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.
Por que a Gente é Assim?
Ney Matogrosso Lyrics
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É claro que eu estou a fim
A noite nunca tem fim
Por que a gente é assim?
Agora fica comigo
E não desgruda de mim
Vê se ao menos me engole
Canibais de nós mesmos
Antes que a tetra nos coma
Cem gramas, sem dramas
Por que a gente é assim?
Você tem exatamente
Três mil horas
Pra parar de me beijar
Você tem exatamente tudo
Pra me conquistar
Você tem exatamente
Um segundo pra aprender a me amar
Você tem a vida inteira
Pra me devorar
Mais uma dose?
É claro que eu 'to a fim
A noite nunca tem fim
Por que a gente é assim?
The lyrics are about the desire for more of something that may not necessarily be good for us. The opening lines, "Mais uma dose?/É claro que eu estou a fim" (Another shot?/Of course I want it), suggests that the singer is indulging in some form of intoxication. The following line, "A noite nunca tem fim" (The night never ends), reinforces the idea of wanting to keep going and not wanting the moment to end. The repeated refrain, "Por que a gente é assim?" (Why are we like this?), questions why we, as humans, have this tendency to seek out pleasure and indulge, even if it may not be in our best interest.
Line by Line Meaning
¿Mais uma dose?
Asking for another round of drinks
É claro que eu estou a fim
Of course I'm interested
A noite nunca tem fim
The night never seems to end
¿Por que a gente é assim?
Why are we like this?
Agora fica comigo
Now stay with me
E não desgruda de mim
And don't let go of me
Vê se ao menos me engole
At least swallow me
Não me mastigue assim
Don't chew me up like this
Canibais de nós mesmos
We are our own cannibals
Antes que a tetra nos coma
Before tetanus consumes us
Cem gramas, sem dramas
A hundred grams, no worries
¿Por que a gente é assim?
Why are we like this?
Você tem exatamente
You have exactly
Três mil horas
Three thousand hours
Pra parar de me beijar
To stop kissing me
Você tem exatamente tudo
You have everything
Pra me conquistar
To conquer me
Você tem exatamente
You have exactly
Um segundo pra aprender a me amar
One second to learn to love me
Você tem a vida inteira
You have your whole life
Pra me devorar
To devour me
¿Mais uma dose?
Asking for another round of drinks
É claro que eu tô a fim
Of course I'm interested
A noite nunca tem fim
The night never seems to end
¿Por que a gente é assim?
Why are we like this?
Lyrics © Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: Roberto Frejat, Agenor De Miranda Araujo Neto, Jose Ezequiel Moreira Neves
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind