The band is considered one of the main groups in Brazilian rock. Like most groups from the 1960s, Os Mutantes were heavily influenced by The Beatles, Jimi Hendrix and Sly & the Family Stone. However, Brazilian musicians were also immersed in their local culture, exercising their own creativity in the use of feedback, distortion and studio tricks of all kinds, just as was done by the Liverpool quartet and the group The Beach Boys. In this sense, Mutantes were pioneers in mixing rock and roll with Brazilian musical and thematic elements. Another characteristic of the group was irreverence. Like Os Mutantes, there began to be a kind of mixture of foreign and Brazilian music and the addition of new ideas, with doses of experimentalism, thus opening the way for musical hybridism.
Os Mutantes began their activities in 1966, as a trio, when they performed on the program O Pequeno Mundo de Ronnie Von on TV Record. On the eve of the program's premiere, the trio had the name "Os Bruxos", but neither Rita Lee nor the Dias Baptista brothers (Arnaldo and Sérgio) were satisfied with that name and wanted to change it. According to Carlos Calado,[2] the idea for the name "Os Mutantes" came from an ironic joke between Alberto Helena Júnior, the program's producer, and Ronnie Von, who, at the time, was reading O Império dos Mutantes, by Stefan Wul, and did not talk about any other subject. "Are you guys still looking for a name for the boys ensemble? Why not The Mutants?" Ronnie Von liked Alberto Helena's idea and took it to the group, who approved it immediately.
The group soon became one of the main exponents of the new MPB, influenced by Tropicália, until it dissolved in 1978. Over these twelve years, nine albums were recorded, two of which - O A e o Z and Tecnicolor - were only released on 1990s, when the group began to be recognized, on the national and international rock scene, as one of the most creative, dynamic, radical and talented of the psychedelic era and the history of world rock. In 2006, the band reunited, without Rita Lee or Liminha, but with the presence of Arnaldo Baptista and Zélia Duncan on vocals. The following year, Arnaldo and Zélia left the band, which was recomposed with other musicians and continues to perform under the leadership of Sérgio Dias, the only remaining member of the original lineup.
03. O Relogio
Os Mutantes Lyrics
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Desistiu pra sempre de ser
Antimagnético
Vinte e dois rubis
Eu dei corda e pensei
Que o relógio iria viver
Pra dizer a hora
Não andou e eu chorei
Dois ponteiros parados a rir
São à prova d'água
Vinte e dois rubis
Que vantagem eu levei
Em ter um relógio
Que é suíço ou inglês
Sem andar
A que horas você vai chegar?
E no mar me atirei
Com o relógio nas mãos e pensei
Ele é à prova d'água
Vinte dois rubis
The song "O Relogio" by Os Mutantes talks about a broken clock that had stopped working forever. The singer of the song had given the clock a wind and it failed to keep ticking. The clock was antimagnetic, had 22 rubies, and was waterproof, yet it failed to do what it was intended to do, which was to tell time. The singer had hoped that the clock would function so that they could be notified of their loved one's arrival. The clock served as a symbol of the relationship, which had come to an end or was no longer functioning. The singer's despair is evident, as they literally take the clock and throw it into the water while questioning its value.
The lyrics to "O Relogio" reflect the theme of the breakdown of communication within a relationship. The singer is powerless to fix the clock and convey time, which symbolizes their inability to control their situation. The waterproof, antimagnetic, and ruby features of the clock may represent the superficial aspects of a relationship, such as material gifts and status symbols. In the end, the singer decides to throw the clock into the water, which could represent the final end of the relationship or the beginning of a new chapter.
Line by Line Meaning
Meu relógio parou
My watch has stopped working.
Desistiu pra sempre de ser
It has given up forever on functioning properly.
Antimagnético
It was designed to be resistant to magnetic fields.
Vinte e dois rubis
It has 22 jewels in its mechanisms.
Eu dei corda e pensei
I tried winding it up and hoped it would work.
Que o relógio iria viver
That the watch would resume functioning.
Pra dizer a hora
To tell me the time so I know when you will arrive.
Não andou e eu chorei
The watch did not work and I cried.
Dois ponteiros parados a rir
The two watch hands mocking me by staying put.
São à prova d'água
The watch is waterproof.
Vinte e dois rubis
It has 22 jewels in its mechanisms.
Que vantagem eu levei
What was the advantage of having such a watch?
Em ter um relógio
Having a watch
Que é suíço ou inglês
That was Swiss or English.
Sem andar
Yet still not working.
A que horas você vai chegar?
What time will you arrive?
E no mar me atirei
I threw myself into the sea.
Com o relógio nas mãos e pensei
Holding the watch, I thought to myself.
Ele é à prova d'água
The watch is waterproof.
Vinte dois rubis
It has 22 jewels in its mechanisms.
Lyrics © Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: Arnaldo Dias Baptista, Rita Lee Jones De Carvalho, Sergio Dias Baptista
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind