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.
Vira-Lata de Raça
Ney Matogrosso Lyrics
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Uma criança problema no meio de um dilema
Ou choro sozinho num canto na hora do espanto
Ou banco o palhaço e faço estardalhaço
No fundo, no fundo, no fundo sou um vagabundo
Um vira-lata de raça, raposa no dia de caça
Eu quebro o protocolo, me atiro no seu colo
Eu salvo sua vida quando você se suicida
Eu sou Marlon Brando, vivo numa ilha
Não faço papel de santo nem pra minha família
Não posso ser outra coisa se não James Dean
Eu sempre fui mais bonzinho quando sou ruim
Minha dor não dói, sou marginal, sou herói!
The lyrics of Ney Matogrosso's song Vira-Lata de Raça talk about a person who is like a stray dog looking for affection and attention. The lyrics describe the person as a lonely creature who sometimes behaves like a naughty child and sometimes like a clown to draw attention to themselves. The person also has the tendency to save other people's lives, even if it means risking their own. They see themselves as a hero and a rebel, living on the outskirts of society.
The song portrays the complex nature of human beings and how they struggle to fit in with others. The person in the song is like a stray dog, surviving by their wits and their inherent toughness. They are not ashamed of their past or their reputation, and instead embrace their uniqueness. The lyrics highlight the fact that people can be both good and bad, and no one is entirely one or the other.
Line by Line Meaning
Eu sou só um bicho carente de carinho
I am just a creature whose heart longs for affection
Uma criança problema no meio de um dilema
A child with issues, stuck in a predicament
Ou choro sozinho num canto na hora do espanto
Or weep alone in a corner, in moments of panic
Ou banco o palhaço e faço estardalhaço
Or play the clown, making a commotion
No fundo, no fundo, no fundo sou um vagabundo
Deep down, I am just a vagabond
Um vira-lata de raça, raposa no dia de caça
A mongrel of pedigree, a fox on the day of the hunt
Eu quebro o protocolo, me atiro no seu colo
I break the rules, I throw myself into your embrace
Eu salvo sua vida quando você se suicida
I save your life when you are on the brink of suicide
Minha dor não dói, sou marginal, sou herói
My pain does not hurt, I am a rebel, I am a hero
Eu sou Marlon Brando, vivo numa ilha
I am Marlon Brando, living on an island
Não faço papel de santo nem pra minha família
I don't masquerade as a saint, not even for my family
Não posso ser outra coisa se não James Dean
I cannot be anything else but James Dean
Eu sempre fui mais bonzinho quando sou ruim
I have always been nicer when I am mean
Minha dor não dói, sou marginal, sou herói!
My pain does not hurt, I am a rebel, I am a hero!
Writer(s): Rita Carvalho, Roberto Carvalho
Contributed by Jordyn S. Suggest a correction in the comments below.