Chico Buarque - Cálice

The song “Cálice” was written in 1973 by Chico Buarque and Gilberto Gil, but due to its denunciatory content and social criticism, it was censored by the dictatorship, being released five years later (1978). Despite the time gap, Chico recorded the song with Milton Nascimento instead of Gil (who had changed record labels).

https://youtu.be/9y2xB90A0CY?si=Qla7krkAKFrwJsHw

(music link)

“Cálice” was written to be performed at the Phono 73 show, which brought together, in pairs, the biggest artists of the Phonogram label. When submitted to censorship, the song was rejected.

The artists decided to perform it anyway, murmuring the melody and repeating only the word “cálice.” However, they were prevented from continuing, and the sound of their microphones was cut off.

https://youtu.be/6tfKKM4lLhw?si=RczGRXVZZwbZF4lY

(performance link)

Lyrics

English version 

 (im not sure if it is correct ok)

Father, take this cup away from me 

Father, take this cup away from me

Father, take this cup away from me

Of blood red wine

Father, take this cup away from me, father

Take this cup away from me, father

Take this cup away from me

Of blood red wine

How to drink this bitter drink

Swallow the pain, swallow the toil

Even if the mouth is shut, the chest remains

Silence in the city is not heard

What's the use of being a saint's son?

It would be better to be the son of another

Another less dead reality

So many lies, so much brute force

Father (father)

Take this cup away from me (father)

Take this cup away from me (father)

Take this cup away from me

Of blood red wine

How hard it is to wake up in silence

If in the dead of night I get hurt

I want to launch an inhuman scream

What a way to be heard

All this silence stuns me

Stunned I remain aware

In the stands for any time

See the monster emerge from the pond

Father (father)

Take this cup away from me (father)

Take this cup away from me (father)

Take this cup away from me

Of blood red wine

Sows are too fat to walk (cup)

The knife has been used so much that it no longer cuts

How difficult it is, father (father), to open the door (chalice)

That word stuck in the throat

This Homeric drunk in the world

What's the use of having good will

Even if the chest is silent, the head remains

From the downtown drunks

Father (father)

Take this cup away from me (father)

Take this cup away from me (father)

Take this cup away from me

Of blood red wine

Maybe the world is not small

(Cup)

Don't let life be a fait accompli

(Cup (2×))

I want to invent my own sin

(Cup (3×))

I want to die from my own poison

Dad

(Cup (3×))

I want to lose your mind

(Cup)

My head lose your mind

(Cup)

I want to smell diesel fumes

(Cup)

Get drunk until someone forgets me

(Cup)

Lyrics

portuguese version

Pai, afasta de mim esse cálice

Pai, afasta de mim esse cálice

Pai, afasta de mim esse cálice

De vinho tinto de sangue

Pai, afasta de mim esse cálice, pai

Afasta de mim esse cálice

Pai, afasta de mim esse cálice

De vinho tinto de sangue

Como beber dessa bebida amarga

Tragar a dor, engolir a labuta

Mesmo calada a boca, resta o peito

Silêncio na cidade não se escuta

De que me vale ser filho da santa

Melhor seria ser filho da outra

Outra realidade menos morta

Tanta mentira, tanta força bruta

Pai (pai)

Afasta de mim esse cálice (pai)

Afasta de mim esse cálice (pai)

Afasta de mim esse cálice

De vinho tinto de sangue

Como é difícil acordar calado

Se na calada da noite eu me dano

Quero lançar um grito desumano

Que é uma maneira de ser escutado

Esse silêncio todo me atordoa

Atordoado eu permaneço atento

Na arquibancada pra qualquer momento

Ver emergir o monstro da lagoa

Pai (pai)

Afasta de mim esse cálice (pai)

Afasta de mim esse cálice (pai)

Afasta de mim esse cálice

De vinho tinto de sangue

De muito gorda a porca já não anda (cálice)

De muito usada a faca já não corta

Como é difícil, pai (pai), abrir a porta (cálice)

Essa palavra presa na garganta

Esse pileque homérico no mundo

De que adianta ter boa vontade

Mesmo calado o peito, resta a cuca

Dos bêbados do centro da cidade

Pai (pai)

Afasta de mim esse cálice (pai)

Afasta de mim esse cálice (pai)

Afasta de mim esse cálice

De vinho tinto de sangue

Talvez o mundo não seja pequeno (cálice)

Nem seja a vida um fato consumado (cálice, cálice)

Quero inventar o meu próprio pecado

(Cálice, cálice, cálice)

Quero morrer do meu próprio veneno

(Pai, cálice, cálice, cálice)

Quero perder de vez tua cabeça (cálice)

Minha cabeça perder teu juízo (cálice)

Quero cheirar fumaça de óleo diesel (cálice)

Me embriagar até que alguém me esqueça (cálice)

análise de algumas partes da música 

The song uses religious metaphors to express the anguish and the desire for freedom in a country ruled by an authoritarian regime.

"Pai, afasta de mim esse cálice

De vinho tinto de sangue"

Vem de Pai, se queres, afasta de mim este cálice (Marcos 14:36). 

“Father, if You are willing, take this cup away from me (Mark 14:36).”

The metaphor of the “chalice” in “Cálice,” by Chico Buarque and Gilberto Gil, is a strategy to dodge the censorship of the military dictatorship, using the double meaning of “cálice,” which refers — obviously — to censorship: “shut up” (“cale-se”). And this song ended up being censored. “It is a song that talks about censorship and ended up being censored,” says Chico in his testimony.

"Como é difícil acordar calado 

Se na calada da noite eu me dano"

At the time, actions by the military police were frequent. They invaded homes and took people from their beds. Many were arrested, tortured, or simply disappeared, while all of this happened quietly, under the cover of night.

"De muito gorda a porca já não anda (cálice)

De muito usada a faca já não corta"

The term “porca gorda” serves as an analogy for the greed of a corrupt government that can no longer function properly. Meanwhile, the police, despite all its brutality, gradually loses power, worn down by the excessive use of violence.

I mean, I can totally analyze the whole song if someone is actually going to read this

What was the Military Dictatorship in Brazil?

The song is a major criticism of this period, but after all, what was this period?

The Military Dictatorship in Brazil was an authoritarian regime that began with the military coup on March 31, 1964, which deposed President João Goulart.

The regime lasted 21 years (1964–1985), establishing press censorship, restrictions on political rights, and police persecution of the regime’s opponents.

Even though many still deny it today, the Military Dictatorship did exist in Brazil. It was a period in which many people were tortured and abused simply for fighting for their freedom.

Artist Biography

Francisco Buarque de Hollanda (Rio de Janeiro, June 19, 1944) is a musician, songwriter, playwright, and writer, considered one of the greatest names in Brazilian Popular Music (MPB). As the author of songs that opposed the authoritarian regime (such as the famous “Apesar de Você”), he was persecuted by censorship and the military police, eventually going into exile in Italy in 1969.

When he returned to Brazil, he continued to denounce the social, economic, and cultural impact of totalitarianism in songs such as “Construção” (1971) and “Cálice” (1973).