Sobre cultivar rosas e rimas: uma proposta de leitura semiótica das roseiras de Chico Buarque

Abstract

Based on the perception of the recurrence of the figures of the rose and the rose bush in MPB (Brazilian Popular Music) lyrics, this research, a master’s thesis, aims to investigate the significance of these figures in songs from the period of the military dictatorship (1964-1985). Due to the significant recurrence in the works by the same composer, the final corpus was limited to the repertoire of Chico Buarque de Hollanda – specifically: A Banda (1966); Você não ouviu (1966); Carolina (1967); Roda Viva (1967); Essa moça tá diferente (1970). For theoretical foundation, a path was traced from the song as work of art, and from MPB in its context of production (both in regard to political issues and technological transformations, and the dynamics of the cultural industry), until deepening of the research in the work by Chico Buarque. As a methodology, Semiotics of Discourse (SD) was chosen, in the guise of Greima’s theory, só that the analysis works through the conceptualization of semisymbolism and the structuring of the Generative Trajectory of Meaning (GTM). There was also a concern to understand the multimodal structure of the song genre – in whose conception the theoretical contributions of Tatit (2003; 2006; 2012) influenced –, taking into account in the analysis, in addition to the lyrics, the resources for creating meanings specific to musical language. Thus, attentive listening was developed, with special attention to aspects of arrangement, harmony and vocal accentuation, in addition to the scansion of the lyrics, in order to combine the metrics of orality and musical metrics, and look for melodic patterns. For a better understanding of semi-symbolic relationships, the presentation of the analyzes also included the development of a graphic representation. Finally, we sought to understand the metalanguage and inter-discourse relationships present in the corpus as a whole. The research revealed that the figures of the rose and the rose bush are used in a recurring and symbolic way, representing resistance, beauty, hope and social criticism, in addition to the passage of time and the ephemerality of life. Semiotic analysis made it possible to identify how these figures construct complex meanings in songs, using verbal and musical elements to transmit messages of poetic and cultural resistance.