Bebel Gilberto (born Isabel Gilberto de Oliveira on May 12, 1966 in New Yor… Read Full Bio ↴Bebel Gilberto (born Isabel Gilberto de Oliveira on May 12, 1966 in New York City) is an American-born Grammy Award-nominated Brazilian popular singer often associated with bossa nova. She is the daughter of João Gilberto and singer Miúcha. Her uncle is singer/composer Chico Buarque. Bebel has been performing since her youth in Rio de Janeiro.

At the age of seven, Bebel made an appearance on her mother's first solo album Miúcha. At age nine, Bebel performed with her mother and jazz saxophonist Stan Getz at a jazz festival in New York's Carnegie Hall. Back in Brazil, Bebel performed and recorded for the soundtrack of the children's musical Os Saltimbancos, written by Sergio Bardotti and Chico Buarque. Later on Bebel joined an experimental theatrical group and was a member of the founding team of the performance space Circo Voador (Flying Circus) at Ipanema Beach. In this group she met singer/songwriter Cazuza, who became a close friend and soon a major rock star in Brazil during the 1980s.

Throughout the 1990s, Bebel collaborated with a variety of musical stars such as Arto Lindsay, Thievery Corporation, David Byrne, Towa Tei, Caetano Veloso and Chico Buarque. In 1996 Bebel was featured in the AIDS charity project Red Hot + Rio, produced by her close friend and collaborator Béco Dranoff. By the mid 1990s, Bebel also had successes as songwriter with the international dance hits "Technova" and "Batucada" in collaboration with producers Towa Tei and Arto Lindsay.

Bebel was featured on the soundtrack of Brad Anderson's film Next Stop Wonderland with Vinicius Cantuária and Mauro Refosco. In the late 1990s, Bebel moved to London where she began to develop the sound featured on her critically acclaimed debut album Tanto Tempo. During this period, she met Suba, the multi-talented Serbian producer living in São Paulo who ended up writing and producing several tracks on Tanto Tempo. While in London, she also worked with DJ/producer Amon Tobin, Dutch duo Arling & Cameron and singer Nina Miranda.

In 2000, Bebel's Tanto Tempo album was released on Ziriguiboom (Crammed Discs sub-label) and has sold over one million copies worldwide. The album was also nominated for two Latin Grammy Awards. Her second album, Bebel Gilberto (2004), was also released to great critical acclaim, receiving a MOBO Award in the UK and also a World Music Grammy nomination.

Also in 2006, Bebel started writing and producing the songs that would become part of her third album Momento, released in April 2007. On this album, Bebel collaborated with UK producer Guy Sigsworth, her friends Didi Gutman and Sabina Sciubba (from NY based band Brazilian Girls) and the Rio based Orquestra Imperial.

Gilberto's most recent album, All In One, was released in the US in September 2009 by jazz imprint Verve.

Os Novos Yorkinos
Bebel Gilberto Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

The telephone rings
I just got home
Serginho is calling in
He always knows some place to go
Someone's house or someone's show

Oooh, os Novos Yorkinos
Oooh, pura emoção

Oooh, sonhamos ao vivo
Quem vai nos dar a lição
Fáfa, farófa, farófa, farófa, farófa
Farófa, fará

The sun comes up
Over the high rooftopps of lower Manhattan
Give me another cup
Before the music stops
Until we go home or somewhere else

Oooh, os Novos Yorkinos
Oooh, nem precisamos dormir
Oooh, no mesmo caminho
Vamos pra casa ou sair

Oooh, eternos Yorkinos
Oooh, tão vagabundos

Oooh, estranhos no ninho
Esse é o meu mundo

Overall Meaning

The lyrics to Bebel Gilberto's song Os Novos Yorkinos depict a group of young, free-spirited individuals living in New York City. The opening lines, "The telephone rings, I just got home, Serginho is calling in," immediately convey a sense of excitement and spontaneity. The singer's friend, Serginho, always knows some new place to go, whether it be someone's house or a live show. The chorus, "Oooh, os Novos Yorkinos," repeats throughout the song and translates to "Oh, the New Yorkers," emphasizing the group's identity as young people living in the vibrant metropolis of New York.

The second verse references the sun coming up over the high rooftops of lower Manhattan, suggesting a late night out on the town. The singer requests another cup, wanting to extend the experience before the music stops and they have to go home or to another location. The chorus repeats, emphasizing the group's bond as "eternos Yorkinos" or eternal New Yorkers, who live life on their own terms and straddle the line between vagabond and stranger in a city that embraces nonconformity.

Overall, the lyrics to Os Novos Yorkinos capture the youthful energy and sense of possibility that can be found in a city like New York. The song celebrates the carefree spirit of those who live life on their own terms and march to the beat of their own drums, unafraid to explore the endless possibilities of the city that never sleeps.

Line by Line Meaning

The telephone rings
I receive a phone call

I just got home
I arrived at my house

Serginho is calling in
Serginho is calling me

He always knows some place to go
Serginho always knows a good place to go

Someone's house or someone's show
The places Serginho suggests could be a house party or a concert/show

Oooh, os Novos Yorkinos
Oh, the New Yorkers

Oooh, pura emoção
Oh, pure emotion

Oooh, sonhamos ao vivo
Oh, we dream live

Quem vai nos dar a lição
Who will give us the lesson

Fáfa, farófa, farófa, farófa, farófa
This line contains nonsensical words

Farófa, fará
This line also contains nonsensical words