Rita helped to incorporate the rock revolution into the creative explosion of tropicalismo, formed the most celebrated Brazilian rock band in the world, Os Mutantes, and created solo songs with enormous popular appeal without losing her freedom and irreverence.
Former member of the group Os Mutantes (1966 — 1972) and leader of the band Tutti Frutti (1973 — 1978), Lee participated in important revolutions in the world of music and society, such as the Tropicália movement during the Brazilian dictatorship, which led her to be the artist with the most censored songs in Brazil during that period. Her songs, usually watered with an acid irony or with a claim for female independence and sexual topics, became ubiquitous in the charts. The album, Fruto Proibido (1975), released together with the band Tutti Frutti, is commonly seen as a fundamental milestone in the history of Brazilian rock, considered by some as her masterpiece.
In 1976, Lee began a romantic relationship with guitarist Roberto de Carvalho and since then he has been the partner on most of her songs and accompanied her in all her live performances. They had three children, including Beto Lee, also a guitarist, who accompanies his parents in concerts. With a career that has reached 50 years, Rita Lee has gone from the musical innovation of the late 1960s and 1970s to the highly successful romantic ballads of the 1980s. In October 2008, Rolling Stone magazine promoted the List of the 100 Greatest Artists in Brazilian Music, where Rita Lee ranks 15th.
In 2001, Rita Lee won the Latin Grammy for Best Portuguese Language Rock Album with "3001". She would receive five more nominations for the award and in 2022, she was awarded the Musical Excellence award for her body of work. In 2012, she announced that she would retire from performing live due to physical frailty. "I retire from shows, but never from music," she wrote on Twitter.
She was diagnosed with lung cancer in 2021 and had been undergoing treatment for the disease. She passed away in her hometown of São Paulo at the age of 75 on May 8, 2023.
Caso Sério
Rita Lee Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Cada um na sua, perdidos na cidade nua
Empapuçados de amor
Numa noite de verão
Ai, que coisa boa
À meia-luz, a sós, à toa
Você e eu somos um
Ao som de um bolero
Dose dupla
Românticos de Cuba Libre
Misto-quente
Sanduíche de gente
Eu fico pensando em nós dois
Cada um na sua, perdidos na cidade nua
Empapuçados de amor
Numa noite de verão
Ai, que coisa boa
À meia-luz, a sós, à toa
Você e eu somos um
Caso sério
Ao som de um bolero
Dose dupla
Românticos de Cuba Libre
Misto-quente (quente quente quente)
Sanduíche de gente
Você e eu somos um
Caso sério
Ao som de um bolero
Dose dupla
Românticos de Cuba Libre
Misto-quente (quente)
Sanduíche de gente
In the song "Caso Sério" by Brazilian singer Rita Lee, the singer reflects on her relationship with her partner. She muses about the two of them being lost in the city, but together, wrapped up in love on a summer night. The lyric "Empapuçados de amor" can be translated as "drenched in love." They are lost in their own world, enjoying each other's company without a care in the world.
The chorus, "Você e eu somos um caso sério" translates to "You and I are a serious case," meaning that their love is intense and they are committed to each other. They dance to the sound of a bolero - a slow-tempo Latin music genre - and enjoy romantic Cuba Libres, a cocktail made with rum and cola. The imagery of a "misto-quente" (a hot sandwich) and "sanduíche de gente" (a sandwich made of people) implies that they are intertwined and inseparable like the ingredients of a sandwich.
The song is an ode to the intense, passionate love between two people who are lost in the moment, forgetting about everything else except for their love for each other. Rita Lee's smooth, husky voice and the song's catchy melody make it a classic hit in Brazil, loved by many generations.
Line by Line Meaning
Eu fico pensando em nós dois
I constantly think of us, our situation
Cada um na sua, perdidos na cidade nua
We are both lost in the naked city, living our own lives
Empapuçados de amor
Completely drenched in love
Numa noite de verão
On a summer night
Ai, que coisa boa
Oh, what a good thing
À meia-luz, a sós, à toa
Alone and carefree, in subdued light
Você e eu somos um
You and I are one
Caso sério
A serious matter
Ao som de um bolero
To the tune of a bolero
Dose dupla
Double dose
Românticos de Cuba Libre
Romantics for Cuba Libre
Misto-quente (quente quente quente)
Hot sandwich (hot hot hot)
Sanduíche de gente
People sandwich
Você e eu somos um
You and I are one
Caso sério
A serious matter
Ao som de um bolero
To the tune of a bolero
Dose dupla
Double dose
Românticos de Cuba Libre
Romantics for Cuba Libre
Misto-quente (quente)
Hot sandwich (hot)
Sanduíche de gente
People sandwich
Lyrics © Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: Rita Lee Jones De Carvalho, Roberto Zenobio Affonso De Carvalho
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind