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.
cartão postal
Rita Lee Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Se quem partir não leva nem o sol, nem as trevas
E quem fica não se esquece tudo o que sonhou
Eu sei, tudo é tão simples que cabe num cartão postal
E se a história de amor não acabou tão mal
O adeus traz a esperança escondida
Se só vai quem chegou e quem foi vai partir?
Você sofre, se lamenta, depois vai dormir
Sabe, alguém quando parte
É porque outro alguém vai chegar
Num raio de lua, na esquina, no vento ou no mar
O adeus traz a esperança escondida
Pra quê?
Sabe, alguém quando parte
É porque outro alguém vai chegar
Num raio de lua, na esquina, no vento ou no mar
Pra quê querer ensinar a vida?
Pra quê sofrer?
In "Cartao Postal," Rita Lee sings about the pain of saying goodbye, but also the hope that comes with it. She questions the purpose of suffering through a goodbye when the one leaving takes nothing with them - not the sun nor the darkness - while the one staying remembers all the dreams they shared. Lee recognizes the simplicity of it all, that it could fit on a postcard, especially if the love story doesn't end too badly. She sees that hidden in the goodbye is the hope of something better to come.
Throughout the song, Lee repeats the phrase "pra que," which translates to "why" or "what for," showing her frustration with the act of suffering needlessly. She acknowledges that someone may leave, but someone else will come, and the goodbye hides the hope of a new beginning.
In "Cartao Postal," Rita Lee gives listeners a thoughtful perspective on the pain of saying goodbye and the inevitability of change. The simplicity of the lyrics belies the depth of emotion behind them, and Lee captures the hope that comes with closing one chapter and beginning another.
Line by Line Meaning
Pra quê sofrer com despedida
Why suffer with goodbyes?
Se quem partir não leva nem o sol, nem as trevas
When someone leaves, they take neither light nor darkness.
E quem fica não se esquece tudo o que sonhou
And those who stay will never forget what they dreamt about.
Eu sei, tudo é tão simples que cabe num cartão postal
I know that everything is so simple, it fits on a postcard.
E se a história de amor não acabou tão mal
And if the love story didn't end so badly.
O adeus traz a esperança escondida
The goodbye brings hidden hope.
Se só vai quem chegou e quem foi vai partir?
Only the ones who arrived will leave, and who left will depart?
Você sofre, se lamenta, depois vai dormir
You suffer, you lament, and then you go to sleep.
Sabe, alguém quando parte
You know, when someone leaves.
É porque outro alguém vai chegar
It's because someone else is going to arrive.
Num raio de lua, na esquina, no vento ou no mar
In the moonlight, on the corner, in the wind or on the sea.
Pra quê querer ensinar a vida?
Why insist on teaching life?
Pra quê sofrer?
Why suffer?
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: Paulo Coelho De Souza, Rita Lee Jones De Carvalho
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Silvania Almeida
um blues brasileiro que refletia nosso amor no fim da adolescência , perfeito
Wanderson Campos
Penso que não reflete só o amor, mas outros aspectos da vida no fim da adolescência e começo da idade adulta. Principalmente nas faixas “Ovelha Negra”, “Cartão Postal” e “Esse tal de Roque Enrow”.
Renato Alvim
Rita Lee sempre foi uma grande artista: compositora, interprete e mulher de opiniao. Isso e' MPB de qualidade, isso e' rock & roll. :D
Eduardo Barretto
Apos a saida de Rita Lee dos Mutantes, ela lanca o album Fruto Proibido que a consagrou. Decada de 70, maravilhosa! Nossa rainha do rock!
Nina Simone
O melhor album de rock brasileiro!!!!!!!!
Wanderson Campos
Essa canção também foi maravilhosamente cantada por Cazuza, no álbum "Burguesia", de 1989.
Wanderson Campos
@jpedro2569 O Cazuza gravou bem pra caramba essa música e uma outra em parceria com a Rita Lee (Perto do Fogo).
Marcelo Andrade
Amo igual.
jpedro2569
Eu amo a versão do Cazuza pra essa música!
Rafael Coutinho
sensacional mesmo, cara.