Copacabana
Dori Caymmi Lyrics


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Noites febris
Tempos gentis
Eu já fui tão feliz
Mais do que eu quis
Mais que eu pude querer
E era Copacabana

Loucas paixões
Tantas canções
Eu já tive ilusões
Momentos bons
Hoje com meus botões
Penso que nada mais me engana

Foi num tempo em que era tudo demais
Tempos atrás
Quimera fugaz
Sonhos de paz
E promessas banais
Mera fumaça que a vida desfaz
Igual a um puro havana

Caminhando pelas ruas assim
Dentro de mim
Nem penso ao que vim
Penso é que a vida
Nem sempre é ruim




É só o enredo de um mau folhetim
A vida é simplesmente humana

Overall Meaning

The Portuguese lyrics of Dori Caymmi's Copacabana seem to reminisce about a past that was idyllic, but now seems to have been unreal, unattainable, or fleeting. The singer remembers the feverish nights and kind times of a bygone era in the famous Rio neighborhood of Copacabana where he was once blissfully happy. The singer then reflects on the many crazy passions and illusions that he had back then, all the good moments, which now seem to have been superficial and inconsequential. Today, he thinks about everything with a more level head, realizing that he was caught up in a world that was too good to be true, and that he can't be fooled like that again.


The song's chorus emphasizes how the past, which once felt like too much, now seems like a fleeting dream, "everything was too much, times ago, a fleeting chimera, dreams of peace, and banal promises, mere smoke life unravels, just like a pure Havana." The singer then talks about walking the streets of Copacabana, not even thinking about why he has come there, but rather meditating on how life is not always bad; it's simply human, full of ups and downs, and one has to come to grips with reality, the good, the bad, and the ugly.


Overall, the song is a bittersweet nostalgic reflection of times gone by, coming to terms with disillusionment, and ultimately accepting that life will always have its challenges and rewards, and that is the human experience.


Line by Line Meaning

Noites febris
Nights of feverish excitement and passion


Tempos gentis
Gentle times of happiness and simplicity


Eu já fui tão feliz
I was once so happy


Mais do que eu quis
More than I ever wanted


Mais que eu pude querer
More than I could have ever wished for


E era Copacabana
And it was in Copacabana


Loucas paixões
Crazy passions


Tantas canções
So many songs


Eu já tive ilusões
I had illusions


Momentos bons
Good moments


Hoje com meus botões
Today, with my thoughts


Penso que nada mais me engana
I think that nothing else can deceive me


Foi num tempo em que era tudo demais
It was a time when everything was too much


Tempos atrás
A time in the past


Quimera fugaz
A fleeting chimera


Sonhos de paz
Dreams of peace


E promessas banais
And banal promises


Mera fumaça que a vida desfaz
Mere smoke that dissipates with life


Igual a um puro havana
Like a pure havana cigar


Caminhando pelas ruas assim
Walking the streets like this


Dentro de mim
Inside of me


Nem penso ao que vim
I don't even think why I'm here


Penso é que a vida
I think that life


Nem sempre é ruim
Isn't always bad


É só o enredo de um mau folhetim
It's just the plot of a bad melodrama


A vida é simplesmente humana
Life is simply human




Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
Written by: Joyce, Carlos Lyra

Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
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