Lyrics from “A Banda” (The Band) by Chico Buarque
Album: Chico Buarque de Hollanda (1966)
—
I was lazing about in life
My love called me
To see the band pass by
Singing songs of love
My long-suffering people
Bid farewell to pain
To see the band pass by
Singing songs of love
The serious man who was counting money stopped
The braggart* who was counting fortunes stopped
The girlfriend who was counting the stars stopped
To see, to hear, and to let through…
The sad girl who was always quiet smiled
The sad rose that was always closed opened up
And all the girls got all worked up
To see the band go by
Singing songs of love
I was lazing about in life
My love called me
To see the band go by
Singing songs of love
My long-suffering people
Bid farewell to pain
To see the band pass by
Singing songs of love
The weak old man forgot about his weariness and thought
That he was still a boy, to go out on the terrace and dance
The ugly girl leaned out the window
Believing that the band was playing for her
The cheerful march spread out on the avenue, and pushed on
The full moon that was always hiding came out
My whole city got all done up
To see the band go by singing songs of love
But to my disenchantment
What was sweet, ended
Everything took its place
After the band passed by
And each one in his corner
In each corner, a pain
After the band passed by
Singing songs of love
After the band passed by
Singing songs of love…
— Interpretation —
This was Chico Buarque‘s first major hit, winning him a tie for first place in the MPB Festival II in 1966 (shown in the video above). A meta-song — or a song about a song– in Brazilian marcha form, A Banda is about music’s ability to bring people together, allowing them to forget their social and financial concerns and afflictions for a fleeting moment of collective joy.
The song came out during a difficult time in Brazil: Two years earlier, the military had overthrown left-wing president João Goulart in a coup d’etat, seizing power over Brazil until 1985. (To see declassified documents about the United States’ involvement, look at the National Security Archive site at GWU.) By 1966, the military’s brutal and oppressive leadership tactics were becoming increasingly apparent throughout the country.
At the time, Buarque was a self-declared socialist. The song, though not an overt protest song, has clear egalitarian overtones; at the same time, it evokes a moment that transcends Cold War-era politics. To see more about Chico Buarque, MPB and protest songs from the years of military rule in Brazil, look at the post on Valsinha.
Post by Victoria Broadus (About)
Lyrical Brazil 