Os Mutantes is a Brazilian psychedelic rock band formed during the Tropical… Read Full Bio ↴Os Mutantes is a Brazilian psychedelic rock band formed during the Tropicalista Movement in 1966, in São Paulo, by Arnaldo Baptista, Rita Lee and Sérgio Dias.

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.

Jogo De Calçada
Os Mutantes Lyrics

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O sol ia, a lua vinha na rua de doce
Eram doces os meninos na rua a correr
Lá de cima para baixo, de baixo pra cima
E o vento a soprar, nuvens cinzas pra cá
Vem a lua chegando, que lindo,
Sobe a rua brincando, sorrindo
Entre os céus esquecidos vôa a ave perdida
Corre, a noite já deve acabar

E nós a beijar pra lá e pra cá cha, cha, cha
Mas eis que pingo a pingo a chuva chegou
Na rua de espelho que a água molhou
O menino que correu cruzou e caiu
Foi embora esperança
Só ficou lá no chão
Um borrão de amor e um pouco de ilusão
Amanhã não tem chuva, que lindo,
Só tem lua cortada sumindo
Numa luz que é apagada
Uma nuvem está rasgada

Mas nossa vida não vai acabar
E nós a beijar pra lá e pra cá cha, cha, cha

Overall Meaning

The lyrics of Os Mutantes's song Jogo De Calçada describe a scene of children playing in the street, enjoying the sweet sunshine and delightful moonlight. The children run up and down the street, letting the wind blow grey clouds across the sky. The arrival of the moon is described as beautiful as it playfully rises up the street. The song then shifts to a couple kissing and dancing "cha, cha, cha" in the rain. However, as the rain keeps falling, it creates a slippery surface in the "street of mirrors", causing one of the children to fall down and shatter their hopes and dreams. Despite this setback, the song ends on an optimistic note, with the promise of a rainless tomorrow and the possibility of the couple's love lasting through the unexpected challenges.

The song's lyrics capture the spirit of childhood, the transitory nature of love and life, and the unpredictability of nature. Through the imagery of the children running, the moon rising, and the rain falling, Os Mutantes creates a vivid and evocative world that is both innocent and melancholic. The contrast between the sweet and playful tones of the first verse and the somber and reflective tone of the second verse gives the song a complex emotional range. Overall, Jogo De Calçada is a poetic meditation on the joy and sorrow of existence.

Line by Line Meaning

O sol ia, a lua vinha na rua de doce
The sun was setting and the moon was rising, creating a sweet atmosphere on the street

Eram doces os meninos na rua a correr
The children playing in the street were playful and carefree

Lá de cima para baixo, de baixo pra cima
They ran up and down the street, back and forth

E o vento a soprar, nuvens cinzas pra cá
The wind blew gray clouds in their direction

Vem a lua chegando, que lindo,
The moon is rising, how beautiful

Sobe a rua brincando, sorrindo
It ascends the street while they play and smile

Entre os céus esquecidos vôa a ave perdida
A lost bird flies amidst the forgotten skies

Corre, a noite já deve acabar
Hurry, the night is almost over

E nós a beijar pra lá e pra cá cha, cha, cha
We kiss back and forth, cha cha cha

Mas eis que pingo a pingo a chuva chegou
Suddenly the rain came drop by drop

Na rua de espelho que a água molhou
The water soaked the mirrored street