Francisco Buarque de Hollanda, better know as Chico Buarque, is a Brazilian… Read Full Bio ↴Francisco Buarque de Hollanda, better know as Chico Buarque, is a Brazilian singer-songwriter, guitarist, composer, playwright, writer and poet. He is best known for his music, which often includes social, economic and cultural reflections on Brazil.

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.

Tem Mais Samba
Chico Buarque Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

Tem mais samba no encontro que na espera
Tem mais samba a maldade que a ferida
Tem mais samba no porto que na vela
Tem mais samba o perdão que a despedida
Tem mais samba nas mãos do que nos olhos
Tem mais samba no chão do que na lua
Tem mais samba no homem que trabalha
Tem mais samba no som que vem da rua

Tem mais samba no peito de quem chora
Tem mais samba no pranto de quem vê
Que o bom samba não tem lugar nem hora
O coração de fora
Samba sem querer

Vem que passa
Teu sofrer

Se todo mundo sambasse
Seria tão fácil viver

Overall Meaning

In Chico Buarque's song Tem Mais Samba, the lyrics revolve around the idea that there is more samba in certain situations or things than in others. The first line, "There's more samba in the encounter than in the wait," suggests that samba is more present when people come together and enjoy each other's company, than when they are simply waiting for something to happen.

The song appears to be a tribute to samba and its ability to lift people's spirits and make life more enjoyable. The lines "There's more samba in forgiveness than in goodbye," and "There's more samba in the sound that comes from the street," highlight the power of samba to bring people together and create joy even in difficult situations. The overall message of the song seems to be that if everyone embraced the spirit of samba and danced their troubles away, life would be easier and more enjoyable.

Overall, Tem Mais Samba is a celebration of the power of samba, a genre of music that is deeply ingrained in Brazilian culture. Through its lyrics, the song captures the essence of samba as a force for joy, unity, and upliftment.

Line by Line Meaning

Tem mais samba no encontro que na espera
There is more samba in meeting people than waiting for them

Tem mais samba a maldade que a ferida
Evilness inspires more samba than physical pain

Tem mais samba no porto que na vela
There is more samba in the port than in the sail

Tem mais samba o perdão que a despedida
Forgiveness carries more samba than farewell

Tem mais samba nas mãos do que nos olhos
Hands have more samba than eyes

Tem mais samba no chão do que na lua
The floor has more samba than the moon

Tem mais samba no homem que trabalha
A working man has more samba than anyone else

Tem mais samba no som que vem da rua
The music from the street has more samba than anywhere else

Tem mais samba no peito de quem chora
A crying heart has more samba than any other emotion

Tem mais samba no pranto de quem vê
Those who see have more samba in their tears

Que o bom samba não tem lugar nem hora
The best samba has no specific place or time