Abstract
To the memory of Agostinho da Silva, the first person to speak to me of Brazil. This is an ethnomusicological study of the song “Teitio de Oração ” (“Made like a prayer”) composed in 1933 by Noel Rosa (lyrics) and Vadico (music). The song is seen as a discourse about Brazilian identity, and it is implicated in negotiations of wide socio‐cultural scope. Basing my discussion on the analysis of the song, I consider DaMatta's formulations about the “Brazilian dilemma”, according to which Brazilian ethics are seen to stand between modern individualism and traditional holism. The analytical approach draws on native models for the understanding of Brazilian popular music, in an attempt to establish a conversational articulation between lyrics and music, the universes that constitute the world of song. I show how the lyrics evince a mythic‐cosmological discourse, that is, a world view, while music creates an axiological sphere that evaluates the lyrical content.
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