He was a primary force behind the creation of the bossa nova style, and his songs have been performed by many singers and instrumentalists within Brazil and internationally.
In 1965 his album Getz/Gilberto was the first jazz album to win the Grammy Award for Album of the Year. It also won for Best Jazz Instrumental Album – Individual or Group and for Best Engineered Album, Non-Classical. The album's single "Garota de Ipanema" ("The Girl from Ipanema"), one of the most recorded songs of all time, won the Record of the Year. Jobim has left many songs that are now included in jazz and pop standard repertoires. The song "Garota de Ipanema" has been recorded over 240 times by other artists. His 1967 album with Frank Sinatra, Francis Albert Sinatra & Antônio Carlos Jobim, was nominated for Album of the Year in 1968.
Antônio Carlos Jobim was born in the middle-class district of Tijuca in Rio de Janeiro. His father, Jorge de Oliveira Jobim (São Gabriel, Rio Grande do Sul, April 23, 1889 – July 19, 1935), was a writer, diplomat, professor and journalist. He came from a prominent family, being the great nephew of José Martins da Cruz Jobim, senator, privy councillor and physician of Emperor Dom Pedro II. While studying medicine in Europe, José Martins added Jobim to his last name, paying homage to the village where his family came from in Portugal, the parish of Santa Cruz de Jovim, Porto. His mother, Nilza Brasileiro de Almeida (c. 1910 – November 17, 1989), was of Indigenous Brazilian descent from Northeastern Brazil.
When Antônio was still an infant, his parents separated and his mother moved with her children (Antônio Carlos and his sister Helena Isaura, born February 23, 1931) to Ipanema, the beachside neighborhood the composer would later celebrate in his songs. In 1935, when the elder Jobim died, Nilza married Celso da Frota Pessoa (died February 2, 1979), who would encourage his stepson's career. He was the one who gave Jobim his first piano. As a young man of limited means, Jobim earned his living by playing in nightclubs and bars and later as an arranger for a recording label, before starting to achieve success as a composer.
Jobim's musical roots were planted firmly in the work of Pixinguinha, the legendary musician and composer who began modern Brazilian music in the 1930s. Among his teachers were Lúcia Branco and, from 1941 on, Hans-Joachim Koellreutter, a German composer who lived in Brazil and introduced atonal and twelve-tone composition in the country. Jobim was also influenced by the French composers Claude Debussy and Maurice Ravel, and by the Brazilian composers Heitor Villa-Lobos and Ary Barroso. The bossa nova guitar style in Jobim's music has become firmly entrenched in jazz culture. Among many themes, his lyrics talked about love, self-discovery, betrayal, joy and especially about the birds and natural wonders of Brazil, like the "Mata Atlântica" forest, characters of Brazilian folklore and his home city of Rio de Janeiro.
In early 1994, after finishing his album Antonio Brasileiro, Jobim complained to his doctor, Roberto Hugo Costa Lima, of urinary problems. He underwent an operation at Mount Sinai Hospital in New York City on December 2, 1994. On December 8, while recovering from surgery, he had a cardiac arrest caused by a pulmonary embolism, and two hours later another cardiac arrest, from which he died. He was survived by his children and grandchildren. His last album, Antonio Brasileiro, was released posthumously three days after his death.
His body lay in state until given a proper burial on December 20, 1994. He is buried in the Cemitério São João Batista in Rio de Janeiro.
A Felicidade
Antônio Carlos Jobim Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Felicidade sim
A felicidade é como a gota
De orvalho numa pétala de flor
Brilha tranquila
Depois de leve oscila
E cai como uma lágrima de amor
A felicidade do pobre parece
A gente trabalha o ano inteiro
Por um momento de sonho
Pra fazer a fantasia
De rei ou de pirata ou jardineira
Pra tudo se acabar na quarta feira
Tristeza não tem fim
Felicidade sim
A felicidade é como a pluma
Que o vento vai levando pelo are
Voa tão leve
Mas tem a vida breve
Precisa que haja vento sem parar
A minha felicidade está sonhando
Nos olhos da minha namorada
É como esta noite
Passando, passando
Em busca da madrugada
Falem baixo, por favor
Pra que ela acorde alegre como o dia
Oferecendo beijos de amor
Tristeza não tem fim
Felicidade sim
The lyrics of Antonio Carlos Jobim's song A Felicidade explore the contrast between two contrasting emotions - sadness and happiness. The first two lines, "Tristeza não tem fim/Felicidade sim" set up the foundation for the rest of the song. Jobim suggests that while sadness may never end, happiness is fleeting and precious - much like a droplet of dew on a petal of a flower. The metaphor of the dewdrop highlights the beauty and the transience of happiness. It shines and trembles lightly before falling gently, almost like a tear shed out of love.
The second verse describes how happiness is often a fleeting illusion for the poor. Jobim suggests that people work hard for the entire year to experience a moment of joy and to revel in the carnival festivities. People create costumes to become a king or pirate or gardener, but the joy disintegrates on the Wednesday following the festivities. The verse captures the melancholy and fleeting nature of happiness.
The third and final verse shifts the focus of the song inward. The songwriter suggests that his happiness is rooted in the love he shares with his girlfriend. His happiness is like this very night - it passes but is still moving towards the dawn, always searching for more. The plea "Falem baixo, por favor/Pra que ela acorde alegre como o dia/Oferecendo beijos de amor" offers an intimate glimpse into the songwriter's personal emotions, suggesting that happiness is dependent on personal connections and relationships.
Line by Line Meaning
Tristeza não tem fim
Sadness knows no end
Felicidade sim
Happiness, yes
A felicidade é como a gota
Happiness is like a droplet
De orvalho numa pétala de flor
Of dew on a flower petal
Brilha tranquila
Shines calmly
Depois de leve oscila
After a gentle sway
E cai como uma lágrima de amor
And falls like a tear of love
A felicidade do pobre parece
The happiness of the poor seems
A grande ilusão do carnaval
Like the great illusion of carnival
A gente trabalha o ano inteiro
We work the whole year
Por um momento de sonho
For a moment of dream
Pra fazer a fantasia
To create a costume
De rei ou de pirata ou jardineira
As a king, pirate or gardener
Pra tudo se acabar na quarta feira
For everything to end on Wednesday
Tristeza não tem fim
Sadness knows no end
Felicidade sim
Happiness, yes
A felicidade é como a pluma
Happiness is like a feather
Que o vento vai levando pelo ar
That the wind carries through the air
Voa tão leve
Flies so lightly
Mas tem a vida breve
But has a brief life
Precisa que haja vento sem parar
Requires an uninterrupted wind
A minha felicidade está sonhando
My happiness is dreaming
Nos olhos da minha namorada
In the eyes of my girlfriend
É como esta noite
It's like this night
Passando, passando
Passing, passing
Em busca da madrugada
In search of dawn
Falem baixo, por favor
Speak softly, please
Pra que ela acorde alegre como o dia
So that she wakes up happy like the day
Oferecendo beijos de amor
Offering kisses of love
Tristeza não tem fim
Sadness knows no end
Felicidade sim
Happiness, yes
Lyrics © Tratore
Written by: ANTONIO CARLOS JOBIM, VINICIUS DE MORAES
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Richard Norris
on Samba Do Soho
It's "Diadem" which is a fancy headband. Also, I believe this song was written by Jobim's son, Paolo.