Melody Gardot (b. 1985) is a Grammy-nominated U.S. jazz singer, writer, and… Read Full Bio ↴Melody Gardot (b. 1985) is a Grammy-nominated U.S. jazz singer, writer, and musician.

Born on the 2nd February 1985 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Gardot took up piano and played as a youngster on the nightclub scene of Philadelphia, influenced by jazz, folk, rock, and pop musics. At the age of nineteen she was a fashion student at the Community College of Philadelphia. While cycling in Philadelphia in November 2003 she was hit by a car whose driver had ignored a red traffic light. In the accident she suffered serious head and spinal injuries, and her pelvis was broken in two places. Because of these severe injuries she was confined to her hospital bed for a year. Her musical beginning was prompted by a tending physician who was concerned with her cognitive impairment as a result of head injury sustained in the accident. He believed that music would help her brain injury improve, as it has been known to show remarkable results in improving people's cognitive ability after such trauma.

Following her doctor's suggestion, Gardot made recordings bedside, while still unable to walk, and eventually released the works as an EP: Some Lessons: The Bedroom Sessions (2005). Gardot's desire to be well, combined with a bit of luck, brought her to the attention of a local radio DJ at the AAA station WXPN (known for launching the careers of artists such as Amos Lee and Norah Jones). Her cognitive powers slowly but surely became pronounced, leading to the independent recording and release of her debut CD, Worrisome Heart, which was reissued in 2007 by Verve records.

Gardot is hypersensitive to light and noise, so wears dark glasses; she also uses a cane to walk. Onstage she requires a special seating unit, and wears a Transcutaneous Electro-Nerve Stimulator, a TENS device, to assist in alleviating her neuralgic muscle pain. Though touring is difficult, she has been performing in major cities on the East Coast of the U.S. to support her recordings. In 2009, working with producer Larry Klein and arranger Vince Mendoza - both known for their work with Joni Mitchell - Gardot followed up her Verve debut with My One and Only Thrill.

In 2012, she released the album The Absence.

Se Voce Me Ama
Melody Gardot Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

Sem você
Não há vida pra viver
Sem você
Não há vida pra viver, não há

Amor

Se você me ama, por que não me chamas?

Não te escondas no silêncio de uma muda flor
Nessa tarde lua, já se mostra tão nua
Mar e vento, meu tormento, minha solidão

Sob a lua
Luz que é tão sua
Céu aberto acima [?]
Dois amantes na franca luz, nesse mar de amor

Tanto amor
Pra ganhar carinho
(Pra ganhar seu carinho)
Sou seu passarinho
(Sou seu passarinho)
Vou voando bem baixinho, canto pra você

Se você me ama
Por que não me chamas?
No meu ninho aqui sozinho canto sem você

Encantada
Miragem de um nada (de um nada)
Meu deserto a céu aberto aberto pra voar
Mais que nada
"Sayonara" meu amor

Sem você [x2]

Não há vida vida pra viver, não há
Não há vida

Overall Meaning

The lyrics to Melody Gardot's song "Se Voce Me Ama" are sung in Portuguese and describe a feeling of emptiness and longing for the presence of someone who is not there. The singer laments that without this person, there is no life worth living. Throughout the song, there is a heart-wrenching plea for this person's love and attention. The first verse reiterates the theme of the song, that life without this person is meaningless. The chorus asks the question, "if you love me, why don't you call me?" The second verse refers to the silence of a silent flower and the loneliness felt by the singer. The third verse describes the beauty of two lovers under the moonlight.

The song's melody is melancholic and the lyrics are full of despair, with the singer expressing her desperation and pleading for her lover's attention. The song has a bluesy feel, with the slow tempo and guitar riffs emphasizing the sadness and melancholy of the lyrics. "Se Voce Me Ama" is a beautiful portrayal of a love that is unrequited, and how it can make a person feel empty and alone.

Line by Line Meaning

Sem você
Without you

Não há vida pra viver
There's no life to live

Sem você
Without you

Não há vida pra viver, não há
There's no life to live, none

Amor
Love

Se você me ama, por que não me chamas?
If you love me, why don't you call me?

Não te escondas no silêncio de uma muda flor
Don't hide in the silence of a mute flower

Nessa tarde lua, já se mostra tão nua
In this afternoon moon, it already shows itself so naked

Mar e vento, meu tormento, minha solidão
Sea and wind, my torment, my solitude

Sob a lua
Under the moon

Luz que é tão sua
Light that is so yours