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.
Samba Do Avião
Antônio Carlos Jobim Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Vejo o Rio de Janeiro
Estou morrendo de saudade
Rio teu mar, praias sem fim
Rio você foi feito pra mim
Cristo Redentor
Braços abertos sobre a Guanabara
Este samba é só porque
Rio eu gosto de você
A morena vai sambar
Seu corpo todo balançar
Rio de sol, de céu, de mar
Dentro de mais uns minutos
Estaremos no Galeão
Este samba é só porque
Rio eu gosto de você
A morena vai sambar
Seu corpo todo balançar
Aperte o cinto, vamos chegar
Água brilhando, olha a pista chegando
E vamos nós aterrar
The opening lines of the song, "Eparrê, Aroeira beira de mar, Salve Deus e Tiago e Humaitá, Eta, costão de pedra dos home brabo do mar, Eh, Xangô, vê se me ajuda a chegar," are in Portuguese and refer to various places in and around Rio de Janeiro. Aroeira is a type of tree found along the beaches, and Salve Deus is a reference to the Brazilian religion of Umbanda, which incorporates elements of Catholicism and African religions. Tiago and Humaitá are neighborhoods in Rio de Janeiro, and the "costão de pedra" refers to the rocky coastline of the city. Xangô is an orisha, or deity, in the Afro-Brazilian religion of Candomblé, and the singer is asking for his help to reach his destination.
The rest of the song is in English and expresses the singer's love for Rio de Janeiro, specifically its beaches, the Christ the Redeemer statue overlooking the Guanabara Bay, and the city itself. The line "Minha alma canta" means "my soul sings," and the lyrics describe the beauty of the city's natural surroundings and the joy of arriving in Rio, expressed through the image of a woman dancing the samba. The repeated phrase "Rio, eu gosto de você" means "Rio, I love you." The closing lines, "Aperte o cinto, vamos chegar, Água brilhando, olha a pista chegando, E vamos nós aterrar," mean "fasten your seatbelt, we're arriving, water shimmering, look at the runway coming, and we're landing."
Line by Line Meaning
Eparrê,
Invocation to the gods or Orishas of African mythology.
Aroeira beira de mar
Aroeira is a type of tree found near the sea.
Salve Deus e Tiago e Humaitá
Salutations to the deities of Candomblé, as well as reference to two neighborhoods in Rio de Janeiro.
Eta, costão de pedra dos home brabo do mar
Expression of admiration for the rocky coastline of Rio de Janeiro and the brave men who navigate its waters.
Eh, Xangô, vê se me ajuda a chegar
Asking for help from the Orisha Xangô to arrive safely in Rio.
Minha alma canta
My soul sings.
Vejo o Rio de Janeiro
I see Rio de Janeiro.
Estou morrendo de saudade
I am dying of nostalgia.
Rio, teu mar, praias sem fim
Rio, your sea, endless beaches.
Rio, você foi feito pra mim
Rio, you were made for me.
Cristo Redentor
The Christ the Redeemer statue in Rio.
Braços abertos sobre a Guanabara
Arms open over Guanabara Bay.
Este samba é só porque
This samba is just because.
Rio, eu gosto de você
Rio, I like you.
A morena vai sambar
The dark-skinned woman is going to samba.
Seu corpo todo balançar
Her whole body swaying.
Rio de sol, de céu, de mar
Rio of sun, sky, and sea.
Dentro de mais um minuto estaremos no Galeão
In one more minute, we will be at Galeão Airport.
Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro
Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro.
Aperte o cinto, vamos chegar
Fasten your seatbelt, we are going to arrive.
Água brilhando, olha a pista chegando
Water shining, look the runway arriving.
E vamos nós
And here we go.
A ter rar
Unknown expression, likely a play on words or inside reference.
Lyrics © CORCOVADO MUSIC CORPORATION
Written by: Antonio Carlos Jobim
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
MrAmsterdawg
Esse “Dentro de mais um minuto estaremos no Galeão” deveria ser fala obrigatória para todos os pilotos pousando no Galeão
Diego Barbosa
Se precisar arremeter vai ser maior papelão
Almir Sani Moreira
Pode adaptar para Santos Dumont, que é muito mais bonito.
Aliás, é um verdadeiro desbunde, de tão lindo !
Wilmar Menezes
Verdade
Gusimaro
fax
Divyan Massoterapia Tântrica
Em 2011 voltando da França, acho que foi pela TAP, tocou esse samba na chegada. Quase tive um treco de tanto chorar. É lindo demais! Choro tudo de novo a cada vez que ouço. Obrigada, Tom! Como eu amo meu país... ❤
Tomas Maffini
Soy argentino y me emociona la imagen "Cristo Rendetor, brazos abiertos sobre a Guanabara" es la imagen de Rio en el mundo. Abrazo irmaos!
Roberto Giostri
Esta música tocou durante uma época, para os passageiros nos aviões da VASP, nas chegadas no Rio de Janeiro.
Téo Júnior
Pena q esta tradição não seguiu.
Sâmara Teixeira
Eu não peguei essa época, mas aprendi a música na adolescência e sempre penso nela quando vou descer no Galeão.