Her history is linked with the developing of important escolas de samba (samba schools) from Rio de Janeiro, such as Prazer da Serrinha and Império Serrano. Her repertoire is comprised of mostly romantic sambas inspired by rootsy African music. Until 2000, she recorded only these 5 LPs and one CD. Dona Ivone Lara is the godmother of the group of composers at Império Serrano and participates in the carnival parades every year.
Dona Ivone Lara was born in Rio de Janeiro. She graduated in nursing, with specialization in Occupational Therapy, and worked as a social worker until she retired in 1977. With this professional background, she worked in psychiatric hospitals, where she knew Dr. Nise da Silveira.
With the death of her mother when she was three, and of her father when she was twelve, Dona Ivone was raised by aunts and uncles and with them she learned to play the cavaquinho. She was exposed to samba music at the side of her cousin Mestre Fuleiro; she took singing lessons from Lucília Villa-Lobos and was praised by Dona Lucília's husband, the Brazilian composer Heitor Villa-Lobos.
At the age of 25, she married Oscar Costa, son of Afredo Costa, the president of the Prazer da Serrinha samba school. At Prazer da Serrinha she met several composers who later became her partners in several compositions, among them Mano Décio da Viola e Silas de Oliveira.
Dona Ivone composed the samba Nasci para sofrer (Born To Suffer), which became the theme song of the samba school. When the samba school Império Serrano was founded in 1947, she began to parade in the ala das baianas (Wing of the Baianas) during carnaval parades. There she composed the samba Não me perguntes (Don't Ask Me),. Her consecration as a composer came in 1965, with Os cinco bailes da história do Rio (The Five Balls of the History of Rio) qwhen she became the first woman to become part of the ala de compositores (Wing of the Composers) of a samba school.
Retiring from nursing in 1977, she began to dedicate herself to her musical career. She continues to record and to perform before live audiences today. Among the interpreters of her songs are such singers and artists as Clara Nunes, Roberto Ribeiro, Maria Bethânia, Caetano Veloso, Gilberto Gil, Paula Toller, Paulinho da Viola, Beth Carvalho, Mariene de Castro e Roberta Sá.
Samba de Roda Para Salvador
Dona Ivone Lara Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
nao chora meu bem meu passado foi sofrido meu presente melhorou o futuro so deus sabe
eu sempre curti a mocidade
o que o tempo me ensinou
eu vou correr atras
The lyrics of Dona Ivone Lara's Samba de Roda Para Salvador convey a message of hope and resilience. The opening line "Não chora, neném, meu bem" ("Don't cry, baby, my love") is an expression of tenderness and encouragement. The singer goes on to acknowledge that her past was marked by hardships and struggles, but she assures her lover that her present situation has improved and that she is determined to keep moving forward. She declares that she has always enjoyed being young and that she has learned valuable lessons from her experiences in life. The final line "Eu vou correr atrás" ("I'm going to chase after [my dreams]") is a declaration of determination and a promise to continue striving for a better future.
The song is a celebration of the Afro-Brazilian tradition of samba de roda, a type of group dance that originated in Bahia, Brazil. The term "samba de roda" literally means "samba in a circle" and refers to the way that participants form a circle and dance together, accompanied by music played on stringed and percussion instruments. The song's title "Para Salvador" refers to Salvador de Bahia, the city where samba de roda originated.
Line by Line Meaning
nao chora nenem meu bem
Don't cry, my dear baby.
nao chora meu bem meu passado foi sofrido meu presente melhorou o futuro so deus sabe
Don't cry, my love. My past was full of suffering, but my present has improved. Only God knows what the future holds.
eu sempre curti a mocidade
I always enjoyed my youth.
o que o tempo me ensinou
What time has taught me
eu vou correr atras
I'm going to chase after it.
Contributed by Isabelle S. Suggest a correction in the comments below.