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.
Brazil
Antônio Carlos Jobim Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
A merencória luz da lua
Toda canção do seu amor
Quero ver essa dona caminhando
Pelos salões arrastando
O seu vestido rendado
Pra mim, Brasil
Brasil, meu Brasil brasileiro
Meu mulato inzoneiro
Vou cantar-te nos meus versos
Que dá
Bamboleio que faz gingar
O Brasil do meu amor
Terra de Nosso Senhor
Brasil, pra mim
Pra mim, Brasil
The lyrics to Antônio Carlos Jobim's song "Brazil" describe the beauty of Brazil and the love the singer has for the country. The song starts with the request to let the troubadour sing again under the melancholic moonlight while singing every love song. The singer then expresses his desire to see a woman walking through the ballrooms, wearing her lacy dress and leaving a trail of grace behind her. The lyrics emphasize the beauty and elegance of Brazil through vivid descriptions of scenes and people. The chorus expresses the singer's affection for Brazil, calling it "my Brazil" and stating that he will sing about it in his verses.
The second verse praises Brazil's lively and colorful culture, celebrating the joyful and free spirit of the mulatto people who love to dance and sway to the rhythms of samba. The singer conveys his appreciation for the land that belongs to God and its inviting and infectious rhythms. In the end, the chorus repeats the singer's love for Brazil, affirming that it means the world to him.
Line by Line Meaning
Deixa cantar de novo o trovador
Allow the troubadour to sing again
A merencória luz da lua
The sorrowful light of the moon
Toda canção do seu amor
All the songs of your love
Quero ver essa dona caminhando
I want to see that lady walking
Pelos salões arrastando
Dragging her lace dress through the halls
O seu vestido rendado
Her lacy dress
Brasil, pra mim
Brazil, for me
Pra mim, Brasil
For me, Brazil
Brasil, meu Brasil brasileiro
Brazil, my Brazilian Brazil
Meu mulato inzoneiro
My lively mulatto
Vou cantar-te nos meus versos
I will sing about you in my verses
Que dá
That gives
Bamboleio que faz gingar
Swaying that makes one dance
O Brasil do meu amor
The Brazil of my love
Terra de Nosso Senhor
Land of our Lord
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group, Tratore, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: Ary Barroso
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
M M
Brasil, meu Brasil Brasileiro
Meu mulato inzoneiro
Vou cantar-te nos meus versos
O Brasil, samba que dá
Bamboleio, que faz gingar
O Brasil do meu amor
Terra de nosso senhor
Brasil, pra mim, pra mim, Brasil
Deixa
Cantar de novo o trovador
À merencória à luz da lua
Toda canção do meu amor
Quero ver essa dona caminhando
Pelos salões, arrastando
O seu vestido rendado
Brasil, pra mim, pra mim, Brasil
Carlos Maestrelo
Deixa cantar de novo o trovador
A merencória a luz da lua
Toda canção do seu amor.
Quero ver essa Dona caminhando
Pelos salões arrastando
O seu vestido rendado (verde & branco!)
Brazil, Prá mim, Prá mim, Brazil.
Brazil, meu Brazil Brasileiro
Meu mulato inzoneiro
Vou cantar-te nos meus versos
Bamboleio, que faz gingar
Ô Brazil do meu amor
Terra de Nosso Senhor
Brazil, Prá mim, Prá mim, Brazill
la p'tite Co
letras
Deixa cantar de novo o trovador
A merencória luz da lua
Toda a canção do seu amor
Quero ver essa dona caminhando
Pelos salões arrastando
O seu vestido rendado
Brasil, prá mim, prá mim, Brasil
Brasil
Meu Brasil brasileiro
Meu mulato inzoneiro
Vou cantar-te nos meus versos
Ô Brasil, samba que dá
Bamboleio, que faz gingá
Ô Brasil do meu amor
Terra de Nosso Senhor
Brasil!
Prá mim... prá mim...
Brasil!
Argie Moshbangers
Deixa cantar de novo o trovador
A merencória luz da lua
Toda a canção do seu amor
Quero ver essa dona caminhando
Pelos salões arrastando
O seu vestido rendado
Brasil, prá mim, prá mim, Brasil
Brasil
Meu Brasil brasileiro
Meu mulato inzoneiro
Vou cantar-te nos meus versos
Ô Brasil, samba que dá
Bamboleio, que faz gingá
Ô Brasil do meu amor
Terra de Nosso Senhor
Brasil!
Prá mim... prá mim...
Brasil!
Flashofmyflesh
the lightness of this song has haunted me and carried me for 30 years. I don't even speak portuguese but I can sing along to every line. one of my favorite earwigs.
Abigail Godfrey
One of my earworms too... I'm literally shimmying down the street while not even listening to it
Lua C
I know it's been out for a while, but I recommend you listen to that version as well. The music is more complete and... Very happy. https://youtu.be/mvdKz4VPPq0
Guto Moura
you speak music , thats enough
rames
Nous sommes tous humains la culture les son non pa d'identité,oui c expionel
Jules L
I saw an old man singing this at the back of a meat market in Tijuana back in 1996. Recorded it, used to listen to it all the time. The singer's wife used an old meat slicer as the percussion, playing along with this samba on the guitar in such a melodic way, the steel reverberated the chicken drumsticks hits so beautifully. As I sat eating hot dog spaghettios out of the can I thought to myself, there must be life on other planets...
Arananime
Can we hear it?
Geoff
@Arananime yeah seriously, I need to hear it now.
Eva Sarker
We need it
NIGHTMARE-NIGHTMARE NIGHTMARE-NIGHTMARE-NIGHTMARE
Jules, listen to us, please. We N E E D to hear that recording.