Another busy week here, among other things getting ready to go to Brazil for a week on Sunday, for this event (announcement in Portuguese). So again, no time for extensive research for BMoF, and somehow I got it in my head to post what is perhaps the best Caetano Veloso song ever. It's a tough competition, and I've already posted many other wonderful songs by him. But the winner is... 'It's a long way', or so I claim (anyone around who disagrees?). It's from his 1972 album Transa, from his period of exile in London; the whole album is fantastic, and indeed for many people (e.g. the Rolling Stone album ranking) it is the best Caetano Veloso album of all times.
'It's a long way' is a curious song in that the parts of the lyrics actually written by Caetano are in English; the parts in Portuguese are bits and pieces of songs by other composers: 'Sodade, meu bem sodade' by Zé do Norte, ‘Consolação’ by Vinícius de Moraes and Baden Powell (I still owe Julian Kiverstein a post on Baden Powell!), and ‘A lenda do Abaeté’ by Dorival Caymmi (who must also make an appearance here at some point!). But the way Caetano intertwines his own music with these songs is truly remarkable, and entirely ‘his’, so to speak. You will just have to listen to it to see what I mean…
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