Elza Gomes da Conceição, known professionally as Elza Soares (June 23, 1930… Read Full Bio ↴Elza Gomes da Conceição, known professionally as Elza Soares (June 23, 1930, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil – January 20, 2022, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil), was a Brazilian singer and songwriter, regarded as one of the biggest names of samba music and MPB.

In 1999, she was elected by BBC Radio London as the Brazilian singer of the millennium. The choice originated from the British radio project The Millennium Concerts, created to celebrate the arrival of the year 2000. In addition, Soares appears on the list of the 100 greatest voices of Brazilian music prepared by Rolling Stone Brazil magazine.

Soares lived in extreme poverty throughout her childhood and teen, getting married at 12 and having her first child at 13. Soares had her first audition in radio at Ary Barroso's novice show when she was 16, winning first place. She was then hired as a crooner by the Orquestra Garam de Bailes (led by conductor Joaquim Naegli). She worked in the orchestra until 1954, when she became pregnant. In 1955, she was invited to star together with Grande Otelo in the play Jour-Jou-Fru-Fru, which was a smash.

Three years later, Soares toured Argentina, returning in the next year when she was hired by Rádio Vera Cruz. Also in 1959, she recorded a 78 rpm with "Se Acaso Você Chegasse" (Lupício Rodrigues/Felisberto Martins), one of her biggest hits. In 1960, she went to São Paulo where she performed regularly in the show I Festival Nacional de Bossa Nova and recorded her first LP, Se Acaso Você Chegasse.

In 1962, she represented Brazil in Chile during the World Soccer Cup, where she met Garrincha, one of the most genial soccer players ever, and also a chronic alcoholic. With Garrincha, Soares had a very troubled marriage (and the untimely demise of their son Garrinchinha in 1986 in a car accident didn't help her in any way).

The peak of her career was in the '60s, with albums like O Máximo em Samba (1967), Elza Soares & Wilson das Neves (1968), Elza, Miltinho e Samba (a three-album series shared with Miltinho). In that decade she had several hits like "Boato," "Edmundo" (a version of "In the Mood"), "Beija-me," "Devagar Com a Louça," "Mulata Assanhada," "O Mundo Encantado de Monteiro Lobato," "Bahia de Todos os Deuses," "Palmas no Portão," and "Palhaçada."

Having recorded several albums with the hits "Só Danço Samba" (Tom Jobim/Vinícius de Moraes), "A Banca do Distinto" (Billy Blanco), "Pressentimento" (Elton Medeiros/Hermínio Bello de Carvalho), and "Princesa Isabel" (Sérgio Ricardo), she moved to Italy in 1969, where she performed at the Sistina theater (Rome), returning to Brazil in 1972. In the same year, she opened the show Elza Em Dia de Graça at the Opinião theater (Rio) and participated in the Brasil Export Show (Canecão).

In the '70s, she still had success with "Salve a Mocidade" (1974), and "Malandro" (1977, this song launched Jorge Aragão as a composer). But it wasn't enough to prevent her from facing huge economical adversities and at the same time, she was being systematically turned away by recording companies.

Trying unsuccessfully to develop a career abroad, she returned to Brazil in 1994, poor and depressed. Finally, she was rediscovered in the '80s by the younger generations of Brazilian rockers (Os Titãs, Lobão) and MPB artists like Caetano Veloso

Soares was awarded a Sharp Prize award as the Best Samba Singer of 1997. In November 1999, Soares participated in the show Desde Que o Samba é Samba (at Royal Albert Hall, London, England), together with Chico Buarque, Caetano Veloso, Gilberto Gil, Gal Costa, and Virgínia Rodrigues.

In 2000, her life was depicted in the musical Crioula, which had several songs written specially for her by Chico Buarque, Chico César, Nei Lopes, and others. In 2000, she was appointed Singer of the Millennium by London's BBC. Soares continues to challenge her destiny, performing shows in every venue available.

Alvaro Neder, All Music Guide

Dor De Cotovelo
Elza Soares Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

O ciúme dói nos cotovelos
Na raiz dos cabelos
Gela a sola dos pés

Faz os músculos ficarem moles
E o estômago vão e sem fome
Dói da flor da pele ao pó do osso
Rói do cóccix até o pescoço

Acende uma luz branca em seu umbigo
Você ama o inimigo e se torna inimigo do amor
O ciúme dói do leito à margem
Dói pra fora na paisagem
Arde ao Sol do fim do dia

Corre pelas veias na ramagem
Atravessa a voz e a melodia

O ciúme dói nos cotovelos
Na raiz dos cabelos
Gela a sola dos pés

Faz os músculos ficarem moles
E o estômago vão e sem fome
Dói da flor da pele ao pó do osso
Rói do cóccix até o pescoço
Acende uma luz branca em seu umbigo
Você ama o inimigo e se torna inimigo do amor
O ciúme dói do leito à margem
Dói pra fora na paisagem
Arde ao Sol do fim do dia

Corre pelas veias na ramagem
Atravessa a voz e a melodia

Overall Meaning

The lyrics of Elza Soares's song "Dor De Cotovelo" explore the theme of jealousy and its emotional and physical consequences. The song describes how jealousy can cause pain and discomfort, affecting various parts of the body. It mentions that jealousy hurts the elbows, the root of the hair, and freezes the soles of the feet.

The lyrics also emphasize the physical and psychological impact of jealousy. It mentions that jealousy weakens the muscles and leaves the stomach empty and without appetite. The pain is described as being felt from the surface of the skin to the depth of the bones, from the tailbone to the neck. It is depicted as a consuming feeling that turns one into an enemy of love, causing a white light to ignite in one's belly, and leading to loving the enemy while becoming an enemy of love oneself.

The song further describes how jealousy extends beyond the individual, reaching beyond the bedroom and into the surrounding landscape. It runs through the veins like branches, transcending the voice and melody. It expresses how jealousy can take hold and affect one's perception of the world, making it burn under the sunset.

Overall, "Dor De Cotovelo" reflects on the intense and damaging nature of jealousy, portraying it as a visceral and all-encompassing emotion that can negatively impact relationships and one's own well-being.

Line by Line Meaning

O ciúme dói nos cotovelos
Jealousy hurts in your elbows

Na raiz dos cabelos
At the root of your hair

Gela a sola dos pés
Freezes the soles of your feet

Faz os músculos ficarem moles
Makes your muscles go weak

E o estômago vão e sem fome
And your stomach empty and without hunger

Dói da flor da pele ao pó do osso
Hurts from the surface of the skin to the bone powder

Rói do cóccix até o pescoço
Erodes from the tailbone to the neck

Acende uma luz branca em seu umbigo
Lights up a white light in your belly button

Você ama o inimigo e se torna inimigo do amor
You love the enemy and become an enemy of love

O ciúme dói do leito à margem
Jealousy hurts from the bed to the side

Dói pra fora na paisagem
Hurts outside in the landscape

Arde ao Sol do fim do dia
Burns under the Sun at the end of the day

Corre pelas veias na ramagem
Runs through the veins in the branches

Atravessa a voz e a melodia
Crosses the voice and the melody

Lyrics © Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: Caetano Emmanuel Viana Teles Veloso

Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind

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@JeniferLohan

5y↑15

O ciúme dói nos cotovelos,
na raiz dos cabelos,
gela a sola dos pés.

Faz os músculos ficarem moles,
e o estômago vão e sem fome.
Dói da flor da pele ao pó do osso.
Rói do cóccix até o pescoço
Acende uma luz branca em seu umbigo,
Você ama o inimigo e se torna inimigo do amor.
O ciúme dói do leito à margem,
dói pra fora na paisagem,
arde ao sol do fim do dia.

Corre pelas veias na ramagem,
atravessa a voz e a melodia.