Widely known as the composer of "Garota de Ipanema" (The Girl from Ipanema), one of the most recorded songs of all time, Jobim has left a large number of songs that are today included in the standard Jazz and Pop repertoires.
Modinha
Jobim Lyrics
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Não pode mais
Meu coração
Viver assim dilacerado
Escravizado a uma ilusão
Que é só desilusão
Ah, não seja a vida
Como o luar desesperado
A derramar melancolia
Em mim
Poesia em mim
Vai, triste canção
São do meu peito
E semeia emoção
Que chora dentro
Do meu coração
Coração
The lyrics of "Modinha" by Jobim are a heartbreaking exposition of a heart that can no longer bear the pain of a broken dream. The singer laments that their heart cannot take the agony of being enslaved by an illusion that has only led to disappointment. It is a cry for release from the prison of heartbreak and the despair of the false promises they clung to for so long. They plead for life not to always be so melancholic, like the mournful moon spilling sadness into their soul. The last stanza is a farewell to a sad song, one that speaks to the emotions of the poet and plants seeds of sorrow in the hearts of those who listen.
Line by Line Meaning
Não
No
Não pode mais
It can't take it anymore
Meu coração
My heart
Viver assim dilacerado
Living torn apart like this
Escravizado a uma ilusão
Enslaved to an illusion
Que é só desilusão
That is only disillusionment
Ah, não seja a vida
Oh, life should not be
Sempre assim
Always like this
Como o luar desesperado
Like the desperate moon
A derramar melancolia
Pouring melancholy
Em mim
In me
Poesia em mim
Poetry in me
Vai, triste canção
Go, sad song
São do meu peito
They're from my chest
E semeia emoção
And sow emotion
Que chora dentro
That cries inside
Do meu coração
Of my heart
Coração
Heart
Contributed by Mackenzie K. Suggest a correction in the comments below.