In France, Hugo's literary fame comes first from his poetry but also rests upon his novels and his dramatic achievements. Among many volumes of poetry, Les Contemplations and La Légende des siècles stand particularly high in critical esteem, and Hugo is sometimes identified as the greatest French poet. Outside France, his best-known works are the novels Les Misérables and Notre-Dame de Paris (known in English also as The Hunchback of Notre Dame).
Though a committed conservative royalist when he was young, Hugo grew more liberal as the decades passed; he became a passionate supporter of republicanism, and his work touches upon most of the political and social issues and artistic trends of his time. He is buried in the Panthéon.
Victor Hugo was the third and last son of Joseph Léopold Sigisbert Hugo (1773–1828) and Sophie Trébuchet (1772-1821); his brothers were Abel Joseph Hugo (1798–1855) and Eugène Hugo (1800–1837). He was born in 1802 in Besançon (in the region of Franche-Comté) and lived in France for the majority of his life. However, he was forced into exile during the reign of Napoleon III — he lived briefly in Brussels during 1851; in Jersey from 1852 to 1855; and in Guernsey from 1855 to 1870 and again in 1872-1873. There was a general amnesty in 1859; after that, his exile was by choice.
Hugo's early childhood was marked by great events. The decades prior to his birth saw the overthrow of the Bourbon Dynasty in the French Revolution, the rise and fall of the First Republic, and the rise of the First French Empire and dictatorship under Napoléon Bonaparte. Napoléon was proclaimed Emperor two years after Hugo's birth, and the Bourbon Monarchy was restored before his eighteenth birthday. The opposing political and religious views of Hugo's parents reflected the forces that would battle for supremacy in France throughout his life: Hugo's father was an officer who ranked very high in Napoleon's army. He was an atheist republican who considered Napoléon a hero; his mother was an extreme Catholic Royalist who is believed to have taken as her lover General Victor Lahorie, who was executed in 1812 for plotting against Napoléon. Since Hugo's father, Joseph, was an officer, they moved frequently and Hugo learned much from these travels. On his family's journey to Naples, he saw the vast Alpine passes and the snowy peaks, the magnificently blue Mediterranean, and Rome during its festivities. Though he was only nearly six at the time, he remembered the half-year-long trip vividly. They stayed in Naples for a few months and then headed back to Paris.
Sophie followed her husband to posts in Italy (where Léopold served as a governor of a province near Naples) and Spain (where he took charge of three Spanish provinces). Weary of the constant moving required by military life, and at odds with her unfaithful husband, Sophie separated temporarily from Léopold in 1803 and settled in Paris. Thereafter she dominated Hugo's education and upbringing. As a result, Hugo's early work in poetry and fiction reflect a passionate devotion to both King and Faith. It was only later, during the events leading up to France's 1848 Revolution, that he would begin to rebel against his Catholic Royalist education and instead champion Republicanism and Freethought.
Published during Hugo's lifetime
* Odes et poésies diverses (1822)
* Odes (Hugo) (1823)
* Han d'Islande (1823) (Hans of Iceland)
* Nouvelles Odes (1824)
* Bug-Jargal (1826)
* Nils Gunnar Lie's history (1826)
* Odes et Ballades (1826)
* Cromwell (1827)
* Les Orientales (1829)
* Le Dernier jour d'un condamné (1829) (The Last Day of a Condemned Man)
* Hernani (1830)
* Notre-Dame de Paris (1831), (The Hunchback of Notre Dame)
* Marion Delorme (1831)
* Les Feuilles d'automne (1831)
* Le roi s'amuse (1832)
* Lucrèce Borgia (1833) (Lucretia Borgia)
* Marie Tudor (1833)
* Littérature et philosophie mêlées (1834)
* Claude Gueux (1834)
* Angelo, tyran de padoue (1835)
* Les Chants du crépuscule (1835)
* La Esmeralda (only libretto of an opera written by Victor Hugo himself) (1836)
* Les Voix intérieures (1837)
* Ruy Blas (1838)
* Les Rayons et les ombres (1840)
* Le Rhin (1842)
* Les Burgraves (1843)
* Napoléon le Petit (1852)
* Les Châtiments (1853)
* Les Contemplations (1856)
* La Légende des siècles (1859)
* Les Misérables (1862)
* William Shakespeare (1864)
* Les Chansons des rues et des bois (1865)
* Les Travailleurs de la Mer (1866), (Toilers of the Sea)
* La voix de Guernsey (1867)
* L'Homme qui rit (1869), (The Man Who Laughs)
* L'Année terrible (1872)
* Quatrevingt-treize (Ninety-Three) (1874)
* Mes Fils (1874)
* Actes et paroles — Avant l'exil (1875)
* Actes et paroles - Pendant l'exil (1875)
* Actes et paroles - Depuis l'exil (1876)
* La Légende des Siècles 2e série (1877)
* L'Art d'être grand-père (1877)
* Histoire d'un crime 1re partie (1877)
* Histoire d'un crime 2e partie (1878)
* Le Pape (1878)
* La pitié suprême (1879)
* Religions et religion (1880)
* L'Âne (1880)
* Les Quatres vents de l'esprit (1881)
* Torquemada (1882)
* La Légende des siècles Tome III (1883)
* L'Archipel de la Manche (1883)
Desgarrados
Victor Hugo Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Fazem biscates pelos mercados, pelas esquinas,
Carregam lixo, vendem revistas, juntam baganas
E são pingentes das avenidas da capital Eles se escondem pelos botecos entre cortiços
E pra esquecerem contam bravatas, velhas histórias
E então são tragos, muitos estragos, por toda a noite
Olhos abertos, o longe é perto, o que vale é o sonho
Viram copos viram mundos, mas o que foi nunca mais será
Mas o que foi nunca mais será,
Mas o que foi nunca mais será
Cevavam mate, sorriso franco, palheiro aceso
Viraram brasas, contavam causos, polindo esporas,
Geada fria, café bem quente, muito alvoroço,
Arreios firmes e nos pescoços lenços vermelhos
Jogo do osso, cana de espera e o pão de forno
O milho assado, a carne gorda, a cancha reta
Faziam planos e nem sabiam que eram felizes
Olhos abertos, o longe é perto, o que vale é o sonho
Sopram ventos desgarrados, carregados de saudade
Viram copos viram mundos, mas o que foi nunca mais será
Mais o que foi nunca mais será,
Mais o que foi nunca será
Jogo do osso, cana de espera e o pão de forno
O milho assado, a carne gorda, a cancha reta
Faziam planos e nem sabiam que eram felizes
Olhos abertos, o longe é perto, o que vale é o sonho
Sopram ventos desgarrados, carregados de saudade
Viram copos, viram mundos, mas o que foi nunca mais será
Mas o que foi nunca mais será
Mais o que foi nunca mais será
Ah, ah, ah, ah, aaahh
The lyrics to Victor Hugo's song Desgarrados depict a group of people living on the fringes of society, doing odd jobs and trying to survive in the city. They meet up at the harbor and on street corners, and spend their time drinking, smoking, and sharing stories to forget their troubles. The singer notes that these people are like "pendants" of the city, meaning they are not fully accepted or integrated into society. Despite their struggles, they hold onto their dreams and find solace in each other's company.
The chorus of the song talks about the winds that blow through their lives, bringing with them memories of happier times that can never be recaptured. These winds are "desgarrados," or unmoored and untethered, much like the people the song describes. They drink and reminisce, but they cannot escape the fact that their lives have been permanently changed by the struggles they face.
Overall, the song is a poignant reminder of the human cost of economic hardship and social marginalization. It highlights the resilience and perseverance of those who find themselves on the fringes of society, and the enduring power of hope and shared experience.
Line by Line Meaning
Eles se encontram no cais do porto pelas calçadas
They meet at the harbor pier by the sidewalks
Fazem biscates pelos mercados, pelas esquinas
They do odd jobs in the markets, on the corners
Carregam lixo, vendem revistas, juntam baganas
They carry rubbish, sell magazines, collect cigarette butts
E são pingentes das avenidas da capital
And are pendants of the capital's avenues
Eles se escondem pelos botecos entre cortiços
They hide in the taverns between slums
E pra esquecerem contam bravatas, velhas histórias
And to forget, they tell bravado, old stories
E então são tragos, muitos estragos, por toda a noite
And then there are drinks, many damages, all night long
Olhos abertos, o longe é perto, o que vale é o sonho
Eyes open, far away is close, what counts is the dream
Sopram ventos desgarrados, carregados de saudade
Unleashed winds blow, loaded with nostalgia
Viram copos viram mundos, mas o que foi nunca mais será
They turn glasses, turn worlds, but what was will never be again
Cevavam mate, sorriso franco, palheiro aceso
They sipped mate, frank smile, lit palheiro
Viraram brasas, contavam causos, polindo esporas
They turned into embers, told tales, polishing spurs
Geada fria, café bem quente, muito alvoroço
Cold frost, very hot coffee, a lot of excitement
Arreios firmes e nos pescoços lenços vermelhos
Firm reins and red scarves around their necks
Jogo do osso, cana de espera e o pão de forno
Bone game, waiting cane, and oven bread
O milho assado, a carne gorda, a cancha reta
Roasted corn, fatty meat, the straight field
Faziam planos e nem sabiam que eram felizes
They made plans and didn't even know they were happy
Sopram ventos desgarrados, carregados de saudade
Unleashed winds blow, loaded with nostalgia
Viram copos, viram mundos, mas o que foi nunca mais será
They turn glasses, turn worlds, but what was will never be again
Ah, ah, ah, ah, aaahh
Contributed by Makayla C. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
@prof.denismartins4042
Não sou gaucho,sou Nordestino, mas mim admira a cultura de nosso Pais.....Parabéns pela melodia e Poesia desta musica, linda.....
@8Lidy
Ser Gaúcho(a) não tem palavras pra descrever o amor que sentimos pela nossa Pátria... Espero nunca ter que deixa-la...
@henriquekoche9519
Eu não moro mais no RS, mas carrego no peito nossa cultura e
Vejo que as pessoas daqui do Paraná ouvem nossas músicas muito orgulho
@spencerbonoto388
Apesar se muito triste é belíssima,
Grande ícone da Califórnia da canção nativa essa música
@marinasalomao7050
Meu coração é sulista , embora tenha nascido em terras Paulistas , morei em Curitiba , tenho dois filhos nascidos por lá , mas o Rio Grande é meu estado por adoção, tenho parentes em Gravataí!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
@gatoatropelado3747
Sou de Gravataí
@henriquekoche9519
Sou de São Leopoldo, hoje moro em Curitiba, mas amo ser gaúcho e ouço nossas bandas direto
@NandPort
Essa música fala de uma coisa triste que aconteceu e acontece no RS. O exodo rural e a concentração de terras.
@jocajoca8009
Saudoso Mario Barbara, autor da musica e o primeiro a gravar essa linda musica, vencedora da California da Canção Nativa.
@jlmyller
Eu, desgarrado no Paraná,conto bravatas e velhas histórias de meu tempo no Alegrete.Era feliz e não sabia.Espetacular esta canção, nos remete à valorizar o que realmente é importante.Gracias! João Luis