Eu me amo

The song Eu me amo sounds like a battle cry disguised as self-criticism. The opening riff, short and repetitive, hooks in the first measure and doesn’t let go until the end. It’s not a melody that invites dancing, but rather one that makes you nod insistently, as if the bass and drums were marking the steps of someone moving forward without looking back. The lyrics, direct and straightforward, play with irony: the narrator loves himself so much that he even forgives mistakes he hasn’t even made yet. It’s as if the song were written in a moment of clarity after a night of excess, where self-criticism becomes an inside joke only those who get it can laugh about.

The track was born during the recording sessions for Nós Vamos Invadir Sua Praia, the debut album by Ultraje a Rigor, released in 1985. The band had already tested the waters with singles like Inútil and Mim Quer Tocar, but it was this album that earned them a platinum record in Brazil. The album’s title, according to producer Pena Schmidt, was a provocation from São Paulo’s bands toward those in Rio: a way of saying the new generation of São Paulo rockers had arrived to stay in one of the country’s rock epicenters. Eu me amo was released as the B-side of Rebelde Sem Causa on a single that, against all odds, ended up being one of the most remembered tracks on the album. The recording took place at Nas Nuvens studio in Rio de Janeiro, a place that in the 80s was already synonymous with quick sessions and bold results. The song lasts 3 minutes and 34 seconds—just enough time for the message to burn itself into the listener’s memory.