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.
SHANGRILA
Rita Lee Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Amarelada, bodeada, sem ninguém
Nessas horas aparece a preguiça
A vontade de sumir de vez
Se me der na telha sou capaz
De enlouquecer
E mandar tudo pr'aquele lugar
E me deixar levar
Por um beijo eterno
Por seu corpo envolvente
Mais quente que o inferno
The lyrics of Rita Lee's song Shangrilá speak to a feeling of isolation and frustration. The first verse describes the singer feeling isolated, with the phrase "amarelada, bodeada, sem ninguém" conveying a sense of being yellowing, stagnant, and without anyone around. The following line, "nessas horas aparece a preguiça," suggests that in moments like these, laziness takes over, and the desire to disappear becomes stronger.
In the second verse, the singer describes feeling so fed up that they could "enlouquecer," or go crazy, and send everything to hell. The phrase "E fugir com você pra Shangrilá" (and escaping with you to Shangrilá) hints at the idea of running away with someone to a utopic place. The final lines - "por um beijo eterno, por seu corpo envolvente, mais quente que o inferno" - describe the intense desire for a passionate connection, a desire that can only be satisfied by leaving everything else behind.
Overall, the lyrics of Shangrilá express a longing for escape and connection, and the frustration that comes with feeling trapped and alone.
Line by Line Meaning
De repente eu me vejo
Suddenly I find myself
Amarelada, bodeada, sem ninguém
Yellowed, bored, without anyone
Nessas horas aparece a preguiça
At times like these laziness appears
A vontade de sumir de vez
The desire to disappear completely
Se me der na telha sou capaz
If it suits me, I am capable
De enlouquecer
To go crazy
E mandar tudo pr'aquele lugar
And send everything to that place
E fugir com você pra Shangrilá
And run away with you to Shangri-La
E me deixar levar
And let myself be carried away
Por um beijo eterno
By an eternal kiss
Por seu corpo envolvente
By your enveloping body
Mais quente que o inferno
Hotter than hell
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management, Universal Music Publishing Group, Songtrust Ave
Written by: HARRY WARREN, JEROME LAWRENCE, ROBERT E. LEE
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind