The poetic, the prophetic, and the pathetic in “Pelas Tabelas”, by Chico Buarque

Abstract

This paper presents an analysis of the song “Pelas Tabelas”, by Chico Buarque, and explores its main allusion: the Biblical figure of John the Baptist as a symbol of resistance to tyranny, violence, and irrationality. Buarque uses poetry, irony, and references to Brazilian culture in order to create a story of love and alienation with pathetic intensity. The paper contextualizes the song in the context of Buarque’s musical oeuvre and in that particular political moment in Brazilian history - the 1980s - in which a great movement for the reestablishment of democracy was on its way: the movement called Diretas Já. This analysis proposes a dialogue with the fields of cultural studies, theology, and literature. It shows that Buarque’s song is imbued with the poetic, the prophetic, and the pathetic.