Ainda hoje carrego comigo
I still carry with me today
Quando vou bar em bar, viro a mesa, berro
When I go from bar to bar, turn the tables, shout
Bebo e brigo os ladrões e as amantes
I drink and fight thieves and lovers
Meus colegas de copo e de cruz
My companions in drinking and in the cross
Me conhecem só pelo meu nome Menino Jesus
They only know me by my name Boy Jesus
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
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