"O Canto da Cidade" (Portuguese for "The Chant of the Town") is a song co-written and performed by Brazilian singer Daniela Mercury.
They are basically about a girl advising a partner that she is trying to leave her – or a possible love interest, depending on the point of view – that he should stay with her, because she is the "chant" and the "color" of the town they live in.
"O Canto da Cidade" is remembered for being the number one song in Brazil at the time of Fernando Collor's impeachment process and the subsequent economic crisis.
Nelson Motta states, in his book Noites Tropicais, that Mercury and her song were responsible for bringing back some of the country's joy and self-esteem at a time of harsh crisis.
At a recent concert in Goiânia, Mercury stated that during the crisis the new generation regained interest in the Brazilian popular music and that her song was, in part, responsible for this.