A self-taught guitarist and singer, Gilberto moved to Rio de Janeiro in 1950 and joined the vocal group Garotos da Lua ("The Boys of the Moon") as their lead singer. After a year and a half, he was kicked out of the group for his lack of discipline and spent the next several years in a marginal existence. Eventually, he found his way, creating a new way to express himself in voice and on the guitar. The result of his obsessive experiments became known as bossa nova.
Bossa nova is a refined version of samba, deemphasizing the percussive aspect of its rhythm and enriching the melodic and harmonic content. Rather than relying on the traditional Afro-Brazilian percussive instruments, bossa nova usually utilizes a drum set. João Gilberto often eschews all accompaniment, using only his guitar, which he uses as a percussive as well as a harmonic instrument. The singing style he developed is almost whispering, economical, and without vibrato. He creates his tempo tensions by singing ahead or behind the guitar.
This style, which Gilberto introduced in 1957, created a sensation in the musical circles of Rio's Zona Sul, and many young guitarists sought to imitate it. It was first heard on record in 1958 when João Gilberto accompanied singer Elizete Cardoso in a recording of "Chega de Saudade", a song by Antonio Carlos Jobim and Vinicius de Moraes. Shortly after this recording, João Gilberto made his own debut single of the same song, followed by the 1959 LP, Chega de Saudade. The song became a hit, launching Gilberto's career and the bossa nova craze.
Besides a number of Jobim compositions, the album Chega de Saudade featured older sambas and popular songs from the 1940s and '50s, all performed in the distinctive bossa nova style. This album was followed by two more in 1960 and 1961, by which time the singer featured new songs by a younger generation of performer/composers such as Carlos Lyra and Roberto Menescal.
By 1962, bossa nova had been embraced by such North American jazz musicians as Herbie Mann, Charlie Byrd, and Stan Getz, who invited Gilberto and Jobim to collaborate on what became one of the best-selling jazz albums of all time, Getz/Gilberto. Through this album, Gilberto's wife, Astrud, became an international star, and the Jobim/de Moraes composition "The Girl from Ipanema" became a worldwide pop music standard for the ages.
João Gilberto continued to perform through the 1960s but did not release another studio album until João Gilberto en México, recorded in 1970 during a period of residence in Mexico. João Gilberto, aka the "White Album" (1973), featured hypnotic minimalist execution and is widely considered to be his best album. The year 1976 saw the release of The Best of Two Worlds, a reunion with Stan Getz, featuring singer Miúcha, sister of Chico Buarque, who had become Gilberto's second wife in April 1965. Amoroso (1977) backed Gilberto with the lush string orchestration of Claus Ogerman, who had provided a similar sound to Jobim's instrumental recordings in the late 1960s and early 1970s. As had been the case for all of Gilberto's albums, the album consisted mostly of Jobim compositions, mixed with older sambas and an occasional North American standard from the 1940s.
Having lived in the US since 1962, João Gilberto returned to Brazil in 1980. The following year saw the release of Brasil, with guests Gilberto Gil and Caetano Veloso, who in the late 1960s had founded the Tropicalia movement, a fusion of Brazilian popular music with foreign pop. The 1991 release, João, with orchestrations by Clare Fischer, was unusual in its lack of even a single Jobim composition, instead featuring songs in English, French, Italian, and Spanish, plus old sambas and the solitary contemporary song "Sampa" (Caetano Veloso). Also released in 1991 was the album Canto Do Pajé by Veloso's sister Maria Bethânia on which Bethânia and Gilberto sing an intimate duet Maria/Linda Flor (Barroso, Peixoto, Vogler, Costa, and Pôrto) accompanied solely by his guitar. João Voz e Violão (2000) was an homage to the music of Gilberto's youth as well as a nod to producer Caetano Veloso.
Evenly interspersed with these studio recordings have been the live recordings, Live in Montreux; João Gilberto Prado Pereira de Oliveira; Eu Sei Que Vou Te Amar; Live at Umbria Jazz, and Live in Tokyo.
While all of Gilberto's albums since Getz/Gilberto have been released on CD, the first three domestic albums were released in 1988 by EMI on a single CD entitled The Legendary João Gilberto: The Original Bossa Nova Recordings (1958-1961). The disc also included three tracks from the singer's 1959 Orfeu Negro EP: "Manhã de Carnaval," O Nosso Amor, and A Felicidade, the latter two merged into a single medley track to fit within the recording time of a CD. After its release, Gilberto successfully sued to have the title removed from sale as an unauthorized release of his artistic works.
João Gilberto has long had a reputation as an eccentric recluse and a nearly neurotic perfectionist. He lives in an apartment in Leblon, Rio de Janeiro, refusing all interviews and avoiding crowds. He has been known to walk out on performances in response to an audience he considers disrespectful or out of theaters possessing acoustics below his standards, and at times demands that the air conditioning be turned off at concert venues. Yet he continues to perform to sell-out crowds in Brazil as well as in Europe, North America, and Japan.
Discography:
1959 - Chega de Saudade (Odeon)
1960 - O Amor, o Sorriso e a Flor (Odeon)
1961 - João Gilberto (Odeon)
1962 - The Boss of the Bossa Nova (Atlantic)
1963 - The Warm World of João Gilberto (Atlantic)
1964 - Getz/Gilberto (Verve)
1965 - Herbie Mann & João Gilberto (Atlantic)
1974 - João Gilberto en Mexico (PolyGram)
1976 - Best of Two Worlds (Columbia)
1977 - Amoroso (Warner Brothers)
1981 - Brasil (Warner Brothers)
1986 - João Gilberto Live in Montreux (WEA)
1991 - João (PolyGram)
2000 - João Voz e Violão (Universal)
2002 - Live at Umbria Jazz (Egea)
2004 - João Gilberto in Tokyo (Verve)
Disse Alguém
João Gilberto Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Um salão onde o amor descança
Ai de mim que estou tão sozinho
Vivo assim, sem esperança
A implorar alguém que não me quis
E feliz, bem feliz seria
Coração meu, convém descansar
Soluçar mais devagar
Um salão, um salão dourado onde o amor sempre dança
Ai de mim que só vivo tão sozinho
Vivo assim, vivo sem ter um terno carinho
A implorar alguém que não me quis
E feliz então eu sei, bem sei que não mais seria
Meu, meu coração sem esperança
E vive a chorar, soluçar
João Gilberto's song Disse Alguém is a melancholic tune that speaks of a heartache and the search for love. The song's title translates to "Someone said" in English and it is filled with conflicting emotions. The opening lyric 'Disse alguém que há bem no coração, um salão onde o amor descança' roughly translates to 'Someone said that deep in our hearts, there's a grand ballroom where love finds rest'. This line could be interpreted as a metaphor for the depths of our hearts, where love is stored away and protected.
The song's protagonist is extremely lonely and hopeless. 'Ai de mim que estou tão sozinho, vivo assim, sem esperança' means 'Woe is me, who is so alone and lives without hope'. He is left to mourn the fact that he has no one to love, and takes solace in the idea of an elusive grand ballroom where the love he desires is waiting for him. The next few lines 'A implorar alguém que não me quis, e feliz, bem feliz seria' mean 'Begging for someone who didn't want me and I would be so happy, so very happy'. The singer is painfully aware of the unreciprocated love he craves, and he is held back by his longing for a love that he can never have.
The song ends on a bittersweet note with the lyric 'Meu, meu coração sem esperança, e vive a chorar, soluçar'. This translates to 'My heart, my hopeless heart, and it lives crying and sobbing'. The singer has not given up on the idea of love but is reconciled to the fact that he might never find it. He continues to grieve his unrequited love and lives in hope that one day his love will be returned.
Line by Line Meaning
Disse alguém que há bem no coração
Someone said that in the heart there is a hall where love rests.
Um salão onde o amor descança
A hall where love rests.
Ai de mim que estou tão sozinho
Woe is me, I am so alone.
Vivo assim, sem esperança
I live like this, without hope.
A implorar alguém que não me quis
Begging someone who did not want me.
E feliz, bem feliz seria
And I would be happy, very happy.
Coração meu, convém descansar
My heart, it is best to rest.
Soluçar mais devagar
Sob softly and slower.
Um salão, um salão dourado onde o amor sempre dança
A golden hall where love always dances.
Ai de mim que só vivo tão sozinho
Woe is me, I only live so alone.
Vivo assim, vivo sem ter um terno carinho
I live like this, without having a tender affection.
Meu, meu coração sem esperança
My heart without hope.
E vive a chorar, soluçar
And lives to cry, sob.
Contributed by Molly J. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
@jorgecontreras3166
Disse alguém que há bem no coração
Um salão onde o amor descansa
Ai de mim, eu tão sozinho
Vivo assim, sem esperança
A implorar alguém que não me quis
E feliz, bem feliz seria
Coração meu, convém descansar
Soluça, mas devagar
Disse alguém, disse que há bem no coração
Um salão, um salão dourado onde o amor sempre dança
Ai de mim que só vivo tão sozinho
Vivo assim, vivo sem ter um terno carinho
A implorar alguém que não me quis
E feliz então eu sei, bem sei que não mais seria
Meu, meu coração tem esperança
E vive a chorar, soluçar
Como quem tem medo de reclamar
@voltape
Excelente tu aporte, Maricarmen - solo hay que pulir un poco tu traduccion. Este es el texto portugues, que por cierto es mucho mejor que el original ingles. Ademas el ritmo de la musica es "brasileiro". Cariños, Pepe
Disse alguém que há bem no coração
Um salão onde o amor descansa
Ai de mim, eu tão sozinho
Vivo assim, sem esperança
A implorar alguém que não me quis
E feliz, bem feliz seria
Coração meu, convém descansar
Soluça, mas devagar
Disse alguém, disse que há bem no coração
Um salão, um salão dourado onde o amor sempre dança
Ai de mim que só vivo tão sozinho
Vivo assim, vivo sem ter um terno carinho
A implorar alguém que não me quis
E feliz então eu sei, bem sei que não mais seria
Meu, meu coração tem esperança
E vive a chorar, soluçar
Como quem tem medo de reclamar
@vinicius78alves
Disse Alguém é uma adaptação da música All Of Me, composta em 1931. Foi gravada por várias orquestras e bandas da época, como de Louis Armstrong, Benny Goodman, Teddy Wilson e foi cantada por vários nomes do jazz, como Frank Sinatra e Billie Holliday
@fernandoamorim1986
Ganhei esse disco em CD no meu aniversário há alguns anos. Irretocável! Mais uma jóia para o meu acervo da discografia do gênio João Gilberto.
@JonEPC364
Uma das minhas favoritas, e tao calma e linda
@boniepaulista
Belo! Belo! como a arte brasileira é boa
@pingazzo
Um salão, um salão dourado onde o amor sempre dança…
@otrakbeats
much love from frankfurt for this unbelievable great music
@jorgecontreras3166
Disse alguém que há bem no coração
Um salão onde o amor descansa
Ai de mim, eu tão sozinho
Vivo assim, sem esperança
A implorar alguém que não me quis
E feliz, bem feliz seria
Coração meu, convém descansar
Soluça, mas devagar
Disse alguém, disse que há bem no coração
Um salão, um salão dourado onde o amor sempre dança
Ai de mim que só vivo tão sozinho
Vivo assim, vivo sem ter um terno carinho
A implorar alguém que não me quis
E feliz então eu sei, bem sei que não mais seria
Meu, meu coração tem esperança
E vive a chorar, soluçar
Como quem tem medo de reclamar
@infinitamentefinito
A implorar alguém que não me quis.
@caiograco92
João, o maior de todos. Vai com Deus! O Brasil te agradece.
@fernandoamorim1986
Bonita homenagem, Caio.