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)
Vivo Sohando
João Gilberto Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Tempo em que vou perguntando se gostas de mim
Tempo de falar em estrelas, falar de um mar, de um céu assim
Falar do bem que se tem, mas você não vem, não vem
Você não vindo, não vindo a vida tem fim
Gente se rindo, falando, zombando de mim
E eu a falar em estrelas, mar, amor, luar
"Vivo Sohando" is a beautiful song written by legendary Brazilian musician João Gilberto, and its title translates to "I Live Dreaming". The lyrics express the singer's longing and unrequited love for someone who doesn't reciprocate their feelings. The opening line, "I live dreaming, dreaming a thousand endless hours" sets the tone for the dreamlike quality of the song. The singer spends their time asking their love interest if they like them, talking about stars, the sea, and the sky, and imagining a life filled with love and happiness. However, their dreams are shattered every time the person they love doesn't show up, which leads to people laughing and mocking them. Despite this, the singer keeps dreaming and loving, even though they are aware that it is a hopeless situation.
The poetic nature of the lyrics is accompanied by João Gilberto's signature bossa nova guitar style, as well as his smooth, soothing voice, resulting in a melancholic yet beautiful melody that captures the emotions of the singer. The song is also considered to be a tribute to the Brazilian countryside, where Gilberto spent most of his childhood.
Line by Line Meaning
Vivo sonhando, sonhando mil horas sem fim
I am always dreaming, endlessly, for thousands of hours.
Tempo em que vou perguntando se gostas de mim
During this time, I ponder and ask whether you love me.
Tempo de falar em estrelas, falar de um mar, de um céu assim
A time to speak of stars, a beautiful sea and sky, like this one
Falar do bem que se tem, mas você não vem, não vem
To speak of all the good things one has, but you don't come, you don't come.
Você não vindo, não vindo a vida tem fim
If you don't come, my life will end.
Gente se rindo, falando, zombando de mim
People laughing, talking, mocking me.
E eu a falar em estrelas, mar, amor, luar
I keep talking about stars, sea, love, moon.
Pobre de mim, que só sei te amar
Poor me, who only knows how to love you.
Contributed by Brooklyn P. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
@sauldiaz5118
Vivo sonhando sonhando mil horas sem fim
Tempo em que vou perguntando se gostas de mim
Tempo de falar em estrelas, falar de um mar, de um céu assim
Falar do bem que se tem mas você não vem
Não vem
Você não vindo não vindo a vida tem fim
Gente se rindo, falando zombando de mim
E eu a falar em estrelas, mar, amor, luar
Pobre de mim que só sei te amar
Solo la pego para cantarlas
@lauratomaselli2850
Vivo sonhando, sonhando mil horas sem fim
Tempo em que vou perguntando se gostas de mim
Tempo de falar em estrelas, falar de um mar
De um céu assim
Falar do bem que se tem mas você não vem, não vem
Você não vindo, não vindo a vida tem fim
Gente se rindo, falando, zombando de mim
E eu a falar em estrelas, mar, amor, luar
Pobre de mim que só sei te amar
@giovanniviassolo2167
Magia. A che serve la filosofia, quando una voce e un sax in pochi attimi svelano ogni mistero.
@carlosramosvp
Essa música fez com que eu ficasse apaixonado pelo Brasil, pela língua portuguesa e aqui estou, morando no Brasil há 3 anos
@HenriqueVCosta
Where u from bro?
@OSofista
Where u from bro?
@ezecebim8704
Where u from bro?
@amp81
Bem haja! Felicidades!!!
@mariomele1990
Where u from bro?
@chicosenna
uma das minhas favoritas!!!
@RudyOD
To my ears, Brazilian Portuguese is the most romantic language in the world...followed closely by Spanish =)
@saleemkirmani5583
Persian is a very romantic language too.