Three young guys who had in common their love for rock, reggae and ska - He… Read Full Bio ↴Three young guys who had in common their love for rock, reggae and ska - Herbert Vianna, Bi Ribeiro and João Barone - formed the group Paralamas at the beginning of the 80’s inspired by the sonority of groups as The Police, The Beat and The Specials, that used to recycle the rhythms created in Jamaica.

Stimulated by the talent and the interest in the rising phenomenon of the Brazilian Rock, soon they had recorded their first LP “Cinema Mudo” (1983) and had become a success with songs such as “Vital e sua Moto” and “Patrulha Noturna”.

The second LP “O Passo do Lui” (1984), consolidated the initial pull with the hits “Óculos”, “Ska” and “Meu Erro”, but it was in the presentation during the Rock in Rio Festival in January 1985, that they were definitely consecrated after their two concerts only for the power of their music, not for any scenic artifice.

After having toured throughout Brazil (more than 150 shows), Paralamas made a stop and released the revolutionary “Selvagem” (1986), that gave new routes to the Brazilian Rock 80’s generation. They abandoned the first influences and started to mold a personal sonority recognized and approved by the youth that bought more than 750 thousand copies of the album. In “Selvagem”, social (“Alagados”) and politics criticism (“Selvagem”) coexisted with good mood (“Melô do Marinheiro”), a tribute to Tim Maia (“Você”) and a partnership with Gilbert Gil (“A Novidade”).

At this time they made the first incursions in Latin America, initiating a work that would lead them to be the most recognized act of the Brazilian music in the decade of 90 in countries as Argentina, Chile, Uruguay and Venezuela. The “Selvagem” success also gave them the right to be the first group of their generation to participate of the Montreux Jazz Festival, in 1987, when they took advantage to also perform at the Olympia in Paris.

The concert in Montreux was recorded and became the LP and video “D” (1987), with the participation in the keyboards of João Fera and George Israel (sax), as special invited.

In the following year a new successful LP “Bora Bora”. The hits “O Beco”, “Uns Dias” and “Quase um Segundo” extended the series of influences and added brass instruments to the sound of Paralamas.

The following LP “Big Bang” (1989) would consolidate the new sonorous format in exciting songs as “Perplexo” and lyric ones as “Lanterna dos Afogados”, as well as a bossa-nova “Nebulosa do Amor”.

To turn the decade, the trio released the compilation “Arquivo” with their hits of the 80’s, the rerecording of their first hit “Vital e sua Moto” and also the new song “Caleidoscópio”.

The first half of the 90’s would be dedicated to the experiment and the conquest of the Latin American market. The album “Os Grãos” (1991, with songs of minor popular appeal, was not a sales success, but it did not affect the band itself. Herbert, Bi and Barone spent three months in London with the producer Phil Manzanera recording “Severino” (1994), considered by many revewers the “Sgt. Pepper's of 80’s generation” of the Brazilian Rock. In despite of that, the radios did not play the album and the exit for Paralamas was the airport.

In 1992, they released in the Latin American countries the compilation “Paralamas”, with versions in Spanish of their hits, what opened for them the markets that they had been visiting repeatedly since 1986. They started being each time more requested for shows, due to the great success of the Spanish version of “Severino” baptized “Dos Margaritas”.

But the excellent tour of “Severino” throughout Brazil confirmed that Paralamas does not need to have a song on the hit parades to attract the audience, so they decided to release “Vamo Batê Lata” – Paralamas Ao Vivo” (1995). Attached there was a four track bonus CD. The explosion of one of tracks “Uma Brasileira”, a Herbert and Carlinhos Brown partnership, with the special participation of Djavan, led the trio back to the mega success. A second song “Luiz Inácio (300 picaretas)” would lead the band to the politician news after being forbidden to play it in a show in Brasilia, under allegation that the song wounded the honor of the noble members of the Chamber House. The song referred to a declaration of the current Brazilian president, at the time a Federal Deputy, that in the National Congress there were some honored men and 300 tramps. Herbert detonated the political class at that time.

In 1995, Paralamas initiated a pull in the MTV Video Music Brazil that would take them to gather up 11 prizes up to 1999. In that year, the video “Uma Brasileira” got the awards for the best pop video and the video of the audience.

From there on Paralamas sailed in the rhythm of success with two more studio albums: “Nove Luas” (1996) – with the tracks “Lourinha Bombril” (awarded with the best video of the year, best edition and direction in the MTV Video Music Brazil (VMB) and “Busca Vida” (best video of the year in the VMB) – and “Hey Na Na” (1998) – with the tracks “Ela Disse Adeus” (five awards in the VMB: best video of the year, best pop video, best direction, photograph and direction of art) and “O Amor não Sabe Esperar” with the participation of Marisa Monte. The video “Depois da Queda o Coice” gained the VMB for the best edition.

In 1999, it was the time for a project that they have dreamt of during the entire decade, the album “MTV Unplugged”. Instead of making a revision of their career through the successes, they opted by a repertoire dominated by significant songs that had not received the due attention (“Bora Bora”, “Vai Valer” and “Trem da Juventude”) with homage to Chico Science and the group Legião Urbana, the new song “Sincero Breu” and “Um Amor Um Lugar”, recorded before by Fernanda Abreu. The CD sold more than 500 thousand copies and gained the Latin Grammy for the best Brazilian rock album.

The victorious “Unplugged” tour was extended until the end of 2000, when the trio released the compilation “Arquivo 2”, that brought the unpublished “Aonde quer que eu vá”, a Herbert Vianna and Pablo Sergio Valle partnership, one of the great composers of the Brazilian Popular Music (MPB).

At that time, Paralamas announced a six month stop for vacations and a reformulation in the sound of the group, after almost two decades of career. The plans pointed to a new rock album and, primordially, in trio.

This CD was recorded and is titled “Longo Caminho”, but the tragic accident that Herbert suffered on February 4th 2001, left the Brazilian music in mourning. The fall of the small plane in the Angra dos Reis Bay, Rio de Janeiro, when he was on the way to Dado Villa Lobos home, killed his wife, Lucy Needham Vianna and it left him between life and death. The entire country followed Herbert’s fight for survival in the hospital Copa D’Or, in Copacabana, Rio de Janeiro.

It has been a difficult journey since then due to the sequels of the accident: Herbert is in a wheel chair and has not recovered the cerebral functions fully yet, but all that has not incapacitated him for music and in October 2002, he started the rehearsals with the complete band in his home studio. The result was so good that it led gradually to the new CD, with the repertoire composed before the accident.

The Band:
Herbert Vianna:vocals and guitar
Bi Ribeiro:bass
João Barone:Drums

Navegar Impreciso
Os Paralamas Do Sucesso Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

A pátria-avó se volta sem memória
De todos estes anos de amor
Um amor sem beijo e sem resposta
Responde agora a uma nova sedução
Teus Joaquins, teus açougueiros, filhos de uma mãe-avó
Os bons e os maus tratos que te dei
Sucumbem com tamancos, camisetas sob a lei
Que ouviste a nova-velha Europa a te ditar

E voltas tuas costas para mim
Voltas tuas costas para o mar
Prás tuas conquistas, pro teu navegar
Prá tua cruz de malta sobre o azul
Um dia foste forte e generosa
Mas hoje tua memória não tem sul
Não é porque já não se usa navegar
E nem é por tua idade, eterna sois

Mas nunca mais a nossa velha intimidade
O sabor inigualável dos teus pães

Overall Meaning

The lyrics of Os Paralamas Do Sucesso's song Navegar Impreciso are a reflection on the relationship between Portugal and Brazil, specifically the loss of their intimacy and the changes that have occurred over the years. The first lines refer to Portugal as a grandmother country without a memory, indicating a sense of loss and distance with Brazil. The love between the two countries is described as one without a kiss or an answer, showing a lack of reciprocation and a one-sided relationship where Portugal is now considering a new attraction.

The second stanza talks about the historical relationship between Portugal and Brazil, with references to Joaquins and butchers as metaphorical descendants of the same grandmother. The line "the good and the bad treatment I gave you" reveals the history of colonization and exploitation that had taken place. It then speaks of the changes that Brazil has experienced with the influence of Europe, with Portugal turning its back on Brazil and its own maritime past, represented by the cross of Malta over the blue sea.

The final stanza expresses a nostalgic longing for the past, where their intimacy was tangible, and the taste of Portugal's bread was unmatched. The song portrays a sense of loss of the connection, intimacy and love between Portugal and Brazil.

Line by Line Meaning

A pátria-avó se volta sem memória
The ancestor homeland turns back without memory

De todos estes anos de amor
From all these years of love

Um amor sem beijo e sem resposta
A love without a kiss and without an answer

Responde agora a uma nova sedução
Now responds to a new seduction

Teus Joaquins, teus açougueiros, filhos de uma mãe-avó
Your Joaquins, your butchers, grandchildren

Os bons e os maus tratos que te dei
The good and the bad treatments that I gave you

Sucumbem com tamancos, camisetas sob a lei
They succumb with clogs, t-shirts under the law

Que ouviste a nova-velha Europa a te ditar
You heard the new-old Europe dictating to you

E voltas tuas costas para mim
And you turn your back to me

Voltas tuas costas para o mar
You turn your back to the sea

Prás tuas conquistas, pro teu navegar
For your conquests, for your navigation