The daughter of a Brazilian mother and a German father, Gilberto was raised in Rio de Janeiro and moved to the USA in the early 1960s. In her mid-teens, she became part of (her own words) a "musical clan" when she met João Gilberto, whom she described as the clan's musical "guru". She married him a few months later, in 1959. She frequently sang duets with him, or sang while he accompanied her on guitar, and he acted as her musical tutor. She also sang publicly with her husband in a concert at the Rio de Janeiro Faculty of Architecture, but did not sing professionally at that time.
The couple moved to the United States in 1963, where she performed on the influential Getz/Gilberto album with João Gilberto, Stan Getz and Antonio Carlos Jobim. While rehearsing "The Girl from Ipanema", João asked her to sing a verse in English, and then persuaded Getz to include this in the final recording. Getz agreed, and Astrud's professional career began. After the recording Getz told Astrud it would make her famous, and was proved correct.
In the mid-1960s the couple divorced.
The success of Gilberto's vocal work on the song "The Girl from Ipanema" quickly turned her into a jazz star, and soon she started recording solo. She started as an interpreter of Brazilian bossa nova and American jazz standards, but started recording her own compositions in the 1970s.
Gilberto's recordings exposed the nations of the World to the sensuality of Brazilian music and to her unique vocal interpretations of American music, such as "The Shadow of your Smile", "It Might as well be Spring", "Fly Me to the Moon", "Look to the Rainbow" (from her album of the same title, with Gil Evans), "Love Story", etc...
Following the hit with "Ipanema", her recording career quickly took off. Her first solo effort, "The Astrud Gilberto Album", was an immediate best-seller and was itself nominated as album of the year. Her next albums were all chart-toppers and were released on a yearly schedule. Her talents were much in demand in other areas as well as she appeared in two motion pictures, "The Hanged Man" and "Get Yourself a College Girl" and also recorded the soundtrack for "The Deadly Affair", arranged by Quincy Jones. She made appearances in all of the popular US television shows of the time, and had TV specials built around her in Europe, Japan and Africa. For many years she was the voice of Eastern Airlines, having recorded award-winning commercials.
In the early seventies, Gilberto revealed another facet of her talents, her songwriting, which was introduced on the albums "Astrud Gilberto Now" (1972) and "That Girl From Ipanema" (1977). On the "That Girl from Ipanema" album, Gilberto recorded one of her songs, "Far Away" (with lyrics by Hal Shaper), as a duet with the legendary Chet Baker. As she has revealed in interviews, this was one of the most rewarding events of her career, since Baker had been one of Gilberto's idols dating back to her teenage years. In 1976, one of her compositions, "Live Today" (co-written with Jerome Schur), received an award at the Tokyo Music Festival.
In the early eighties, Gilberto formed a group, a sextet comprised of piano, bass, drums, trombone, guitar and percussion. Her son, Marcelo Gilberto, joined her group as bassist. With this group format, she toured Europe, Japan, Canada, and the United States. With the aid of Marcelo's valuable musical contributions, she polished the group's arrangements and entered a different phase in her career, as her music became more diversified and her songwriting more proliferous. Her shows, from the beginning of her career up to her last public appearance (2001), have been usually sold out and at many venues she has broken the house record in attendance. Seeking for a way to overcome her stage fright, which was sometimes overwhelming, Gilberto attended the Stella Adler School of Acting, for a couple of years, in the early eighties. The experience was helpful. Although still shy, Gilberto learned to control the stage fright to the extent that she can "live with it".
Her album "Astrud Gilberto Plus The James Last Orchestra", released in 1987, solidified her career as songwriter. The album includes a few of her own original compositions of which "Champagne & Caviar", "Amor e Som" and "I'm nothing without you" (Astrud's lyrics to A.C. Jobim's melody) are best known. The release of this album combined with the reissuing of some of her early records as CDs has created a whole new generation of fans for Astrud Gilberto all over the world, in addition to her already large number of followers. The "Astrud Gilberto Plus the James Last Orchestra" album was extremely well received by critics, as well as fellow artists.
In 1990, Gilberto, along with her sons Marcelo Gilberto and Gregory Lasorsa, formed Gregmar Productions, Inc. In the years that followed, Gilberto toured extensively, developing her live show and writing new material.
In 1992, Gilberto received the "Latin Jazz USA Award for Lifetime Achievement" for her outstanding contribution to Latin jazz music.
In 1995, the first project by Gregmar studios was released on an album as tribute to Jobim on the label Ps Flag/BMG ("Heirs To Jobim"). The song, "Forever Green", one of Jobim's last compositions before passing away, features saxophonist Michael Brecker. In that same year, in a sold-out Thursday night appearance, Astrud Gilberto became the first "Jazz" Artist to sing at the trendy "House of Blues" in Los Angeles, which had until then presented Blues and Rock acts, exclusively. She has also broken house records at the very popular "Jazz Cafe" club in London.
In early 1996 the first album from Gregmar was released in the Asian territories, including Japan, on the Pony Canyon label. It is comprised of various live performances recorded in NYC in 1989, for which is called "Astrud Gilberto - Live in New York".
The "Desafinado" duet with George Michael, in the Fall of 1996 included on the "Red Hot & Rio" album, gained international attention, and exposed the Bossa Nova style to a large number of Pop music fans. "Desafinado" has also been included on George Michael's 1999 release "Ladies and Gentlemen, The Best of George Michael".
Also in 1996, Gilberto recorded a duet with the famous European vocalist, French Pop star, Ettienne Daho. The song, "Les Bordes de Seine", included on Daho's "Eden" album, was co-written by Daho and Gilberto and was particularly well received by "Hip-Hop" fans.
In late 1997, a studio album (also by Gregmar Productions), produced by Astrud and Marcelo Gilberto, was released in the Asian territories by the Pony Canyon label. Comprised entirely of Astrud Gilberto's original compositions (with the exception of just one American standard), the album bears the title of "Temperance". Yet to be released outside of Asia, the album features guests Michael Franks and the New York Voices.
Gilberto's sold-out performances at the "House of Blues", and her legendary shows at NYC's SOB's continued to be musical "happenings" to her fans up until 2001, when she decided to take indefinite time off the "road", in order to be able to spend more time with her family, and do more writing and painting (she is also a fine art artist (click here to view some of her artwork).
Gilberto's style has been a strong influence in contemporary music. Many artists have revealed the fact that they have been inspired by her musical style, among them: Basia (who recorded a tribute to Astrud, a song named "Astrud"), Sade, Sinead O'Connor, Michael Franks, Pat Metheney, and Suzanne Vega. Several "avant-garde" groups have also professed having Astrud as their "inspiring muse".
Gilberto's work as songwriter has gradually but surely developed from a "side thing" in the beginning of her career, to an integral part of it, in the later years. Since the mid-eighties, her live shows featured a large number of her own original compositions, to which audiences have been just as receptive as they have always been to old standards such as "The Girl from Ipanema", "One Note Samba", or "Quiet Nights".
Gilberto's 2002 "Jungle" album release, is a showcase of her songwriting, as it features ten original new compositions.
In April 2002, Gilberto was inducted into the "International Latin Music Hall of Fame".
In November 2008, Gilberto was awarded by the Latin Recording Academy the "Lifetime Achievement" Grammy Award.
Felicidade
Astrud Gilberto Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
A felicidade é como a pluma
Que o vento vai levando pelo ar
Voa tão leve, mas tem a vida breve
Precisa que haja vento sem parar
A felicidade do pobre parece
A grande ilusão do carnaval
Por um momento de sonho pra fazer a fantasia
De rei, ou de pirata, ou jardineira
E tudo se acabar na quarta-feira
Tristeza não tem fim
Felicidade, sim
Tristeza não tem fim
Felicidade, sim
A felicidade é como a gota
De orvalho numa pétala de flor
Brilha tranquila, depois de leve, oscila
E cai como uma lágrima de amor
A minha felicidade está sonhando
Nos olhos da minha namorada
É como esta noite passando, passando
Em busca da madrugada, falem baixo, por favor
Pra que ela acorde alegre como o dia
Oferecendo beijos de amor
Tristeza não tem fim
Felicidade, sim
Tristeza não tem fim
Felicidade, sim
Tristeza não tem fim
Felicidade, sim
Tristeza não tem fim
Felicidade, sim
Tristeza não tem fim
, felicidade sim - These lyrics to Astrud Gilberto's song Felicidade convey a contrast between sadness and joy. The singer speaks of how happiness is like a feather carried by the wind while sadness seems to be an endless cycle. The short-lived nature of joy is evident in how it depends on the right amount of wind to continue floating. The happiness that the poor experience, feels like a mirage in the midst of the festivities - Carnival, where they invest time, energy, and money to make a costume that they'll wear for a few days before returning to the real world. The lyrics suggest that joy is fleeting and often appears where it is least expected.
The second verse of the song describes happiness as a dewdrop on a flower pedal. It sparkles briefly, then trembles before falling as if in love. The singer shares that her happiness lies in the eyes of her beloved, where it continues to dream away until dawn. She hopes that her lover will wake up happy and ready to offer her kisses of love. These lyrics suggest that love is a source of joy that can last even when everything else fades away. Felicidade speaks to the hope that happiness is not just an emotion we experience in a moment, but also what we find in relationships and connections with other people.
Line by Line Meaning
Tristeza não tem fim
Sadness knows no end
Felicidade, sim
Happiness, yes
A felicidade é como a pluma
Happiness is like a feather
Que o vento vai levando pelo ar
That the wind carries through the air
Voa tão leve, mas tem a vida breve
It flies so lightly but has a short life
Precisa que haja vento sem parar
It needs the wind to keep blowing
A felicidade do pobre parece
The happiness of the poor seems
A grande ilusão do carnaval
The grand illusion of carnival
A gente trabalha o ano inteiro
We work the whole year
Por um momento de sonho pra fazer a fantasia
For a fleeting moment to make a costume
De rei, ou de pirata, ou jardineira
Of king, or pirate, or gardener
E tudo se acabar na quarta-feira
And everything ends on Wednesday
A felicidade é como a gota
Happiness is like a droplet
De orvalho numa pétala de flor
Of dew on a flower petal
Brilha tranquila, depois de leve, oscila
It shines calmly, then lightly oscillates
E cai como uma lágrima de amor
And falls like a tear of love
A minha felicidade está sonhando
My happiness is dreaming
Nos olhos da minha namorada
In the eyes of my girlfriend
É como esta noite passando, passando
It's like this night passing, passing
Em busca da madrugada, falem baixo, por favor
In search of the dawn, please speak softly
Pra que ela acorde alegre como o dia
So that she wakes up happy like the day
Oferecendo beijos de amor
Offering kisses of love
Lyrics © Tratore
Written by: Tom Jobim, Vinicius De Moraes
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@straightawayproject
Tristeza não tem fim
Felicidade sim...
A felicidade é como a pluma
Que o vento vai levando pelo ar
Voa tão leve
Mas tem a vida breve
Precisa que haja vento sem parar.
A felicidade do pobre parece
A grande ilusão do carnaval
A gente trabalha o ano inteiro
Por um momento de sonho
Pra fazer a fantasia
De rei, ou de pirata, ou da jardineira
E tudo se acabar na quarta-feira.
Tristeza não tem fim
Felicidade sim...
A felicidade é como a gota
De orvalho numa pétala de flor
Brilha tranquila
Depois de leve oscila
E cai como uma lágrima de amor.
A felicidade é uma coisa louca
Mas tão delicada, também
Tem flores e amores de todas as cores
Tem ninhos de passarinhos
Tudo isso ela tem
E é por ela ser assim tão delicada
Que eu trato sempre dela muito bem.
Tristeza não tem fim
Felicidade sim...
@iididiidididid
Johanna040713
HAPPINESS - ASTRUD GILBERTO
Sadness has no end
Happiness yes
Happiness is like a drop
Of dew on a flower petal
Shines quietly
After light oscillates
And falls like a tear of love
Happiness of the poor seems
The great illusion of Carnival
We work all year
For a dream moment
To make the fantasy
Of king or pirate or gardener
For everything was finished in Wednesday
Sadness has no end
Happiness yes
Happiness is like a feather
That the wind lifts into the air
Flying so light
But life is short
It needs to have the wind without stopping
My happiness is dreaming
In the eyes of my lover
It's like tonight
Passing, passing
In search of the dawn
Keep it down, please
For her to wake up happy as the day
Offering kisses of love
Sadness has no end
Happiness yes
@plaoivnet
BRASIL, TIERRA DE LA ARMONIA, mi segunda nación. Un saludo afectuoso de parte de los hermanos peruanos. Grande
@vitormachado5417
Obrigado, hermana!
@DirtyDanMayne
Beautiful song, beautiful voice, beautiful language. It doesn't get much better.
@rayito2005
Grandiosa Astrud , me encanta como interpreta sus canciones.
@djjun99
A Show!!! This is Astrud Gilberto,the great Brazilian chanteuse that became, with her gorgeous and magnetic voice,a major force in popularizing the bossa nova sound! Thanks a lot and Congratulations! Greetings from Brasil!
@AnaRamos-bm9ck
Grande rainha da bossa nova que nunca será esquecida
@RosaneOss
Q coisa mais bela..voz, cançao..letra!!!!
@silverideas
Thank you to my best friend, Maritza, for introducing me to the excellent music of Astrud Gilberto in 1991.
@straightawayproject
Tristeza não tem fim
Felicidade sim...
A felicidade é como a pluma
Que o vento vai levando pelo ar
Voa tão leve
Mas tem a vida breve
Precisa que haja vento sem parar.
A felicidade do pobre parece
A grande ilusão do carnaval
A gente trabalha o ano inteiro
Por um momento de sonho
Pra fazer a fantasia
De rei, ou de pirata, ou da jardineira
E tudo se acabar na quarta-feira.
Tristeza não tem fim
Felicidade sim...
A felicidade é como a gota
De orvalho numa pétala de flor
Brilha tranquila
Depois de leve oscila
E cai como uma lágrima de amor.
A felicidade é uma coisa louca
Mas tão delicada, também
Tem flores e amores de todas as cores
Tem ninhos de passarinhos
Tudo isso ela tem
E é por ela ser assim tão delicada
Que eu trato sempre dela muito bem.
Tristeza não tem fim
Felicidade sim...
@monicapaulista
Astrud gilberto voce foi sempre a grande e maravilhosa cantora da bossa nova