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.
Papai me Empresta o Carro
Rita Lee Lyrics
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Papai me empreste o carro
'To precisando dele
Pra levar minha garota ao cinema
Papai não crio problema
Não tenho grana pra pagar um motel
Não sou do tipo que frequenta bordel
Então me empreste o carro
Papai me empreste o carro
Pra poder tirar um sarro com meu bem!
Papai eu não fumo
Papai eu não bebo
Meu único defeito é não ter medo
De fazer o que gosto
Uh
Papai eu aposto
Na minha idade 'cê pintava o sete
Mamãe tem ódio de uma tal Elizete
Aqui em casa eh impossível namorar
Então qual é a sua?
Eu só quero um sarro
Meia hora no seu carro com meu bem
Papai! Uh uh!
Le leiê, na-na-não, le leiê
Pa-pa-pa-pa-pa-pa-pa-papai me empreste o carro
Papai me empreste o carro
'To precisando dele
Pra levar minha garota ao cinema
(No!)
Papai não crio problema
Não tenho grana pra pagar um motel
Não sou do tipo que frequenta bordel
Você precisa me quebrar esse galho
Então me empreste o carro
Pa-papai me empreste o carro
Pra poder tirar um sarro com meu bem!
Papai eu não fumo
Papai eu não bebo
Meu único defeito é não ter medo
De fazer o que gosto
Ah hauh
Papai eu aposto
Na minha idade 'cê pintava o sete
Mamãe tem ódio de uma tal Elizete
Aqui em casa eh impossível
Então qual é a sua?
Eu só quero um sarro
Meia hora no seu carro com meu bem
Papai me empreste o carro
Na-na-não
Le leiê, uhu
The song "Papai me Empresta o Carro" by Rita Lee is a playful and cheeky plea to her father to lend her his car so that she can take her girlfriend to the cinema. She acknowledges that she doesn't have the money to pay for a motel and isn't the type to frequent brothels, so she needs the car to have some fun with her girlfriend. She assures her father that she doesn't smoke or drink, but her only "defect" is that she isn't afraid to do what she likes.
The lyrics go on to mention how difficult it is to date in her house because her mother dislikes a girl named Elizete, and she just wants to have some "sarro" (fun) with her girlfriend in the car for half an hour. The song's melody and rythm have a bouncy and cheerful quality, reflecting the lightheartedness and mischievousness in the lyrics.
Line by Line Meaning
Papai me empreste o carro
Asking her father to borrow the car
To precisando dele pra levar minha garota ao cinema
Needing the car to take her girlfriend to the cinema
Papai não crio problema
Assuring her father that there won't be any trouble
Não tenho grana pra pagar um motel, não tenho grana
Explaining that she doesn't have money to pay for a motel or anything else
Não sou do tipo que frequenta bordel, você precisa
Clarifying that she doesn't visit brothels and asking her father to trust her
Então me empreste o carro, Papai me empreste o carro
Repeating the request for her father to borrow the car
Pra poder tirar um sarro com meu bem!
Saying that they just want to have fun with her girlfriend, nothing more
Papai eu não fumo, Papai eu não bebo
Telling her father that she doesn't smoke or drink
Meu único defeito é não ter medo de fazer o que gosto
Highlighting that her only flaw is that she isn't afraid to follow her heart
Papai eu aposto na minha idade 'cê pintava o sete, na minha idade
Reminding her father that he also had fun when he was her age
Mamãe tem ódio de uma tal Elizete, pintava o sete
Revealing that her mother disapproves of a woman named Elizete
Aqui em casa eh impossível namorar, qual eh a sua?
Complaining that it's impossible to date in their house and asking her father what his own experience was like
Eu só quero um sarro, meia hora no seu carro, com meu bem! Uuh
Making it clear that all she wants is to have fun with her girlfriend in the car for half an hour
Lyrics © Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: Roberto Zenobio Affonso De Carvalho, Rita Lee Jones De Carvalho
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind