The firstborn son of Sérgio Buarque de Hollanda, Buarque lived at several locations throughout his childhood, though mostly in Rio de Janeiro, São Paulo, and Rome. He wrote and studied literature as a child and found music through the bossa nova compositions of Tom Jobim and João Gilberto. He performed as a singer and guitarist in the 1960s as well as writing a play that was deemed dangerous by the Brazilian military dictatorship of the time. Buarque, along with several Tropicalist and MPB musicians, was threatened by the Brazilian military government and eventually left Brazil for Italy in 1969. However, he came back to Brazil in 1970, and continued to record, perform, and write, though much of his material was suppressed by government censors. He released several more albums in the 1980s and published three novels in the 1990s and 2000s.
In 2019, Buarque was awarded the Camões Prize, the most important prize for literature in the Portuguese language.
Como se fosse a primavera
Chico Buarque Lyrics
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Você chega assim sorrindo
Como se fosse a primavera
Eu morrendo
E de que modo sutil
Me derramou na camisa
Todas as flores de abril
Riso sempre e nunca pranto?
Como se fosse a primavera
Não sou tanto
No entanto, que espiritual
Você me dar uma rosa
De seu rosal principal
De que calada maneira
Você chega assim sorrindo
Como se fosse a primavera
Eu morrendo
Eu morrendo
These lyrics are from the song "Como Se Fosse A Primavera" by Chico Buarque. The song is about a person who is suddenly greeted by someone who arrives with a smile, as if it were spring. The lyrics describe the arrival of this person in a "silent way," without any explanation, and how they bring a sense of freshness and renewal to the singer's life. The singer, who may have been feeling down and perhaps even dying inside, is suddenly faced with someone who brings life and color into their world. The flowers that the person scatters on the singer's shirt are symbolic of rebirth and growth.
The lyrics also touch on the idea of perception and how people's assumptions can be flawed. The singer wonders who told this person that they were always laughing and never crying, as if they were always happy and carefree like spring. The reality is that the singer feels deeply and is not always full of joy. The person's gesture of giving the singer a rose from their garden is a way of showing a deeper understanding and appreciation of the singer's complexities and vulnerabilities, even if they may initially seem like a perfect spring day.
Overall, the song is a beautiful tribute to the transformative power of unexpected gestures of affection, and how they can bring light and hope into even the darkest of days.
Line by Line Meaning
De que calada maneira
In what quiet way
Você chega assim sorrindo
Do you arrive smiling like that
Como se fosse a primavera
As if it were spring
Eu morrendo
As I am dying
E de que modo sutil
And in what subtle way
Me derramou na camisa
You spilled on my shirt
Todas as flores de abril
All the April flowers
Quem lhe disse que eu era
Who told you that I was
Riso sempre e nunca pranto?
Always laughter and never tears?
Não sou tanto
I am not so much
No entanto, que espiritual
However, how spiritual
Você me dar uma rosa
You give me a rose
De seu rosal principal
From your main rose bush
Eu morrendo
As I am dying
De que calada maneira
In what quiet way
Você chega assim sorrindo
Do you arrive smiling like that
Como se fosse a primavera
As if it were spring
Eu morrendo
As I am dying
Contributed by Brayden V. Suggest a correction in the comments below.