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.
Valsinha
Ney Matogrosso Lyrics
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Olhou-a de um jeito muito mais quente do que sempre costumava olhar
E não maldisse a vida tanto quanto era seu jeito de sempre falar
E nem deixou-a só num canto, pra seu grande espanto convidou-a pra rodar
E então ela se fez bonita com há muito tempo não queria ousar
Com seu vestido decotado cheirando a guardado de tanto esperar
Depois os dois deram-se os braços com há muito tempo não se usava dar
E cheios de ternura e graça foram para a praça e começaram a se abraçar
E foi tanta felicidade que toda cidade se iluminou
E foram tantos beijos loucos, tantos gritos roucos como não se ouvia mais
Que o mundo compreendeu
E o dia amanheceu
Em paz.
These lyrics tell the story of a man who arrives completely different from his usual self. He looks at the woman in question in a much warmer way than he usually does and doesn't curse life as he usually does. Instead, he invites her to dance, which surprises her greatly. She then makes herself beautiful, wearing a daring dress she had not dared to wear in a long time. They embrace and dance, and the whole neighborhood wakes up to their joyous celebration. They kiss uncontrollably and shout in happiness, and the world understands. The day dawns in peace.
Ney Matogrosso's Valsinha is a joyous celebration of love and freedom, where two people come together and dance in the middle of their town. It evokes a longing for a time when dancing in the streets was not only possible but expected, and where love could triumph. The lyrics are full of details about the gestures and actions between the two characters, from the way he looks at her to the dress she wears. The song carries a sense of nostalgia, longing, and celebration.
Line by Line Meaning
Um dia ele chegou tão diferente do seu jeito de sempre chegar
One day he arrived so differently from his usual way of arriving
Olhou-a de um jeito muito mais quente do que sempre costumava olhar
He looked at her in a much hotter way than he usually did
E não maldisse a vida tanto quanto era seu jeito de sempre falar
And he didn't curse life as much as he used to speak
E nem deixou-a só num canto, pra seu grande espanto convidou-a pra rodar
And he didn't leave her alone in a corner, to her great surprise he invited her to dance
E então ela se fez bonita com há muito tempo não queria ousar
And then she made herself beautiful in a way she hadn't dared for a long time
Com seu vestido decotado cheirando a guardado de tanto esperar
With her low-cut dress smelling like it had been stored away for so long, waiting for this moment
Depois os dois deram-se os braços com há muito tempo não se usava dar
Then they took each other's arms in a way that hadn't been done for a long time
E cheios de ternura e graça foram para a praça e começaram a se abraçar
And full of tenderness and grace they went to the square and started to hug each other
E alí dançaram tanta dança que a vizinhança toda despertou
And there they danced so much that the entire neighborhood woke up
E foi tanta felicidade que toda cidade se iluminou
And there was so much happiness that the whole city lit up
E foram tantos beijos loucos, tantos gritos roucos como não se ouvia mais
And there were so many crazy kisses, so many hoarse screams that hadn't been heard anymore
Que o mundo compreendeu
That the world understood
E o dia amanheceu
And the day dawned
Em paz.
In peace.
Contributed by Camilla C. Suggest a correction in the comments below.