You Don’t Know Me by Caetano Veloso
In 1969, while drinking coffee at an outdoor cafe, Caetano Veloso was arrested by the Brazilian military dictatorship for composing music that was seen as threatening to the regime. After a period of three months in prison and four months under house arrest, Veloso was released on the condition that he leave Brazil within two weeks. Sounds like a good way to get an expedited passport. He went to London, and for reasons that aren’t clear, was allowed to return to Brazil in 1972 under the same military government—which would topple in 1985.
I haven’t yet done anything remarkable enough in my career to warrant government or social persecution, which would mean that for now, at least, it’s fair to say that I am, pathetically, anything but a dangerous artist. Let’s see what the future holds.
Anyway, this is really a great song, isn’t it? Veloso completed it while in exile, in 1971, as part of Transa, his sixth studio album. You can sense a bewildered frustration and aggression in his voice, which oddly comes off with a paradoxical sense of calm.