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.
Sagitarius
Os Mutantes Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Centauros pela estrada e não adianta desviar
Sou sagitarius
Flechas no coração
Amor eu sou como nasci eu sou o que eu vivi
E não vou mudar tão depressa
Não vou
O mesmo amor que ponho dentro da canção
É o que eu vou lhe dar
Te tocando
Não tenho auras pra sentir o meu amor
Não me leve a mal por favor
Mas é que eu
Sou sagitarius
Flechas de ilusão
Amor eu sou como nasci
Eu sou o que eu vivi
E não vou mudar tão depressa
Não, não vou
Eu vou-me embora agora
Pra não te magoar, amor
Toda a minha alma chora
Pra não te magoar, amor
Sou sagitarius
Flechas de ilusão
Amor eu sou como nasci
Eu sou o que eu vivi
E não vou mudar tão depressa
The song "Sagitarius" by Os Mutantes explores themes of love, identity, and acceptance. The song opens with the singer likening themselves to a droplet of water, acknowledging their place in the world and their inability to change the path they are on. The reference to centaurs on the road suggests a journey, and an inevitability to the singer's fate. The chorus reveals that the singer is a Sagittarius, represented by arrows in the heart, which could symbolize the intensity of their emotions or the pain they have endured in love.
The second verse continues with the theme of identity, with the singer asserting that they are the sum of their experiences and cannot change quickly. They describe their love as something they put into their music and that they will give to their partner by touching them. The third verse departs from the earlier themes with the singer choosing to leave their partner to avoid hurting them, perhaps acknowledging that their Sagittarian traits of impulsiveness and restlessness may not be compatible with a stable relationship.
Overall, the song seems to be grappling with the notion of acceptance and self-acceptance, possibly reflecting the turbulent political and cultural climate in Brazil during the time the song was written.
Line by Line Meaning
Sou como um pingo d'água tenho meu lugar para cair
I am like a drop of water that has its destined path to fall
Centauros pela estrada e não adianta desviar
Centauras are on the road and there's no avoiding them
Sou sagitarius
I am a Sagittarius
Flechas no coração
Arrows in my heart
Amor eu sou como nasci eu sou o que eu vivi
Love, I am as I was born and how I have lived
E não vou mudar tão depressa
And I won't change so quickly
O mesmo amor que ponho dentro da canção
The same love that I put into my song
É o que eu vou lhe dar
Is what I will give you
Te tocando
Touching you
Não tenho auras pra sentir o meu amor
I don't have auras to feel my love
Não me leve a mal por favor
Please don't take that the wrong way
Mas é que eu
But it's that I
Sou sagitarius
Am a Sagittarius
Flechas de ilusão
Arrows of illusion
Eu vou-me embora agora
I am leaving now
Pra não te magoar, amor
So as not to hurt you, my love
Toda a minha alma chora
My whole soul is crying
Sou sagitarius
Am a Sagittarius
Flechas de ilusão
Arrows of illusion
Amor eu sou como nasci
Love, I am as I was born
Eu sou o que eu vivi
I am what I have lived
E não vou mudar tão depressa
And I won't change so quickly
Contributed by Caroline O. Suggest a correction in the comments below.