Alert: The correct spelling is Virgínia Rodrigues with an accent mark over … Read Full Bio ↴Alert: The correct spelling is Virgínia Rodrigues with an accent mark over the "i" in "Virginia".
Virginia Rodrigues learnt her songcraft through singing in church in her native Bahia. She was discovered by the director of the Olodum Theatrical Group, Márcio Meireles, who introduced her to the legendary Brazilian composer Caetano Veloso. Veloso oversaw Virginia's debut album, "Sol Negro", which was released to critical acclaim in 1997. In the sleeve notes to that album Veloso writes that he knew as soon as he heard her sing that he wanted to be involved in the recording: "With her voice, which transcends the distinction between erudite and popular, with the dense culture seated at the base of her calm and firm singing, she would be, without doubt, a phonographic event of great importance."
Right from this first album the music of Virginia Rodrigues is characterised by serenity and spirituality. Indeed, Veloso emphasises that whilst Virginia did not reject the popular music of Brazil, eg the samba, she was drawn towards sacred styles. One track on "Sol Negro", "Verônica", sounds as though it has come straight from a Mass, whilst her second album comprised spiritual music from the African-religious tradition in Bahia.
_________________________________________________________________________________
Born in 1964 to a poor family in one of Salvador’s favelas, Virgínia Rodrigues dropped out of school by the age of twelve. Like so many Brazilian girls of humble origin, she had to help support her family by working as washerwoman, cleaning woman, manicurist, and cook. In her spare time she sang in Catholic and Pentecostal Evangelical church choirs, occasionally making a little extra money by performing at wedding parties and graduation balls. As she admits, she never went to church for the religion, only for the music. The choir practice gave her the chance to learn to read music, and she also received some instructions in music theory and on the piano. For three years she studied lyrical singing.
At that time and despite her socio-economic background, Virgínia had already developed quite uncommon musical tastes. Unlike the other girls of her age, she did not only listen to the Brazilian popular music that blared out of transistor radios everywhere in her native country, but also developed a special interest in black female singers, ranging from jazz greats like Billie Holiday and Ella Fitzgerald, and soul divas like Aretha Franklin, to African-American opera and concert singers such as Marian Anderson and Jessye Norman.
“I have three strikes against me”, Virgínia once said. “I’m a woman, I’m black, and I’m poor.” It is a fact that female black singers are still astonishingly rare in Brazil, even though more than 45 per cent of the population is of African ancestry. Caetano Veloso, however, did not hesitate to help the then completely unknown 32-year-old singer make her first record. The album Sol Negro (“Black Sun”), produced and arranged by guitarist Celso Fonseca, featured guest appearances by internationally acclaimed Brazilian musical stars Milton Nascimento, Gilberto Gil, and Djavan. The repertoire included Brazilian classics by Luiz Bonfá, Ary Barroso, and Synval Silva, and contemporary songs by Caetano, Djavan, Dorival Caymmi, and Carlinhos Brown, as well as the American spiritual “I Wanna Be Ready” (which was only released on the Brazilian edition). The album and the concerts which followed in Europe and the US earned Virgínia Rodrigues rave reviews.
The Times of London wrote: “. . . the new diva of Brazilian music. The 33-year old from Bahia has stunned all of Brazil with her heavenly début album Sol Negro, a rich mix of Portuguese and African influences and rootsy samba.” The New York Times added: “[She is] the new voice of Brazilian music”, The Observer said: “Her achingly pure voice is that of a miscreant choirboy, albeit one as comfortable with the percussive power of Bahia as churchy yearnings”, and Rolling Stone acclaimed: “A spellbinding début from a South American diva”.
On her second CD Nós (“Us”), released in 2000, Virgínia took a chance and interpreted a repertoire entirely consisting of axé music, a musical genre that is known less for its sophistication than for its infectious, thundering rhythms. But the songs of popular axé groups such as Ilê Aiyê, Olodum, Timbalada, Ara Ketu, and Afreketê served to emphasize Virgínia’s versatility and originality. “One of the most impressive international releases from the last few years”, stated Stephen Cook in the All Music Guide. By the end of the year, Nós had reached no. 15 in the World Music Charts Europe (WMCE) and was included in the list of Amazon’s 100 best-selling international albums of the year in the US. In 2001, she again toured Europe, the US, and Japan. She also made a guest appearance on Lisboa – Rio, an album by António Chaínho, one of the masters of the guitarra portuguesa.
On Mares Profundos, her first recording for Deutsche Grammophon’s new label edge music, Virgínia Rodrigues, her mentor Caetano Veloso, and producer/guitarist Luiz Brasil present us with yet another facet of Afro-Bahian music and culture. This time they have chosen to revisit a classic song cycle written by two Brazilian musical legends: Vinícius de Moraes and Baden Powell. The first, a lyricist immortalized through his verses for bossa nova classics such as “Garota de Ipanema” (“Girl from Ipanema”) and “Desafinado” as well as the musical and film soundtrack of Orfeo Negro (“Black Orpheus”), was left without a songwriting partner when Antônio Carlos Jobim left for New York at the height of the bossa nova craze in the early ’60s.
He then teamed up with Baden Powell, a guitar virtuoso and composer who was more at home in samba than in bossa nova and had established his international reputation during long stays in Europe. Searching for new musical challenges, the two decided to go to Salvador da Bahia to explore the Afro-Brazilian culture which, at that time, was still almost unknown outside Brazil. The result was a collection of songs they called Afro-sambas and which they recorded in 1966 for Philips.
Ist album was released in the US by Universal Music.
Virgínia Rodrigues, who is proud of her Afro-Bahian and African roots and a fierce critic of Brazil’s camouflaged racism, approaches these Afro-sambas in her own way and with enormous sensitivity. For almost twenty years she has been an initiated member of the polytheist Afro-Bahian Candomblé cult. A determined person, she is a daughter of Ogum, the god of war and iron, and therefore prepared (even more than Vinícius de Moraes and Baden Powell, who needed to do field research in Bahia before writing their Afro-sambas) to breathe new life into songs such as “Canto de Iemanjá”, “Canto de Ossanha”, and “Canto de Xangô” which deal with Candomblé divinities and ceremonies. “I sing for people of African descent”, she once said in an interview. “I sing for the orixás, the gods of the Candomblé religion, for the earth, water, and air, for myself, and for us.”
Virgínia reveals the full beauty of Vinícius’s and Baden Powell’s masterful pieces. As on her first two records, she subtly makes the songs she interprets her own. After listening to her eloquent renditions, you can hardly imagine these songs sung differently.
Jörg Eipasch
Virginia Rodrigues learnt her songcraft through singing in church in her native Bahia. She was discovered by the director of the Olodum Theatrical Group, Márcio Meireles, who introduced her to the legendary Brazilian composer Caetano Veloso. Veloso oversaw Virginia's debut album, "Sol Negro", which was released to critical acclaim in 1997. In the sleeve notes to that album Veloso writes that he knew as soon as he heard her sing that he wanted to be involved in the recording: "With her voice, which transcends the distinction between erudite and popular, with the dense culture seated at the base of her calm and firm singing, she would be, without doubt, a phonographic event of great importance."
Right from this first album the music of Virginia Rodrigues is characterised by serenity and spirituality. Indeed, Veloso emphasises that whilst Virginia did not reject the popular music of Brazil, eg the samba, she was drawn towards sacred styles. One track on "Sol Negro", "Verônica", sounds as though it has come straight from a Mass, whilst her second album comprised spiritual music from the African-religious tradition in Bahia.
_________________________________________________________________________________
Born in 1964 to a poor family in one of Salvador’s favelas, Virgínia Rodrigues dropped out of school by the age of twelve. Like so many Brazilian girls of humble origin, she had to help support her family by working as washerwoman, cleaning woman, manicurist, and cook. In her spare time she sang in Catholic and Pentecostal Evangelical church choirs, occasionally making a little extra money by performing at wedding parties and graduation balls. As she admits, she never went to church for the religion, only for the music. The choir practice gave her the chance to learn to read music, and she also received some instructions in music theory and on the piano. For three years she studied lyrical singing.
At that time and despite her socio-economic background, Virgínia had already developed quite uncommon musical tastes. Unlike the other girls of her age, she did not only listen to the Brazilian popular music that blared out of transistor radios everywhere in her native country, but also developed a special interest in black female singers, ranging from jazz greats like Billie Holiday and Ella Fitzgerald, and soul divas like Aretha Franklin, to African-American opera and concert singers such as Marian Anderson and Jessye Norman.
“I have three strikes against me”, Virgínia once said. “I’m a woman, I’m black, and I’m poor.” It is a fact that female black singers are still astonishingly rare in Brazil, even though more than 45 per cent of the population is of African ancestry. Caetano Veloso, however, did not hesitate to help the then completely unknown 32-year-old singer make her first record. The album Sol Negro (“Black Sun”), produced and arranged by guitarist Celso Fonseca, featured guest appearances by internationally acclaimed Brazilian musical stars Milton Nascimento, Gilberto Gil, and Djavan. The repertoire included Brazilian classics by Luiz Bonfá, Ary Barroso, and Synval Silva, and contemporary songs by Caetano, Djavan, Dorival Caymmi, and Carlinhos Brown, as well as the American spiritual “I Wanna Be Ready” (which was only released on the Brazilian edition). The album and the concerts which followed in Europe and the US earned Virgínia Rodrigues rave reviews.
The Times of London wrote: “. . . the new diva of Brazilian music. The 33-year old from Bahia has stunned all of Brazil with her heavenly début album Sol Negro, a rich mix of Portuguese and African influences and rootsy samba.” The New York Times added: “[She is] the new voice of Brazilian music”, The Observer said: “Her achingly pure voice is that of a miscreant choirboy, albeit one as comfortable with the percussive power of Bahia as churchy yearnings”, and Rolling Stone acclaimed: “A spellbinding début from a South American diva”.
On her second CD Nós (“Us”), released in 2000, Virgínia took a chance and interpreted a repertoire entirely consisting of axé music, a musical genre that is known less for its sophistication than for its infectious, thundering rhythms. But the songs of popular axé groups such as Ilê Aiyê, Olodum, Timbalada, Ara Ketu, and Afreketê served to emphasize Virgínia’s versatility and originality. “One of the most impressive international releases from the last few years”, stated Stephen Cook in the All Music Guide. By the end of the year, Nós had reached no. 15 in the World Music Charts Europe (WMCE) and was included in the list of Amazon’s 100 best-selling international albums of the year in the US. In 2001, she again toured Europe, the US, and Japan. She also made a guest appearance on Lisboa – Rio, an album by António Chaínho, one of the masters of the guitarra portuguesa.
On Mares Profundos, her first recording for Deutsche Grammophon’s new label edge music, Virgínia Rodrigues, her mentor Caetano Veloso, and producer/guitarist Luiz Brasil present us with yet another facet of Afro-Bahian music and culture. This time they have chosen to revisit a classic song cycle written by two Brazilian musical legends: Vinícius de Moraes and Baden Powell. The first, a lyricist immortalized through his verses for bossa nova classics such as “Garota de Ipanema” (“Girl from Ipanema”) and “Desafinado” as well as the musical and film soundtrack of Orfeo Negro (“Black Orpheus”), was left without a songwriting partner when Antônio Carlos Jobim left for New York at the height of the bossa nova craze in the early ’60s.
He then teamed up with Baden Powell, a guitar virtuoso and composer who was more at home in samba than in bossa nova and had established his international reputation during long stays in Europe. Searching for new musical challenges, the two decided to go to Salvador da Bahia to explore the Afro-Brazilian culture which, at that time, was still almost unknown outside Brazil. The result was a collection of songs they called Afro-sambas and which they recorded in 1966 for Philips.
Ist album was released in the US by Universal Music.
Virgínia Rodrigues, who is proud of her Afro-Bahian and African roots and a fierce critic of Brazil’s camouflaged racism, approaches these Afro-sambas in her own way and with enormous sensitivity. For almost twenty years she has been an initiated member of the polytheist Afro-Bahian Candomblé cult. A determined person, she is a daughter of Ogum, the god of war and iron, and therefore prepared (even more than Vinícius de Moraes and Baden Powell, who needed to do field research in Bahia before writing their Afro-sambas) to breathe new life into songs such as “Canto de Iemanjá”, “Canto de Ossanha”, and “Canto de Xangô” which deal with Candomblé divinities and ceremonies. “I sing for people of African descent”, she once said in an interview. “I sing for the orixás, the gods of the Candomblé religion, for the earth, water, and air, for myself, and for us.”
Virgínia reveals the full beauty of Vinícius’s and Baden Powell’s masterful pieces. As on her first two records, she subtly makes the songs she interprets her own. After listening to her eloquent renditions, you can hardly imagine these songs sung differently.
Jörg Eipasch
Canto de Ossanha
Virginia Rodrigues Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Be All Right
I need more guitar I think
Okay were rolling
Everybody moves
Some people got it
What you want
Bring it on home
Uncle
Gonna be all right
I need more guitar I think
Okay were rolling
Everybody moves
Some people got it
Bring it on home
Uncle
Gonna be all right
The lyrics to "Canto De Ossanha" by Virginia Rodrigues are minimalistic yet powerful. The song is sung in Portuguese, and despite the language barrier, the tone and emotions showcased in the song resonate deeply with the listeners. The use of repetitive phrasings and call-and-response structure in the song, much like it is found in the Afro-Brazilian rituals, adds a layer of spiritualism to the song. The opening lines "Ayeye ye ye O, o Ossanha* / Ayeye ye ye O, o Ossanha" set the tone for the song, which pays tribute to the god of medicine and healing, Ossanha. In the song, the singer is calling out to Ossanha, asking for his help, which adds a layer of spiritualism to the song.
The lyrics "Gonna be all right" are repeated multiple times, which could be interpreted as the singer urging the listeners to have faith and trust the process. Despite everything going on in the world, things will be all right. Overall, the song's simplicity and minimalist nature make it a powerful and emotive piece of art that continues to inspire and connect with the listeners worldwide.
Line by Line Meaning
Be All Right
Despite any challenges or difficulties, things will eventually turn out okay.
I need more guitar I think
The singer desires additional musical accompaniment, specifically from the guitar.
Okay were rolling
The performance or recording has begun.
Everybody moves
Everyone involved in the music is dancing or swaying to the rhythm.
Some people got it
Certain individuals have a natural ability or charm on stage.
What you want
What can I do for you or what are you looking for in this musical piece.
Bring it on home
Bring the song to a satisfying conclusion.
Uncle
An exclamation or term of endearment used in African-American Vernacular English.
Gonna be all right
Reassurance that things are going to be okay or work out in the end.
Lyrics © Tratore
Written by: Marcus Vinicius Da Cruz De M. Moraes, Baden Powell
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
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Moises Gouveia
Canto de Ossanha
Baden Powell
O homem que diz dou (não dá)
Porque quem dá mesmo (não diz)
O homem que diz vou (não vai)
Porque quando foi Já não quis
O homem que diz sou (não é)
Porque quem é mesmo é (não sou)
O homem que diz 'to (não 'tá)
Porque ninguém 'tá Quando quer
Coitado do homem que cai
No canto de Ossanha traidor
Coitado do homem que vai
Atrás de mandinga de amor
Vai, vai, vai (não vou)
Vai, vai, vai (não vou)
Vai, vai, vai (não vou)
que eu não sou ninguém de ir
Em conversa de esquecer
A tristeza de um amor que passou
Não eu só vou se for pra ver
Uma estrela aparecer
Na manhã de um novo amor
Amigo sinhô Saravá
Xangô me mandou lhe dizer
Se é canto de Ossanha não vá
Que muito vai se arrepender
Pergunte pr'o seu Orixá
O amor só é bom se doer
Pergunte pr'o seu Orixá
O amor só é bom se doer
Vai vai vai vai (amar)
Vai vai vai vai (sofrer)
Vai vai vai vai (chorar)
Vai vai vai vai (dizer)
eu não sou ninguém de ir
Em conversa de esquecer
A tristeza de um amor que passou
Não eu só vou se for pra ver
Uma estrela aparecer
Na manhã de um novo amor
Vai (amar)
Vai vai vai vai (sofrer)
Vai vai vai vai (chorar)
Vai vai vai vai (dizer)
eu não sou ninguém de ir
Em conversa de esquecer
A tristeza de um amor que passou
Não eu só vou se for pra ver
Uma estrela aparecer
Na manhã de um novo amor
Vai vai vai vai
Vai vai vai vai
Vai vai vai vai
Fonte: LyricFind
Compositores: Marcus Vinicius Da Cruz De M. Moraes / Baden Powell
Letra de Canto de Ossanha © Universal Music Publishing Group, Tratore
Fafa Fly
O homem que diz dou, não dá
Porque quem dá mesmo não diz
O homem que diz vou, não vai
Porque quando foi já não quis
O homem que diz sou, não é
Quem é mesmo é não sou
To, não tá
Ninguém está quando quer
Coitado do homem que cai
No canto de Ossanha, traidor
Coitado do homem que vai
Atrás de mandinga de amor
Vai, vai, vai
Não vou
Vai, vai, vai
Não vou
Vai, vai, vai
Não vou
Vai, vai, vai
Não vou
Que eu não sou ninguém de ir
Em conversa de esquecer a tristeza
De um amor que passou
Não, eu só vou se for pra ver
Uma estrela aparecer
Na manhã de um novo amor
Amigo, senhor, saravá
Xangô me mandou lhe dizer
Se é canto de Ossanha não vá
Que muito vai se arrepender
Pergunte ao seu orixá
Amor só é bom se doer
Pergunte ao seu orixá
Amor só é bom se doer
Vai, vai, vai, amar
Vai, vai, vai, sofrer
Vai,vai,vai, chorar
Vai, vai, vai
Dizer
Que eu não sou ninguém de ir
Em conversa de esquecer a tristeza
De um amor que já passou
Não, eu só vou se for pra ver
Uma estrela aparecer
Na manhã de um novo amor
Fernandino Neto
Primeira vez que ouço a voz dela. Sensacional! Merecia ser mais valorizada e reconhecida pelos brasileiros. Grande cantora e intérprete.
Andre Kuratomi
Por isto quando falo da Virginia por aí e perguntam "Tá, mas ela é boa mesmo?" mando este vídeo.
Adriana Hackl
@BIGDIG Reviews é um espetacúlo, meu Deus... a voz...
BIGDIG Reviews
Deveria presenciar um show dela, é algo surreal, indescritível!!! São poucos os que não saem chorando de emoção, rs
Marcos Lúcio
Estupenda! Fabulosa! Magnífica! Superlativa!...PARA FICAR APENAS nos adjetivos mais "comportados " rs.
É arrepiante esta interpretação definitiva. Como alguém pode fazer melhor?
pushquim
Choro sempre que ouço a Virginia Rodrigues interpretar essa canção. Tem algo de divino, a sua voz alcança todas as notas dos céus e sua postura, sua cadência, e afinação.
Moises Gouveia
Canto de Ossanha
Baden Powell
O homem que diz dou (não dá)
Porque quem dá mesmo (não diz)
O homem que diz vou (não vai)
Porque quando foi Já não quis
O homem que diz sou (não é)
Porque quem é mesmo é (não sou)
O homem que diz 'to (não 'tá)
Porque ninguém 'tá Quando quer
Coitado do homem que cai
No canto de Ossanha traidor
Coitado do homem que vai
Atrás de mandinga de amor
Vai, vai, vai (não vou)
Vai, vai, vai (não vou)
Vai, vai, vai (não vou)
que eu não sou ninguém de ir
Em conversa de esquecer
A tristeza de um amor que passou
Não eu só vou se for pra ver
Uma estrela aparecer
Na manhã de um novo amor
Amigo sinhô Saravá
Xangô me mandou lhe dizer
Se é canto de Ossanha não vá
Que muito vai se arrepender
Pergunte pr'o seu Orixá
O amor só é bom se doer
Pergunte pr'o seu Orixá
O amor só é bom se doer
Vai vai vai vai (amar)
Vai vai vai vai (sofrer)
Vai vai vai vai (chorar)
Vai vai vai vai (dizer)
eu não sou ninguém de ir
Em conversa de esquecer
A tristeza de um amor que passou
Não eu só vou se for pra ver
Uma estrela aparecer
Na manhã de um novo amor
Vai (amar)
Vai vai vai vai (sofrer)
Vai vai vai vai (chorar)
Vai vai vai vai (dizer)
eu não sou ninguém de ir
Em conversa de esquecer
A tristeza de um amor que passou
Não eu só vou se for pra ver
Uma estrela aparecer
Na manhã de um novo amor
Vai vai vai vai
Vai vai vai vai
Vai vai vai vai
Fonte: LyricFind
Compositores: Marcus Vinicius Da Cruz De M. Moraes / Baden Powell
Letra de Canto de Ossanha © Universal Music Publishing Group, Tratore
Meteorologista Cátia Braga
Que voz é essa? Que interpretação é essa? Sus-PIREI ! Aplausos de pé! Bravoooooo !
Michele Falcão
Merecia mais valorização! Um espetáculo de voz
Rita Damasio
Virgínia Rodrigues que excelente interpretação! PARABÉNS!!! Axé!!!