Born Antônio José Santana Martins, October 11, 1936 in Irará, Bahia, Brazil… Read Full Bio ↴Born Antônio José Santana Martins, October 11, 1936 in Irará, Bahia, Brazil, Zé is a representative of Brazil's alternative sound, not only because of his use of objects as instruments, but also for his attitudes and for his eccentric, vivid style. Influential in the Tropicalia movement, Zé contributed -- along with Caetano Veloso, Gilberto Gil, Gal Costa, Os Mutantes, and Nara Leão -- to the watershed tropicalia album/manifesto Tropicália: ou Panis et Circenses. While the other major figures of tropicalia would go on to great commercial and critical success in later decades, Zé slipped into obscurity in the 1970s and 1980s.

Remaining true to the experimental and dada impulses of tropicalia, Zé has been noted for both his unorthodox approach to melody and instrumentation, employing unique instruments such as a typewriter. He has collaborated with many of the concrete poets of São Paulo, including Augusto de Campos, and employed concrete techniques in his lyrics. Musically, his work appropriates samba, bossa nova, Brazilian folk music, forró, and American rock and roll, among others. He has been praised by avant-garde composers for his use of dissonance, polytonality, and unusual time signatures.

In the early 1990s, Zé's work experienced a revival when American musician David Byrne discovered one of his albums, Estudando o Samba (1975), on a visit to Rio de Janeiro. Byrne went on to release a compilation of Zé's material as well as two full-length albums of new songs on his Luaka Bop label. A guitar riff from Zé's song Jimmy, Renda-se is sampled on R&B singer Amerie's song Take Control.

Quote: "I don't make art, I make spoken and sung journalism."

Mãe
Tom Zé Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

Cada passo, cada mágoa
Cada lágrima somada
Cada ponto do tricô
Seu silêncio de aranha
Vomitando paciência
Prá tecer o seu destino

Cada beijo irresponsável

Cada marca do ciúme
Cada noite de perdão
O futuro na esquina
E a clareza repentina
De estar na solidão

Dorme dorme
Meu pecado
Minha culpa
Minha salvação

Dorme dorme
Meu pecado
Minha culpa
Minha salvação

Os vizinhos e parentes
A sociedade atenta
E a moral com suas lentes
Com desesperada calma
Sua dor calada e muda
Cada ânsia foi juntando

Preparando a armadilha
Teias, linhas e agulhas
Tudo contra a solidão
Prá poder trazer um filho
Cuja mãe são seus pavores
E o pai sua coragem

Dorme dorme
Meu pecado
Minha culpa
Minha salvação

Dorme dorme
Meu pecado
Minha culpa
Minha salvação

Dorme dorme
Meu pecado
Minha culpa
Minha salvação

Dorme dorme
Meu pecado
Minha culpa
Minha salvação

Dorme dorme
Meu pecado

Minha culpa
Minha salvação

Overall Meaning

The song "Mãe" by Tom Zé speaks about a mother's pain, sacrifices, and hope for her child's future. The first stanza mentions the pain and tears that the mother has accumulated along the way, while trying to weave her destiny, with silence and patience like that of a spider. The second stanza speaks about the mother's irresponsibility when it comes to love, her self-doubt, and the future that awaits her, with sudden clarity that comes from solitude. The chorus, "Dorme dorme, meu pecado, minha culpa, minha salvação" which translates to "Sleep sleep, my sin, my guilt, my salvation" is repeated four times, emphasizing the mother's constant self-justification for her actions as a form of absolution.

The third stanza of the song speaks about the societal pressure that the mother faces, with the neighbors, relatives, the society and its morality all keeping an eye on her, and the mother's pain and longing for a child. The mother, in her desperation, weaves webs with threads and needles, to try and avoid loneliness and have a child who will not only be the embodiment of her fears but also the embodiment of her courage. The lyrics paint a picture of an innocent child being born as a result of the mother's sacrifices and struggles, who will carry the burden of the mother's past mistakes and hopes for the future.

Line by Line Meaning

Cada passo, cada mágoa
Every step, every hurt

Cada lágrima somada
Every tear counted

Cada ponto do tricô
Every stitch of the knitting

Seu silêncio de aranha
Your spider silence

Vomitando paciência
Vomiting patience

Prá tecer o seu destino
To weave your destiny

Cada beijo irresponsável
Every irresponsible kiss

Cada marca do ciúme
Every mark of jealousy

Cada noite de perdão
Every night of forgiveness

O futuro na esquina
The future around the corner

E a clareza repentina
And sudden clarity

De estar na solidão
Of being in solitude

Os vizinhos e parentes
The neighbors and relatives

A sociedade atenta
The attentive society

E a moral com suas lentes
And moral with its lenses

Com desesperada calma
With desperate calm

Sua dor calada e muda
Your silent and mute pain

Cada ânsia foi juntando
Every craving was adding up

Preparando a armadilha
Preparing the trap

Teias, linhas e agulhas
Webs, threads and needles

Tudo contra a solidão
All against loneliness

Prá poder trazer um filho
To be able to bring a child

Cuja mãe são seus pavores
Whose mother is your fears

E o pai sua coragem
And the father his courage

Dorme dorme
Sleep, sleep

Meu pecado
My sin

Minha culpa
My fault

Minha salvação
My salvation

Dorme dorme
Sleep, sleep

Meu pecado
My sin

Minha culpa
My fault

Minha salvação
My salvation

Dorme dorme
Sleep, sleep

Meu pecado
My sin

Minha culpa
My fault

Minha salvação
My salvation

Dorme dorme
Sleep, sleep

Meu pecado
My sin

Minha culpa
My fault

Minha salvação
My salvation

Dorme dorme
Sleep, sleep

Meu pecado
My sin

Minha culpa
My fault

Minha salvação
My salvation

Writer(s): Tom Ze

Contributed by Sebastian G. Suggest a correction in the comments below.

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Most interesting comments from YouTube:

Be yourself...

6y↑30

Cada passo, cada mágoa
Cada lágrima somada
Cada ponto do tricô
Seu silêncio de aranha
Vomitando paciência
Prá tecer o seu destino

Cada beijo irresponsável
Cada marca do ciúme
Cada noite de perdão
O futuro na esquina
E a clareza repentina
De estar na solidão

Os vizinhos e parentes
A sociedade atenta
A moral com suas lentes
Com desesperada calma
Sua dor calada e muda
Cada ânsia foi juntando

Preparando a armadilha
Teias, linhas e agulhas
Tudo contra a solidão
Prá poder trazer um filho
Cuja mãe são seus pavores
E o pai sua coragem

Dorme dorme
Meu pecado
Minha culpa
Minha salvação

Sidiney J.O. Toretto

8y↑7

Mãe Solteira (Single Mother)

Every step, every heartache
Every tear added
Each point of the knitting
His spider silence
Spewing patience
To weave her destiny

Every irresponsible kiss
Each mark of jealousy
Each night of forgiveness
The future on the corner
And the sudden clarity
Living in solitude

Chorus
sleeps sleeps
my sin
my fault
my salvation

Neighbors and relatives
The society observing
The moral with its lenses
With desperate calm
His silent and dumb pain
Each eagerness was joined

Preparing the trap
Fabrics, threads and needles
Everything against loneliness
So that she can bring a child
Whose mother are her fears
And the father her courage