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.
Por Toda a Minha Vida
Antônio Carlos Jobim Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Quero fazer de um juramento uma canção
Eu prometo por toda a minha vida
Ser somente tua e amar-te como nunca
Ninguém jamais amou ninguém
Ó, meu bem amado
Estrela pura aparecida
Eu te amo e te proclamo
Maior que tudo quanto existe
Ah, meu amor
amado
Quero transformar este momento em eternidade
Eu prometo por toda a minha vida
Ser somente tua e amar-te como nunca
Ninguém jamais amou ninguém
Ah, meu amor amado
Fonte de eterna juventude
Eu te amo e te proclamo
O meu amor, o meu amor
Maior que tudo quanto existe
The lyrics of Por Toda a Minha Vida, which means "For All My Life" in English, express a deep dedication to a loved one. The singer promises to love and devote themselves completely to their beloved for all their life. They invoke the image of a star, their beloved, who is pure and shines bright in their life. The singer proclaims their love to be greater than anything in existence and wants to turn their moment with their beloved into an eternal memory.
The song captures the essence of pure and unconditional love. It is an ode to the ultimate commitment in a relationship, the promise to never let go of each other. The lyrics are heartfelt, and Elis Regina's rendition of the song brings to life the emotions of the singer. As the song progresses, the melody becomes more intense, and the listener can feel the passion and devotion that the singer has towards their beloved.
Line by Line Meaning
Ó, meu bem amado
Oh, my beloved
Quero fazer de um juramento uma canção
I want to turn a promise into a song
Eu prometo por toda a minha vida
I promise for all of my life
Ser somente tua e amar-te como nunca
To only be yours and love you like no one ever has
Ninguém jamais amou ninguém
No one has ever loved anyone
Ó, meu bem amado
Oh, my beloved
Estrela pura aparecida
Pure, starry presence
Eu te amo e te proclamo
I love you and proclaim it
O meu amor, o meu amor
My love, my love
Maior que tudo quanto existe
Greater than everything that exists
Ah, meu amor
Ah, my love
Lyrics © VM ENTERPRISES INC, Editora e Importadora Musical Fermata do Brasil Ltda., CORCOVADO MUSIC CORPORATION
Written by: Tom 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.