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.
Love Is Stronger Far Than We
Astrud Gilberto Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
On se devrait d'être lucide
Mais notre méfiance est à bout
L'amour est bien plus fort que nous
When we are close, the world is singin'
And when we touch, the moonlight is wingin'
And there's no way to disagree
When hearts are meant for caring
And lives are meant for sharing
Then we are joined by destiny
For love is stronger far than we
So, we may say another season
May say goodbye and find the reason
But love decides how things must be
For love is stronger far than we
Love is stronger far than we
The lyrics to Astrud Gilberto's song "Love Is Stronger Far Than We" revolve around the power of love and how it can overcome our reservations and fears. The first verse suggests that despite the guidance of our past experiences, we still cannot help but fall in love and let our guard down. The second verse implies that when we are in love, everything seems more beautiful and meaningful, and it becomes difficult to argue against it. The chorus reinforces the idea that love is destiny and has more power than we do. It acknowledges that life is unpredictable and uncertain, but love is a constant that can always hold us together.
The song's overall message is that although love can be scary and unpredictable, it is a force that can conquer even our most profound fears and doubts. The lyrics suggest that love is destiny and that it will always overcome any obstacles in its way. Gilberto's soothing vocals and the understated arrangement give the song a tranquil and calming atmosphere, emphasizing the message of the lyrics.
Line by Line Meaning
Avec notre passé pour guide
With our past as a guide
On se devrait d'être lucide
We should be clear-headed
Mais notre méfiance est à bout
But our mistrust is at its breaking point
L'amour est bien plus fort que nous
Love is much stronger than us
When we are close, the world is singin'
When we're together, the world sings
And when we touch, the moonlight is wingin'
And when we touch, the moonlight soars
And there's no way to disagree
And it's impossible to argue
For love is stronger far than we
Because love is much stronger than us
When hearts are meant for caring
When hearts are made to care
And lives are meant for sharing
And lives are meant to be shared
Then we are joined by destiny
Then we were meant to be together
For love is stronger far than we
Because love is much stronger than us
So, we may say another season
So, we may usher in another season
May say goodbye and find the reason
May say farewell and search for the rationale
But love decides how things must be
But love determines how things should be
For love is stronger far than we
Because love is much stronger than us
Love is stronger far than we
Love is much stronger than us
Contributed by Gianna P. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
Enrique Aldanondo
Con nuestro pasado como guía
Deberíamos estar lúcidos
Pero nuestra desconfianza ha llegado a su fin
El amor es mucho más fuerte que nosotros.
Cuando estamos cerca, el mundo está cantando
Y cuando nos tocamos, la luz de la luna está volando
Y no hay forma de estar en desacuerdo
Porque el amor es más fuerte que nosotros
Cuando los corazones son para cuidar
Y las vidas están destinadas a compartir
Entonces estamos unidos por el destino
Porque el amor es más fuerte que nosotros.
Entonces, podemos decir otra temporada
Puede decir adiós y encontrar la razón.
Pero el amor decide cómo deben ser las cosas
Porque el amor es más fuerte que nosotros
El amor es más fuerte que nosotros.
Cuando los corazones son para cuidar
Y las vidas están destinadas a compartir
Entonces estamos unidos por el destino
Porque el amor es más fuerte que nosotros.
Entonces, podemos decir otra temporada
Puede decir adiós y encontrar la razón.
Pero el amor decide cómo deben ser las cosas
Porque el amor es más fuerte que nosotros
El amor es más fuerte que nosotros.
Human
When we are close, the world is singing
And when we touch, the night is ringing
And there's no way to disagree
For love is stronger far than we...
When hearts are meant for caring
And lives are meant for sharing
Then we are joined by destiny
And love is stronger far than we
So, we may say another season
May say goodbye and find the reason
But love decides how things must be
And love is stronger far than we
When hearts are meant for caring
And lives are meant for sharing
Then we are joined by destiny
And love is stronger far than we
So, we may say another season
May say goodbye and find a reason
But love decides how things must be
And love is stronger far than we...
Español para el mundo
Avec notre passé pour guide
On se devrait d'être lucide
Mais notre méfiance est à bout
L'amour est bien plus fort que nous
When we are close, the world is singin'
And when we touch, the moonlight is wingin'
And there's no way to disagree
For love is stronger far than we
When hearts are meant for caring
And lives are meant for sharing
Then we are joined by destiny
For love is stronger far than we
So, we may say another season
May say goodbye and find the reason
But love decides how things must be
For love is stronger far than we
Love is stronger far than we
Midtown
An incredibly beautiful song, sung by an Angel. RIP Astrud Gilberto. God bless you, and all who read this. 🙏
Дарья Хасанова
Слушая такую музыку,не хочется совершать плохие поступки.Весь мир прекрасен,люди чудесные,душа летит куда то.
Ludmila Mastihina
Волшебно!
joseph ornicar
tout le talent de Francis Lai comme un oiseau qui plane très haut dans le ciel 🪂 🎼 💙 🦅 🦅
Antonio Termulo
She sings so softly never overpowering the melody, and with such delicacy and sensitivity. Love ❤️ it.
Chery Jimenes
You are so correct!!! God Bless!!!
Ladyarthuria
Even her voice against time.
Mercedes bolaños
Bella interpretación de esta hermosa y romántica cancion. Mi favorita de la inolvidable película “Un hombre y una mujer”
Gracias… mil gracias por compartirla
Сергій Гук
Лучший фильм о ЛЮБВИ на все времена!!!
Zeppolino100
A soulful rendition of a simply gorgeous song. For those who have not
yet seen the film--A Man and a Woman--you must. The only thing missing
from this video is that last, amazing moment when the couple embracing
at the end are suddenly set against a blank white background, isolated
in their connection. Beautiful!