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.
She' S A Carioca
Antônio Carlos Jobim Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Here she comes
Ela é carioca
She′s a carioca
Just see the way she walks
Nobody else can be
What she is to me
I look and what do I see
When I look deep in her eyes
I can see the sea
A forgotten road
The caressing skies
And not only that I'm in love with her
The most exciting way
It′s written on my lips
Where her kisses stay
She smiles and all of a sudden
The world is smiling for me
And you know what else she's a carioca
Ela é carioca
Here she comes
Here she comes
She smiles and all of a sudden
The world is smiling for me
And you know what else she's a carioca
Ela é carioca
Here she comes
Here she comes
Antônio Carlos Jobim’s song She’s a Carioca is a love song, dedicated to the singer’s lover who was from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The song is full of passion and admiration for the woman who has caught the singer’s heart. The song starts with “Here she comes,” repeated twice, to indicate the excitement, anticipation, and eagerness the singer has for his lover. The next line is “Ela é carioca,” which means “She’s a carioca.” Carioca is a term used for people from Rio de Janeiro. The singer is proud to be with a woman from this beautiful city and admires her for who she is.
The singer continues to describe his lover’s beauty, saying “Just see the way she walks, nobody else can be what she is to me.” He is mesmerized by her, and when he looks into her eyes, he can see the sea, the forgotten road, and the caressing skies. The singer is clearly in love with his carioca girl and expresses it by saying, “And not only that I'm in love with her the most exciting way, it’s written on my lips where her kisses stay.”
In the chorus, the singer talks about how his lover’s smile can change the world around them. The world is smiling for him when his carioca girl smiles at him. The song ends with “Here she comes” repeated twice, showing that the singer can’t get enough of his lover and is always waiting for her with open arms.
Line by Line Meaning
Here she comes
She is approaching and about to arrive
Ela é carioca
She is from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Just see the way she walks
Her unique stride is noticeable and captivating
Nobody else can be
No one else can compare or match her essence
What she is to me
The very essence of her brings happiness to me
I look and what do I see
When I gaze at her, what do I perceive?
When I look deep in her eyes
When I deeply study her gaze
I can see the sea
I see the vastness of the ocean in her eyes
A forgotten road
A distant and treasured journey
The caressing skies
The gentle and soothing sky
And not only that I'm in love with her
However, my affection for her goes beyond this
The most exciting way
The most thrilling and exhilarating manner
It's written on my lips
My love for her is openly expressed on my mouth
Where her kisses stay
The very spot where her kisses remain and linger
She smiles and all of a sudden
Her grin instantly brings joyousness
The world is smiling for me
Suddenly, everything around me is cheerful and bright
And you know what else she's a carioca
Furthermore, she is a lively and enchanting Rio native
Here she comes
She is approaching and about to arrive
Here she comes
She is approaching and about to arrive
She smiles and all of a sudden
Her grin instantly brings joyousness
The world is smiling for me
Suddenly, everything around me is cheerful and bright
And you know what else she's a carioca
Furthermore, she is a lively and enchanting Rio native
Ela é carioca
She is from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Here she comes
She is approaching and about to arrive
Here she comes
She is approaching and about to arrive
Writer(s): Antonio Carlos Jobim, Ray Gilbert, Vinicius De Moraes
Contributed by Carson N. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
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.