A researcher of Brazilian popular music, its rhythms and folklore, she has also traveled to many countries representing the Brazilian culture. A connoisseur of African music, dance, traditions, and religions, she converted to Candomblé and took Afro-Brazilian culture into her songs and costumes. She was one of the singers who recorded the most songs by the composers of Portela, her favorite samba school. She was also the first female Brazilian singer to sell more than one hundred thousand records, breaking a taboo according to which women did not sell records in Brazil. During her whole career she sold four million four hundred thousand records. She was considered by Rolling Stone magazine as the ninth greatest Brazilian voice and, by the same magazine, the fifty-first greatest Brazilian artist of all time.
On April 2, 1983, she died at age 40, after suffering from anaphylaxis during a surgery to treat varicose veins. Even today she remains one of the most popular singers in Brazil.
Conto De Areia
Clara Nunes Lyrics
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Mareia ôi, mareia
É água no mar
É água no mar, é maré cheia ôi
Mareia ôi, mareia
Contam que toda tristeza
Nasceu de uns olhos morenos
Molhados de mar
Não sei se é conto de areia
Ou se é fantasia
Que a luz da candeia alumia
Pra gente contar
Um dia morena enfeitada
De rosas e rendas
Abriu seu sorriso de moça
E pediu pra dançar
A noite emprestou as estrelas
Bordadas de prata
E as águas de Amaralina
Eram gotas de luar
Era um peito só
Cheio de promessa era só
Era um peito só cheio de promessa, só
Era um peito só cheio de promessa, era só
Era um peito só cheio de promessa, era só
Quem foi que mandou
O seu amor se fazer de canoeiro
O vento que rola nas palmas
Arrasta o veleiro
E leva pro meio das águas de Iemanjá
E o mestre valente vagueia
Olhando pra areia sem poder chegar
Adeus, amor
Adeus, meu amor
Não me espera
Porque eu já vou me embora
Pro reino que esconde os tesouros
De minha senhora
Desfia colares de conchas
Pra vida passar
E deixa de olhar pros veleiros
Adeus meu amor eu não vou mais voltar
Foi beira mar, foi beira mar quem chamou
Foi beira mar ê, foi beira mar
Foi beira mar, foi beira mar quem chamou
Foi beira mar ê, foi beira mar
É água no mar
É água no mar, é maré cheia ôi
Mareia ôi, mareia
É água no mar
É água no mar, é maré cheia ôi
Mareia ôi, mareia
É água no mar
É água no mar, é maré cheia ôi
Mareia ôi
The song "Conto de Areia" by Clara Nunes and Milton Nascimento paints a picture of a love story that transcends time and distance. The lyrics touch on the theme of the sea, its tides, and its pull that seems to draw true love together. The first few lines set the scene with the repetition of "É água no mar" (it's water in the sea), followed by the mention of the tide rising and falling, "Mareia ôi, mareia." The singer then tells the story of a beautiful girl with dark eyes who falls in love with a man who takes to the sea in a canoe. The wind, which blows through the palm trees, carries the canoe away from the shore, leaving the girl on the beach watching and waiting for his return. She sings a farewell song to her love, explaining that she will not wait for his return but will instead focus on her own life and her own treasures. The song ends with a repetition of the opening lines, reminding the listener of the power and beauty of the sea.
The song is rich in imagery and metaphor. The sea is a symbol of the forces of nature beyond human control, while the canoe and the wind represent the lure of new experiences, the pull of adventure and risk-taking. The love story that binds the characters together is bittersweet, marked by longing and separation, but also by defiance and hope.
In conclusion, "Conto de Areia" is a beautiful, moving song that captures the essence of a love story that transcends time and distance. The sea serves as a powerful metaphor for the forces that draw us together and pull us apart, and the song is a testament to the idea that love can survive even in the face of great challenges.
Line by Line Meaning
É água no mar, é maré cheia ôi
The song starts by emphasizing that the essence of the ocean is its water and tide, which ebbs and flows.
Mareia ôi, mareia
The repetition of this phrase reinforces the idea of the ocean's tide coming in and going out.
Contam que toda tristeza
Que tem na Bahia
Nasceu de uns olhos morenos
Molhados de mar
The lyrics speak of a popular belief in Bahia that all the sadness and melancholy in the region came from the tears shed by brown-eyed people touched by the sea.
Não sei se é conto de areia
Ou se é fantasia
Que a luz da candeia alumia
Pra gente contar
The singer is uncertain whether this is a real story or just a fantasy, illuminated by the candlelight so that people can tell it as a tale, much like the old folktale of 'Conto de Areia,' which is the song's title.
Um dia morena enfeitada
De rosas e rendas
Abriu seu sorriso de moça
E pediu pra dançar
The lyrics depict a scene where a young, adorned brunette woman smiles and asks someone to dance, radiating her youthful energy and beauty.
A noite emprestou as estrelas
Bordadas de prata
E as águas de Amaralina
Eram gotas de luar
The night gave its stars, twinkling with silver embroidery, while the waters of Amaralina glowed with the light of the moon, setting the stage for a romantic atmosphere.
Era um peito só
Cheio de promessa era só
Era um peito só cheio de promessa, só
Era um peito só cheio de promessa, era só
Era um peito só cheio de promessa, era só
The phrase 'era um peito só' is repeated to describe a heart filled with promises, imploring commitment and devotion in equal measure.
Quem foi que mandou
O seu amor se fazer de canoeiro
O vento que rola nas palmas
Arrasta o veleiro
E leva pro meio das águas de Iemanjá
E o mestre valente vagueia
Olhando pra areia sem poder chegar
Adeus, amor
The song describes a tragic love story where the artist's lover sets out as a fisherman, caught in the unpredictable winds and waves of the sea, as he is pulled further away from the shore towards Iemanjá's waters, the Afro-Brazilian goddess of the sea, leaving his partner behind on the sand. The 'mestre valente' character watches helplessly as the boat disappears, leaving him to grieve his loss and bid his farewell to his love.
Adeus, meu amor
Não me espera
Porque eu já vou me embora
Pro reino que esconde os tesouros
De minha senhora
The singer's goodbye is final, urging his beloved not to wait for him, as he is headed to a place where his mistress's treasures are hidden, and he will not be able to return.
Desfia colares de conchas
Pra vida passar
E deixa de olhar pros veleiros
Adeus meu amor eu não vou mais voltar
The artist's lover spends her days stringing shells into necklaces, trying to forget about the boats and the man she lost, knowing that he will never return.
Foi beira mar, foi beira mar quem chamou
Foi beira mar ê, foi beira mar
Foi beira mar, foi beira mar quem chamou
Foi beira mar ê, foi beira mar
The song ends by repeating the first line, which suggests that it was the edge of the sea that called out to the lovers, pulling them into the whirlpool of fate, leaving them with nothing but memories of the sand, the moon, and the ocean's embrace.
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: Antonio Carlos Nascimento Pinto, Romildo Souza Bastos
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind