Panis et Circensis -- Tropicália Part Two

In my latest post I set the ground for the analysis of Tropicália music. Some important points were delineated. The close relationship between the coup d'état in 1964, in Brazil, the other military coups in South America, except for Venezuela, which were in charge of repressing not only political movements but also artistic ones.

In an artistic rebellion against a musical movement whose parameters were quite pre-ordained, even if in the groove of jazzy improvisations, bossa nova, in which they previously participated, Gil, Caetano, Tom Zé, Torquato, Capinam, Nara Leão and Gal Costa, Os Mutantes and maestro Rogério Duprat release Tropicália or Panis et Circensisin May 1968. The students are in the streets, not only in Brazil but also in the USA and Europe. The Tropicália musical option is to make a total jelly of all rhythms present and past, foreign or Brazilian, anything bad taste or classical that is Brazilian by public acclaim.

December 13, 1968, the Redeemer dictate the Ato Institucional número 5, limiting or eliminating several liberties. In the USA, the number of draftees is inceased. In France, the Stalinist Comunist Party orders its working class memebers back to work. De Gaulle is in charge again.

Panis et Circencis, the other name of the TropicáliaLP, will be the first song to be discussed here at our Anarchy Across the Universe. Enjoy the clip with os Mutantes, the boys will be in Chicago on July 29. I'll be back right after breakfast with a short analysis of the song in its Tropicália context.

Panis et Circensis
letra: Caetano Veloso
música: Gilberto Gil
1968

in Tropicália or Panis et Circensis

Eu quis cantar
Minha canção iluminada de sol
Soltei os panos sobre os mastros no ar
Soltei os tigres e os leões nos quintais
Mas as pessoas na sala de jantar
São ocupadas em nascer e em morrer


I wanted to sing my sunlit song, I released the circus tent and masts in mid air, the tigers and lions loose in the backyards.
But the people in the dining room are busy about birth and death

Mandei fazer
De puro aço luminoso um punhal
Para matar o meu amor e matei
Às cinco horas na avenida central
Mas as pessoas na sala de jantar
São ocupadas em nascer e em morrer

I had a pure steel shininhg dagger made to kill my love andkilled my love at 5 P.M. on Main Avenue. But the people in the dining room are busy about birth and death

Mandei plantar
Folhas de sonho no jardim do solar
As folhas sabem procurar pelo sol
E as raízes procurar, procurar
Mas as pessoas na sala de jantar
Essas pessoas da sala de jantar
São as pessoas da sala de jantar
Mas as pessoas na sala de jantar
São ocupadas em nascer e em morrer

I had dream leaves planted in the garden of the mansion. The leaves know how to search for the sun and the roots know how to search, how to search.
But the people in the dining room, these dining room people, They are these dining room people, but the people in the dining room are busy about birth and death

© Warner/Chappell Edições Musicais LTDA. / Gege Edições Musicais ltda (Brasil e América do Sul) / Preta Music (Resto do mundo)

More later today!

Tropicália
AI 5
Panis et Circensis
Os Mutantes
video Os Mutantes
lyrics in English Tina