The song’s brilliance lies in its mathematical "construction." It is composed of dodecasyllabic verses where every line ends in a proparoxytone (a word stressed on the third-to-last syllable), such as máquina , última , and sábado .
Arranged by Rogério Duprat , the music progressively builds tension using orchestral elements. Construção
Released during the "years of lead" of Brazil’s military dictatorship (1964–1985), "Construção" is a masterpiece of social critique. It chronicles the final day of a construction worker, whose mundane routine leads to a tragic and dehumanized death. It chronicles the final day of a construction
This wordplay changes the meaning of the worker's actions—for example, he kisses his wife "as if it were the last time" in the first verse, but "as if it were logical" in the third. This repetition mirrors the mechanical, repetitive nature of labor. The song consists of three sections
The song consists of three sections. In each, the verses are largely the same, but the final proparoxytone words are shuffled.
The narrative culminates in the worker falling to his death. His passing is treated not as a tragedy, but as a public nuisance that "messes up traffic" or "disrupts the Saturday".
The use of clashing chords (such as E minor and F major played simultaneously) mimics the chaotic noise of city traffic.