The sexy/quirky/mysterious Brazilian Girls were three men -- Didi Gutman (from Argentina) on keyboards and computers, Jesse Murphy on bass, and Aaron Johnston on drums -- and one woman, Sabina Sciubba, the vocalist. Sciubba often enjoys wearing lacy eye masks on-stage and sings in no fewer than five different languages. She was born in Rome but grew up in Nice and Munich before settling in Brooklyn, NY. She first came to record buyers' attention when she recorded two jazz albums -- You Don't Know What Love Is with pianist Chris Anderson and Meet Me in London with guitarist Antonio Forcione -- for the English audiophile label Naim. She described her meeting with the men of Brazilian Girls as "love at first sight and it moved as fast as the Autobahn." Falling into the new, playful downtown scene that was revolving around the Nublu club helped speed the band's success.
Like-minded bands like Wax Poetic and the Nublu Orchestra had made the club the hip spot 2004 for adventurous pop fans and Brazilian Girls' freeform, bouncy kind of jamming fit right in. Soon they had the Saturday night slot at Nublu, and the East Village press had fallen in love with them. Murphy and Johnston made appearances on John Zorn's 2003 album Voices in the Wilderness and every Brazilian Girl contributed to Wax Poetic's sophomore release, the Nublu Sessions, the same year. The Verve Company became interested in the band around this time, thinking them perfect for the more pop and progressive imprint Verve Forecast. In 2004 the label released the Lazy Lover (EP), which included the title track -- a chillout room favorite -- in its original form and in a remix by the quirky house producer Herbert. The group's self-titled, full-length debut Brazilian Girls hit the streets in early 2005. (allmusic.com, 02/06) The band's second album, Talk to La Bomb, was released in September 2006 by Verve Forecast, to mixed reviews.
In 2008, the band released a third album "New York City" - also to mixed reviews. In the interim, singer Sciubba returned to France and had a child. Unfortunately, the band announced in January 2011 that they had broken up.
Berlín
Brazilian Girls Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Quante memorie che hai
Una alla volta
Berlin!
Ah tu es coquine
No other matches your scene
Come una volta
VIVEZ!!!
Tu mi permetti il mio spleen
After everything youve seen
Fled and regained you remained
Berlin!
Je me regarde a travers de tes yeux
Strip me of all of my dreams
Nobody knows me
In berlin
VIVEZ!!!
The lyrics of Brazilian Girls' song Berlin are a mix of Italian, French, and English language, which adds to the international flavor of the song. The first two lines in Italian, "Parlami di te, Quante memorie che hai," can be translated to "Speak to me about yourself, How many memories you have." The song appears to be an ode to the city of Berlin, which has a rich history and many memories attached to it. The lyrics also mention the French phrase "tu es coquine," which means "you are naughty," indicating the playful and seductive nature of the city.
The chorus of the song, "VIVEZ!!!" is in French and means "Live!!!" It is a call to live life to the fullest and embrace everything the city of Berlin has to offer. The following lines, "Tu mi permetti il mio spleen, after everything you've seen," mean "You allow me my melancholy, after everything you've seen." This could be referring to Berlin's tumultuous past, including the devastation of World War II and the subsequent division of the city. The lyrics seem to suggest that despite its difficult history, the city has endured and remains a vibrant and exciting place.
Line by Line Meaning
Parlami di te
Tell me about yourself
Quante memorie che hai
How many memories do you have
Una alla volta
One at a time
Berlin!
Berlin!
Ah tu es coquine
Oh, you're naughty
No other matches your scene
No one else is like you
Come una volta
Like once before
Ah Berlin!!
Oh, Berlin!!
VIVEZ!!!
LIVE!!!
Tu mi permetti il mio spleen
You allow me my melancholy
After everything youve seen
After all that you've witnessed
Fled and regained you remained
You left and came back, but you stayed
Berlin!
Berlin!
Je me regarde a travers de tes yeux
I see myself through your eyes
Strip me of all of my dreams
Take away all of my dreams
Nobody knows me
No one knows me
In berlin
In Berlin
VIVEZ!!!
LIVE!!!
Contributed by Julia L. Suggest a correction in the comments below.