"Que País É Este" ("What Country Is This") is a song by Brazilian rock band

Legião Urbana Legião Urbana (Portuguese for Urban Legion) was a Brazilian rock band formed in 1982 in Brasília, Federal District (Brazil), Distrito Federal. The band primarily consisted of Renato Russo (vocals, guitar, bass, keyboards), Dado Villa-Lobos ...

. It was written by

Renato Russo Renato Russo (born Renato Manfredini, Jr., March 27, 1960 – October 11, 1996) was a Brazilian musician who was the lead singer of the pop rock band Legião Urbana. A Brazilian film depicting his life and career was released in 2013, called ...

in 1978, when he was still a member of Aborto Elétrico. However, it was only released in 1987 on Legião Urbana's album ''

Que País É Este ''Que País É Este'' (), subtitled ''1978/1987'', is the third studio album by Brazilian rock band Legião Urbana, released in 1987. The album booklet features a cartoon by drummer Marcelo Bonfá depicting the constant guitarist changes that t ...

''. About such delay, Russo explained: The song was ranked at #81 on the list of "The 100 Greatest Brazilian Songs" 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. The magazine was first known fo ...

Brasil''.As 100 Maiores Músicas Brasileiras
/ref> In 1987, it was the Brazilian song with the biggest airplay, and the second if international music is considered, standing behind "

Livin' on a Prayer "Livin' on a Prayer" is a song by the American rock band Bon Jovi from their third studio album, '' Slippery When Wet''. Written by Jon Bon Jovi, Richie Sambora and Desmond Child, the single, released in late 1986, performed strongly on both ...

", by

Bon Jovi Bon Jovi is an American Rock music, rock band formed in Sayreville, New Jersey in 1983. The band consists of singer Jon Bon Jovi, keyboardist David Bryan, drummer Tico Torres, guitarists John Shanks and Phil X, percussionist Everett Bradley ...

. In 2013, it was elected as "Brazil's most remarkable protest song ", in a poll conducted by iG.

History

The song was composed by vocalist and acoustic guitarist

, when he was still a member of punk band Aborto Elétrico. However, even after the end of the band, Russo would still perform the song in his then new band Legião Urbana (founded in 1983). Russo took advantage of the Brazilian political scenery to finally record the song in 1987, when the country was emerging from a

military dictatorship A military dictatorship, or a military regime, is a type of dictatorship in which Power (social and political), power is held by one or more military officers. Military dictatorships are led by either a single military dictator, known as a Polit ...

Personnel

Per the album booklet:LEGIÃO URBANA. '' Que País É Este 1978/1987''.

Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro, or simply Rio, is the capital of the Rio de Janeiro (state), state of Rio de Janeiro. It is the List of cities in Brazil by population, second-most-populous city in Brazil (after São Paulo) and the Largest cities in the America ...

: EMI-Odeon Brazil, 1987. Internal booklet. *

— vocals, acoustic guitar *

Dado Villa-Lobos Eduardo "Dado" Dutra Villa-Lobos (born 29 June 1965) is a Belgian-born Brazilian musician, best known as the ex-guitarist of Brazilian rock band Legião Urbana. Along with singer Renato Russo and drummer Marcelo Bonfá, he was one of the foundi ...

— guitar * Renato Rocha — bass * Marcelo Bonfá — drums

Notable cover versions

* In 1999, the band

Os Paralamas do Sucesso Os Paralamas do Sucesso (also known simply as Paralamas) is a Brazilian rock band, formed in Seropédica, Rio de Janeiro, in 1977. Its members since 1982 are Herbert Vianna (guitar and lead vocals), Bi Ribeiro (bass), and João Barone (drums) ...

cover it on '' Acústico MTV''. * In 2005, the band

Capital Inicial Capital Inicial is a Brazilian rock band from Brasília flourished in the 1980s, saw a resurgence in the late 1990s, and extended into the 2000s. History The band has recorded fourteen studio albums, five live albums and six DVDs in their 40-ye ...

covered it on ''MTV Especial: Aborto Elétrico'', lançado em CD e DVD. * Also in 2005,

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� ...

covered it live for the album ''Renato Russo - Uma Celebração''.

Alleged plagiarism

There are controversies about the song's main riff being plagiarism of "I Don't Care", by American

punk rock Punk rock (also known as simply punk) is a rock music genre that emerged in the mid-1970s. Rooted in 1950s rock and roll and 1960s garage rock, punk bands rejected the corporate nature of mainstream 1970s rock music. They typically produced sh ...

band

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. When confronted about this, Russo said "eu não ligo!", which is the Ramones' song title translated to Portuguese. Soon after, he admitted to having drawn inspiration from the song.

References

{{Legião Urbana Legião Urbana songs Songs in Portuguese Brazilian songs Songs about Brazil Protest songs 1987 singles 1987 songs EMI Records singles