Gismonti began his formal music studies at the age of six on piano. After studying classical music for 15 years, he went to Paris to study orchestration and analysis with Nadia Boulanger and the composer Jean Barraqué, a disciple of Arnold Schönberg and Anton Webern. After his return to Brazil, Gismonti began to explore other musical genres. He was attracted by Maurice Ravel's approach to orchestration and chord voicings, as well as by choro, a Brazilian instrumental popular music featuring various types of guitars. In order to play this music he learned to play guitar, beginning on the 6-string classical instrument and switching to a ten-stringed guitar in 1973. He spent two years experimenting with different tunings and searching for new sounds. This exploration of timbre is further reflected in his use of kalimbas, shō, voice, bells, etc. By the early '70s, he had laid the groundwork for his current style which incorporated elements drawn from musicians as wide-ranging as Django Reinhardt and Jimi Hendrix. In the 1970s and 1980s he collaborated several times with Naná Vasconcelos recording for ECM. Some best-selling albums such as the Brazilian released eponymous Egberto Gismonti were never officially released in the US.
Ano Zero
Egberto Gismonti Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
A noite e o na... da
Apenas uma mulher
Junto à mesa de jantar
O que fazer, José
É hora de partir
Na escuridão
É hora de fugir
Co... mo um ci... ga... no den... tro da
es... cu... ri... dão
Co... mo um ma... ri... nhei... ro tor... to sem
ru... mo no mar
O vinho lhe su... bia à cabe... ça
E o so... nho queimava o coração
Junto à mesa de jantar
O que fazer, José?
Sentar pra esquecer
E esperar
Que ela num sorriso
Vá servir a mesa de dor
Que e... la faça o prato e não se
es... que... ça do pão
A... fo... gar as má... goas com muito ar... roz e
feijão
The lyrics of Egberto Gismonti's song "Ano Zero" tell the story of a man named José, who wakes up in the middle of the night to find a woman sitting at his dining table. Unsure of what to do, José decides it's time to leave and escape the darkness. The lyrics compare him to a rat fleeing from danger and a sailor lost at sea, feeling the weight of the wine he's been drinking and the dream that's burning in his heart. He sees the woman serving a table of sorrow, making a dish and not forgetting the bread, trying to hide her own pain with a lot of rice and beans.
The lyrics of "Ano Zero" portray a sense of desperation and longing, describing a moment of crisis in which the singer realizes he needs to leave and start over again. Through the use of vivid imagery and poetic language, the song touches on themes of escape, loss, and loneliness.
Line by Line Meaning
Jo... sé despertou com
José woke up to
A noite e o na... da
the night and the dawn
Apenas uma mulher
Only a woman
Junto à mesa de jantar
beside the dinner table
O que fazer, José
What to do, José
É hora de partir
It's time to leave
Na escuridão
In the darkness
É hora de fugir
It's time to run away
Como os ratos fogem do chão
Like rats flee from the ground
Co... mo um ci... ga... no den... tro da
Like a prisoner inside
es... cu... ri... dão
obscurity
Co... mo um ma... ri... nhei... ro tor... to sem
Like a sailor twisted without
ru... mo no mar
a sound in the sea
O vinho lhe su... bia à cabe... ça
The wine was going to his head
E o so... nho queimava o coração
And the dream burned his heart
Junto à mesa de jantar
beside the dinner table
O que fazer, José?
What to do, José?
Sentar pra esquecer
Sit to forget
E esperar
And wait
Que ela num sorriso
That she, in a smile
Vá servir a mesa de dor
Will serve the table of pain
Que e... la faça o prato e não se
That she makes the dish and does not
es... que... ça do pão
Forget the bread
A... fo... gar as má... goas com muito ar... roz e
To face the sorrows with much rice and
feijão
beans
Writer(s): Egberto Gismonti Copyright: S U I S A Cooperative Soc. Of Music Authors & Publishers
Contributed by Aaron R. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
André Macleuri
Não esqueçamos de dar o crédito também ao autor da letra: Geraldo Eduardo Carneiro.
Fernando Luiz
Magnífica! Magnífico! Genial! Grande Egberto Gismonti. 👏👏👏👏👏
Tui Falcão
obrigado por compartilhar .....um SALVE ! para o grande Gismonti pelos 70 anos completados hoje
M.Claudia Livini
Amo esta versión
Amilcar Rebouças
ano zero e corações futuristas são de tirar o caboclo de circulação...
Maria Aparecida Morgado
Maravilha. Sem interrupções.
pinchocrates
José despertou com a noite e o nada Apenas uma mulher junto à mesa de jantar O que fazer, José? É hora de partir na escuridão É hora de fugir como os ratos fogem do chão Como um cigano dentro da escuridão Ou um marinheiro torto sem rumo no mar O vinho lhe subia à cabeça E o sonho queimava o coração Junto à mesa de jantar O que fazer, José? Sentar pra esquecer e esperar Que ela, num sorriso, vá servir a mesa de dor
prietoflavio
Um belo complemento do 'E agora, José', do CDA.
Oded Fried-Gaon
Another immensely beautiful side of Gismonti.
#OdedFriedGaon #OdedMusic #Audioded
Fabio Farias
"Seo" Gismonti !!!!