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."
O Riso e a Faca
Tom Zé Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
ser o riso
e o dente,
quero
ser o dente
e a faca,
quero
ser a faca
em um só beijo
vermelho.
Fiz meu berço
na viração,
eu só descanso
na tempestade,
só adormeço
no furacão.
Eu sou a raiva
e a vacina,
procura
de pecado
e conselho.
Espaço
entre a dor
e o consolo,
a briga
entre a luz
e o espelho.
Fiz meu berço
na viração
eu só descanso
na tempestade,
só adormeço
no furacão.
In Tom Zé's song "O Riso e a Faca," the lyrics express a desire to embody contradictory elements and experiences. The singer wants to be both the laughter and the tooth, the tooth and the knife, and the knife and the cut. This desire for duality and complexity continues throughout the song as the singer declares that they are both anger and the cure, the search for sin and the advice. They are the space between pain and comfort, the fight between light and the mirror. All of these contradictions create a portrait of a person who is comfortable with the messiness of life and all its ups and downs.
The repetition of the line "Fiz meu berço na viração, eu só descanso na tempestade, só adormeço no furacão" (I made my cradle in the turbulence, I only rest in the storm, I only fall asleep in the hurricane) reinforces this idea of being at home in difficult and chaotic situations. The singer does not shy away from challenges but instead welcomes them as a way to fully experience life.
Line by Line Meaning
Quero ser o riso e o dente,
I desire to embody both laughter and the teeth that allow it.
quero ser o dente e a faca,
I long to be not just teeth, but also the knife that can cut with them.
quero ser a faca e o corte em um só beijo vermelho.
I aspire to be both the blade and the cut, all in one passionate kiss.
Fiz meu berço na viração,
My birthplace was in the wind's turbulence.
eu só descanso na tempestade,
I only find rest in the chaos of a storm.
só adormeço no furacão.
My slumber comes only during a hurricane's fury.
Eu sou a raiva e a vacina,
I am both the anger and the antidote to it.
procura de pecado e conselho.
I seek both temptation and wisdom.
Espaço entre a dor e o consolo,
I am the gap between pain and relief.
a briga entre a luz e o espelho.
I am the conflict between the light and the mirror that reflects it.
Fiz meu berço na viração
My birthplace was in the wind's turbulence.
eu só descanso na tempestade,
I only find rest in the chaos of a storm.
só adormeço no furacão.
My slumber comes only during a hurricane's fury.
Contributed by Aaliyah E. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
JOAO MARCELO SANTOS SOUZA
Provavelmente um dos maiores gênios da música brasileira. Em especial as primeiras obras. E aplausos para " The hips of tradition" que emplaca seu ressurgimento em 1992.
ravelgp
Essa primeira versão é divina... Ótima captação, obrigado por compartilhar!!
Guilherme Metzdorf
Essa música lembra The Velvet Underground "Here She Comes Now"
Cristiane Mesquita
❤️
Marcos Victor
Gosto muito da versão do disco do cu