"Ouro de Tolo" (Fool's gold, in English) is a song by the Brazilian singer and composer

Raul Seixas Raul Santos Seixas (; 28 June 1945 – 21 August 1989) allmusic Biography/ref> was a Brazilian rock composer, singer, songwriter and producer. He is sometimes called the "Father of Brazilian Rock" and "Maluco Beleza", the last one roughly transl ...

from his first solo album, '' Krig-ha, Bandolo!'' (1973). In 2009, it was chosen by ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first known for its ...

Brasil'' as the 16th best Brazilian song. The name is a reference to the promises of fake alchemists from the

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire ...

. Seixas criticizes the wishes of the middle class who supported the Brazilian Miracle on the

Brazilian military dictatorship The military dictatorship in Brazil ( pt, ditadura militar) was established on 1 April 1964, after a coup d'état by the Brazilian Armed Forces, with support from the United States government, against President João Goulart. The Brazilian dict ...

saying that the conformist and religious views, such as the euphoria of the middle class citizen, were like a fool's gold. Thus, transposing to Raul Seixas' own ideals and aspirations at the time, one can see that he indicates that the real gold was in the awakening of individual consciousness, aimed at building the Alternative Society, and not in the ufanistic and triumphalist discourse of the military dictatorship of the time. Therefore, the flying saucer at the end of the lyrics would be a reference to this new society to be built.

Release

On June 7, 1973, according to a marketing strategy proposed by

Paulo Coelho Paulo Coelho de Souza (, ; born 24 August 1947) is a Brazilian lyricist and novelist and a member of the Brazilian Academy of Letters since 2002. His novel ''The Alchemist'' became an international best-seller and he has published 28 more books ...

, Seixas summoned the press to register him walking in Rio Branco Avenue, where he sang "Ouro de Tolo". This was shown during prime time on Brazilian TV. The lyrics were a castigation of the country's conformism about the illusory gains offered by the dictatorship. It instantly became a single and was recorded by

Philips Records Philips Records is a record label founded by the Dutch electronics company Philips. It was founded as Philips Phonographische Industrie in 1950. In 1946, Philips acquired the company which pressed records for British Decca's Dutch outlet in A ...

along with nine other songs for the album ''Krig-ha, Bandolo!''.

References

1973 songs Brazilian songs {{Brazil-music-stub