English title Construction Recorded 1971 Length 6:24 | Released 1971 (1971) Genre MPB | |
Construção (Portuguese: Construction) is a song by Brazilian singer and composer Chico Buarque, recorded in 1971 for his album of the same name. The song is in Brazilian Portuguese (with a Spanish version being released later), and the lyrics always end each sentence with a Proparoxytone (a stress on the third last syllable). The musical arrangements are by the musician Rogério Duprat.
The song was made during one of the harshest times of the military dictatorship in Brazil, amid censorship and political prosecution, soon after Buarque returned from Italy where he had previously moved to due to the threat of political prosecution. In 2009, "Construção" was selected by Rolling Stone magazine as the greatest Brazilian song of all time.
The song was featured in the 2016 Summer Olympics opening ceremony in Rio de Janeiro.
Lyrics and Music
"Construção" narrates the events of the last day of three building construction workers (each separately) killed in the course of their daily activities, from the beginning of their day till their death. Over three stanzas, The narrator observes, organises and communicates the daily activities that took place in a circular narration, sung in reiterative melody, modifying the viewing angle in each stanza. In the end, all three stanzas move towards the same purpose, death.
The lyrics are seen as a strong critique of the alienation of the worker in a modern, urban capitalist society, reduced to a mechanical condition, especially intensified in the third stanza of the song. When the worker eventually falls to his death, the finding is that he only hinders "the public", "the traffic" or "the Saturday" (of the public), respectively.
The song is known for its interchangeable last words (which are Proparoxitones), used "as if they were pieces of a board game", as said by Buarque.