Antônio Carlos Brasileiro de Almeida Jobim (January 25, 1927 – December 8, … Read Full Bio ↴Antônio Carlos Brasileiro de Almeida Jobim (January 25, 1927 – December 8, 1994), also known as Tom Jobim, was a Brazilian composer, pianist, songwriter, arranger and singer. Widely considered as one of the great exponents of Brazilian music, Jobim internationalized bossa nova and, with the help of important American artists, merged it with jazz in the 1960s to create a new sound with remarkable popular success. As such he is sometimes known as the "father of bossa nova".

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.

Retrato em branco e preto
Antônio Carlos Jobim Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

Já conheço os passos dessa estrada
Sei que não vai dar em nada
Seus segredos sei de cor
Já conheço as pedras do caminho
E sei também que ali sozinho
Vou ficar tanto pior
O que é que eu posso contra o encanto
Desse amor que eu nego tanto

Evito tanto
E que no entanto
Volta sempre a enfeitiçar
Com seus mesmos tristes velhos fatos
Que num álbum de retratos
Eu teimo em colecionar

Lá vou eu de novo como um tolo
Procurar o desconsolo
Que cansei de conhecer
Novos dias tristes, noites claras
Versos, cartas, minha cara
Ainda volto a lhe escrever
Pra lhe dizer que isso é pecado
Eu trago o peito tão marcado
De lembranças do passado
E você sabe a razão
Vou colecionar mais um soneto
Outro retrato em branco e preto
A maltratar meu coração

Vou colecionar mais um soneto

Outro retrato em branco e preto
A maltratar meu coração

Overall Meaning

"Retrato em Branco e Preto" is a melancholic love song by Antônio Carlos Jobim, also known as Tom Jobim. The lyrics convey a sense of resignation and familiarity towards a love that is both enchanting and painful. The singer, who is deeply aware of the path they are on, acknowledges that it will lead to nothing. They know all the secrets and obstacles along the way, understanding that they will end up alone and even worse off. Despite their efforts to deny and avoid the charms of this love, they find themselves spellbound and collecting memories in an album of portraits.

The singer finds themselves repeating the cycle of seeking solace in despair that they have grown weary of. They anticipate more sad days and clear nights, as they write verses and letters to their beloved. They recognize the sinful nature of their actions, carrying a heavy heart marked by memories of the past, and the recipient of these letters knows the reason behind it all. Yet, they continue to collect more sonnets and portrayals in black and white, knowing that it will only continue to torment their heart.

Overall, the lyrics of "Retrato em Branco e Preto" depict a bittersweet love story where the singer is caught in a cycle of longing, denial, and nostalgia. Despite being aware of the eventual pain and futility, they find themselves unable to break free from the enchantment of the love they keep denying.

Line by Line Meaning

Já conheço os passos dessa estrada
I am already familiar with the steps of this path

Sei que não vai dar em nada
I know it will lead to nothing

Seus segredos sei de cor
I already know your secrets by heart

Já conheço as pedras do caminho
I already know the obstacles along the way

E sei também que ali sozinho
And I also know that there, alone

Eu vou ficar tanto pior
I will feel even worse

E o que é que eu posso contra o encanto
And what can I do against the spell

Desse amor que eu nego tanto
Of this love that I deny so much

Evito tanto e que, no entanto
I avoid so much and yet

Volta sempre a enfeitiçar
It always returns to enchant me

Com seus mesmos tristes, velhos fatos
With its same sad, old facts