"Igreja" ("Church") is a single by Brazilian rock band

Titãs Titãs (, Portuguese for Titans) are a Brazilian Rock music, rock band from São Paulo. Though they primarily are classified as a rock band, the band have also experimented with genres such as New wave music, new wave, punk rock, ska, grunge, M� ...

, released in 1986, as part of their '' Cabeça Dinossauro'' album.

Lyrics and composition

According to songwriter and then bassist and vocalist Nando Reis, the song was written on the acoustic guitar at his mother's house in the district of Butantã,

São Paulo São Paulo (; ; Portuguese for 'Paul the Apostle, Saint Paul') is the capital of the São Paulo (state), state of São Paulo, as well as the List of cities in Brazil by population, most populous city in Brazil, the List of largest cities in the ...

as a protest to the censorship against Jean-Luc Godard's film '' Je vous salue, Marie'': "there was a boycott against it and Roberto Carlos, of whom I am a big fan, wrote something in support of the boycott. That, in a certain way, was against my ideals, the matter of liberty. That motivated me to write the song." By the time of the album's release, Reis said:

Reception within the band

It was one of the last songs to be selected for the album and it stirred controversy among the members themselves - vocalist Arnaldo Antunes, at first, didn't want to record it and would even leave the stage sometimes when the song was performed live. When the members had a meeting at vocalist Branco Mello's apartment to discuss the album's repertoire, vocalist, bassist and saxophonist Paulo Miklos also opposed the song's inclusion,. but soon changed his mind as the band performed it live. Antunes, on the other hand, said "the song is against the Church as the institution, but at the same time I have a problem, for me it is difficult to sing that I don't have a religion, because I do. And the Church has great contributions to the history of men, to the arts, take Botticelli for instance."

Personnel

Per the ''Cabeça Dinossauro'' liner notes: * Nando Reis - lead vocals * Arnaldo Antunes - backing vocals * Branco Mello - backing vocals * Sérgio Britto - backing vocals * Marcelo Fromer - lead guitar * Tony Bellotto - rhythm guitar * Paulo Miklos - bass * Charles Gavin - drums

References

* 1987 singles Titãs songs 1987 songs Warner Music Group singles Songs written by Nando Reis Songs critical of religion {{Brazil-music-stub