The traditional and the modern in Caetano Veloso

an analysis of the song “Não vou deixar”, from the album “Meu Coco” (2021)

Abstract

This research seeks to highlight the refinement of Caetano Veloso as a multifaceted artist attentive to the transformations of his time. Although he interacts with recent composers of Brazilian popular music, the composer has his foundations rooted in the tradition of songs created by João Gilberto, Dorival Caymmi, Tom Jobim, Luiz Gonzaga, Lamartine Babo, among many others. Our objective is to analyze and understand how the singer demonstrates these relations and confluences in his new album Meu Coco (2021). In all the tracks, Caetano pays some kind of tribute to the roots of Brazil, its people and its music, without losing sight of the rhythmic suggestions as traits of the new generations. An example of this daring alchemy is the track “Não vou deixar”, which brings to the fore electronic pop and trap without abandoning the artist's diction. In this analytical path, the theoretical propositions of Luiz Tatit (2012) will be applied to the study of melody and rhythm, as well as the social, historical and cultural framework already demonstrated by Celso Favaretto (1979), Zuza Homem de Mello (2010) and Guilherme Wisnik (2022).