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.

Saravá
Os Mutantes Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

Saravá, Saravá
Eu canto o novo hino da paz
Eu canto bem alto
Pra todos ouvirem
Desde o Amazonas
Até o Rio, a paz
Até o céu !

Overall Meaning

The lyrics to Os Mutantes's song "Saravá" are a call for peace, a plea for unity throughout Brazil. The repeated refrain of "Saravá" serves as a sort of rallying cry, a hopeful declaration of a new era. The singer declares that they are singing a new hymn of peace, and that they will sing it loudly for everyone to hear, from the Amazon to Rio de Janeiro and all the way to the sky. Clearly, the idea of peace throughout Brazil is paramount in the message of this song. The singer urges everyone to listen to this message of hope, to strive for harmony and understanding in their community.

It's worth noting the word "Saravá" itself has religious connotations in certain Brazilian spiritual practices. It's a word often used in the Afro-Brazilian religion of Candomblé, where it's used as a greeting, and to show respect to the spirits. This adds an extra layer of spiritual significance to the lyrics, suggesting that the song is not just about political peace, but a spiritual peace as well.

Line by Line Meaning

Saravá, Saravá
I greet you, I greet you

Eu canto o novo hino da paz
I sing the new anthem of peace

Eu canto bem alto
I sing very loudly

Pra todos ouvirem
For everyone to hear

Desde o Amazonas
From the Amazon

Até o Rio, a paz
To the peace of the river

Até o céu !
To the sky!

Contributed by Micah A. Suggest a correction in the comments below.

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