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.
Canção do amor demais
Antônio Carlos Jobim Lyrics
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Quero morrer porque me deste a vida
Oh meu amor sera que nunca hei de ter paz
Sera que tudo que ha em mim
So quer sentir saudade
E ja nem sei o que vai ser de mim
Tudo me diz que amar sera meu fim
Que desespero traz o amor
Agora sei porque nao sou feliz
The lyrics of Antônio Carlos Jobim's song "Canção do amor demais" express the intense emotions of heartbreak and despair. The singer longs to cry because they loved their partner too much, but also desires to die because their partner gave them life. These contradictory feelings reflect the pain of a love that is no longer reciprocated or fulfilling. The plea for peace suggests that the singer is exhausted by the tumultuous emotions and yearns for a sense of calm.
The repetition of the phrase "sera que tudo que ha em mim" (is everything inside me) indicates a sense of confusion and uncertainty about the singer's own emotions. It conveys the idea that all they seem to experience now is longing and nostalgia. The fear of what the future holds and the sense of impending doom are further emphasized by the line "Tudo me diz que amar sera meu fim" (Everything tells me that love will be my demise). This captures the overwhelming desperation that love can bring, as it seems to consume and destroy the singer.
The next line, "Que desespero traz o amor" (What desperation love brings), further emphasizes the despair that the singer didn't realize before. It suggests that the intensity and power of love can be overwhelming and even destructive. The mention of not knowing what love was before and now understanding why the singer is not happy highlights the transformative nature of love. It implies that the singer has changed and perhaps lost a part of themselves in the process of loving too deeply.
Overall, these lyrics illustrate the profound emotional impact of love that turns sour. They depict the longing for what once was, the confusion and despair that love can bring, and the realization that love alone does not guarantee happiness. Through these heartfelt words, the singer expresses a deep sense of loss and vulnerability, offering listeners a poignant glimpse into the complex nature of love and its aftermath.
Lyrics © VM ENTERPRISES INC, Editora e Importadora Musical Fermata do Brasil Ltda., CORCOVADO MUSIC CORPORATION
Written by: Antonio Carlos Brasileiro De Almeida Jobim, Marcus Vinicius Da Cruz De Mello 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.