Brilliant socio-political commentary! Chico Buarque - Construção | REACTION

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[parallels]

Everyone here in Brazil remembered this song and the verse "he died in the wrong lane messing up the traffic" when, four years ago, a man died inside a supermarket where he worked in, the managers covered his body with beach umbrellas and people continued working as If nothing had happened.

Chico is a pure genius.

[Henrique]

One thing you (and some Brazilian people as well) don't notice is the criticism of the censorship in this music. It was written during our military dictatorship, which censored all songs, news, movies, etc. By writing the same story three times, but only changing the last word in each verse (in Portuguese, bc the English translation sadly cannot get this right), you change how the story is told. In the first, it's the unaltered news: a guy with a loving wife worked hard, ate his lunch and fell. In the second time, a guy who cheated on his wife came to work drunk, ate his lunch "like a prince" and, being drunk, fell, messing with the public. The second version looks like the version of the building company, who only blame the victim who fell from their building. The third version, to me, looks like a police report of what happened. Shorter, looks like it was written by someone who don't really care about the situation. And it messes the saturday, because all the paperwork the police have to fill (usually workers don't work on saturday).

[anapaulafernandes]

"Comeu feijao com arroz como se fosse um principe" como um estrangeiro vai entender o tamanho disso?!

[rmlazzari]

Genius. Right after saying "He died in the wrong lane missing up the traffic" the orchestra explodes with horns, trumpets, trombones etc. as if the car horns were complaining not about the worker's death but rather because this death disrupted traffic.

Not to mention the symmetry of the verses, the use of proparoxytones at the end of these verses, proparoxytones that, when interchanged, alter the meaning of these verses in a dramatic crescendo...

[franciscodeassispintodasil]

This music is about all of us. All of us, specially the working class.

[ChicoTune-GameAudio-ytzv]

Brazilian music is extremely underrated. If Dylan won a Nobel Prize for literature, Chico deserved to win 10

[EdgarES]

Nessa música, há três narrativas para o mesmo fato: a queda de um homem de um prédio. A primeira narrativa mostra o homem como ele realmente é: um excelente trabalhador e é cheio de virtudes ("construiu quatro paredes solidas", "beijou sua mulher como se fosse a última [com intensidade]). As outras duas narrativas só tentam denegrir o coitado para amenizar a responsabilidade dos responsáveis pela queda do coitado ("construiu quatro paredes flácidas", "construiu quatro paredes mágicas [sem os devidos cuidados] ; beijou cada filho seu como se fosse pródigo [o filho pródigo é aquele da Biblia que pega a herança antecipada e gasta tudo]). Em outras músicas, Chico também usa as imagens bíblicas, como em "Calice", em que ele associa o sofrimento de Jesus Cristo com o do povo simples do Brasil.

As duas últimas narrativas desumanizam o trabalhador transformando-o em um acessório. Essa música é do início da década de 70, e o Brasil nessa época era muito ogro.
Essa música contesta o capitalismo e o capitalista, pois só há sobras para os mais pobres narrada com muita ironia na parte final onde se agradece pela fumaça que respiramos, pelos andaimes que caímos, etc.

Pelo menos, houve um significativo melhoramento na legislação, fiscalização e no salário dos trabalhadores da construção civil. Como dizemos aqui: "pedreiros estão sendo pagos a laço ", para dizer que se contrata esses profissionais facilmente.
Entretanto, o Brasil continua tendo muitos pobres. Precisamos defender os mecanismos existentes que começa a interferir na perpetuação da pobreza, tais como o sistema de cotas e a universalização da educação. Tanto um como outro estão sendo ameaçados pela elite.
Se os 30% mais pobres fossem menos pobres o Brasil teria melhores indicadores sociais e, por conseguinte, seria mais desenvolvido. Onde há qualquer tipo de segregação, todo o país sofre, porque os efeitos são certos.

[MM-vset]

"He died in the wrong lane messing up traffic". The triviality of death under a dictatorship. My personal favourite is "His eyes were blunt with cement and tears". Such vivid and real writing. If you've ever fallen or tripped on concrete, you know the feeling of being rocked to your core. And your eyes being level with the ground, dust and concrete getting in your eyes, as your tears well up cause you're in pain. That line was absolute genius. Perfectly pictures the scene.

[diogosimao]

So… Buarque composed this as an opera. The meaning of the word opera is “construction/work.” So…the style of the song quite literally matches the theme of the lyrics … and as the guy builds the construction, Buarque builds the song by changing the order of the words at the end of every verse.

[vitorialima]

Chico Buarque is a genius. I will never forget how I found out about his songs in History class. My teacher made us copy the lyrics from "Cálice", after we finished and asked why she was teaching that song to us, she started to breaking down the lyrics to us, because of the period that Brazil was going through, the military dictatorship (1964 - 1985), every piece of media need to be analyzed, and lots of things were censored, so Chico Buarque and many other artists found ways to sneak their criticism of the dictatorship to still be able to have their songs played at the radio, in a hope to open more people's eyes from what was going on at the time. I absolutely love Chico Buarque, but I don't listen to his song very often because they are so good that I'm scared of getting tired to listen to them, that's how good they are.

[jeanmichel]

An interest thing is that when the first part of the song repeat the second time, he repeats the same lyrics swapping just the last word with words of the next verse (in the translation probably the penultimate, because of different syntax). It causes the sensation of confusion of the worker and even the sensation of days repeating exhaustingly whith you loosing your sense of yhe things

[Empireo-]

Chico Buarque is the greatest alive poet in Brazilian culture.

[ksp]

Chico is incredible and you are right about being a political song Brazil in the 70s was going through a military dictatorship so any direct criticism of the government would lead to censorship so artists like Chico made criticism in a subtle way as to not get censored. I would strongly recommend you listen to Chico Buarque song Apesar de você it's one of my favorite songs and if you pay attention to the lyrics you can clearly see the criticism against the dictatorship in a indirect way. Would love to see you reacting to this song.

[salanderlisbeth]

Today (19/jun/'24) Birthday's Chico Buarque! 80 years young!🎉🇧🇷🌹❤️🇧🇷🌹🍻🚩🎶🎵❤️🌻

[Teodoroviski]

You've just reacted to the best lyricist the world has ever kwown: incredibly deep, ironically sharp, but sweet at the same time, sagacious, and profoundly poetic. I don't like throwing around the word "genius", but he is definetly one. "Construção" is the kind of song you can call perfect in all aspects. But Chico has got about 30 songs you could call perfect. He is in a league of his own

[afonsolins]

This song is about the simple man, with a hard life, who undergoes dangerous work that pays poorly. This explains why he drinks at work. But the most admirable fact about this song is Chico's poetic skill where, in the Portuguese language, all the sentences end in proparoxytone words, such as: sábado(saturday), bêbado(drunk), tráfego(traffic), príncipe(prince), náufrago(castaway), etc."

[ewokssa]

Another layer in this is the way he rhymes; he ends each verse in words tonic at the third from last syllable (proparoxítonas in portuguese), and make these rhyme is very difficult.
He makes this, then changes the words around and the music STILL MAKES SENSE, still rhymes, and add new meanings to the song.
A genius. Period.

[marcorj]

Construção" is one of Chico Buarque's masterpieces, released in 1971, and is widely recognized for its innovative structure and the depth of its lyrics. The song addresses the lives of workers in the context of urbanization and modernization in Brazil, particularly during a period of military dictatorship, reflecting on the alienation and dehumanization of labor.

The song is notable for its repetitive and nearly hypnotic structure. Chico uses the repetition of the initial line and the construction of interspersed stanzas to create a rhythm that evokes the arduous routine of workers. Each stanza culminates with the phrase "ele partiu" ("he left"), which becomes a mantra, reinforcing the idea that the life of a worker is marked by the continuity of labor and the lack of individuality.

Dehumanization of labor: Workers are depicted mechanically, as if they are merely parts of a machine. The song describes the death of a worker, but the focus is not solely on his individuality, but on how his life and death are absorbed into the daily grind of work.

Alienation: There is a strong critique of how society treats workers, disregarding their personal lives and human dignity. The worker becomes an object, and their struggle is rendered invisible in the grand enterprise of civil construction.

Relationship with society: The song also critiques societal indifference toward the lives of workers. While they sacrifice themselves, there is a disconnection between hard work and the acknowledgment of human value.

Political Context

During the 1970s, Brazil was under military dictatorship, and the song reflects a climate of repression, but also the resilience of the people. "Construção" can be interpreted as a metaphor for the struggle for freedom and social justice, reflecting the difficulties faced by the working class.

Conclusion

"Construção" is a work that transcends a mere account of a worker's life. Through its form and content, Chico Buarque provokes a profound reflection on working conditions and the dehumanization of individuals in the modern era. The song remains relevant, resonating in discussions about labor rights, dignity, and the valuing of human beings in any social context.

[sorayaneves]

Chico Buarque, um poeta, teve um papel importantíssimo no Brasil. Compôs várias canções consideradas como hinos e obras primas. Gritou pela democracia de todas as formas em suas canções. Chico Buarque é pura história!!!

[reidacoerencia]

It's about the horrible situations hard physical workers have to live through. The fatal accidents they suffer, alcohol addiction, bad familiar relationships, etc. And how they still try to love life despite these conditions imposed by the ruling class (may god pay them back).