| Que País É Este | |
| Cover: | Que País É Este (Single Cover Art).jpg |
| Type: | single |
| Artist: | Legião Urbana |
| Album: | Que País É Este |
| Released: | 1987 |
| Recorded: | 1986 |
| Genre: | |
| Length: | 2:54 |
| Label: | EMI-Odeon |
| Producer: | Mayrton Bahia |
| Prev Title: | Acrillic on Canvas |
| Prev Year: | 1987 |
| Next Title: | Angra dos Reis |
| Next Year: | 1987 |
"Que País É Este" ("What Country Is This") is a song by Brazilian rock band Legião Urbana. It was written by Renato Russo in 1978, when he was still a member of Aborto Elétrico.[1] However, it was only released in 1987 on Legião Urbana's album Que País É Este.
About such delay, Russo explained:[1]
The song was ranked at #81 on the list of "The 100 Greatest Brazilian Songs" by Rolling Stone Brasil.[2] 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", by Bon Jovi.[3] In 2013, it was elected as "Brazil's most remarkable protest song ", in a poll conducted by iG.[4]
The song was composed by vocalist and acoustic guitarist Renato Russo, 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).[1]
Russo took advantage of the Brazilian political scenery to finally record the song in 1987, when the country was emerging from a military dictatorship.[1]
Per the album booklet:[5]
There are controversies about the song's main riff being plagiarism of "I Don't Care", by American punk rock band Ramones. When confronted about this, Russo said "eu não ligo!", which is the Ramones' song title translated to Portuguese.[8] Soon after, he admitted to having drawn inspiration from the song.[9]