When she was twelve, her father gave her a guitar since he was worried about her being shy. Popular musician and composer Patricio Teixeira and classical guitarist Solon Ayala were her teachers. While still a teenager, she met a number of singers and composers who took part of Bossa Nova's musical revolution, in late 50s and early 60s, including Roberto Menescal, Carlos Lyra, Ronaldo Bôscoli, João Gilberto and Antônio Carlos Jobim.
By 1963, after singing as an amateur for a few years, she became a professional and toured with Sergio Mendes. In the mid-1960s, the institution of military dictatorship in Brazil led her to sing increasingly political lyrics. Her show "Opinião" reflected her political beliefs and she had largely switched to political music by this point. In 1964, she even spoke against bossa nova as a movement, calling it "alienating". In 1968, being part of the Tropicália movement, she appeared on the album Tropicália: ou Panis et Circenses, performing "Lindonéia."
She later left Brazil for Paris and in the 1970s abandoned music to focus on her family. She returned to music later and when she discovered, in 1979, that she had an inoperable brain tumor she increased her productivity as much as possible. She died in 1989, leaving a great legacy behind her succesful years of career.
Anoiteceu
Nara Leão Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
O céu perdeu a cor
Anoiteceu
No nosso grande amor
A luz morreu
O céu perdeu a cor
Anoiteceu
No nosso grande amor
Ah, leva a solidão de mim
Tira esse amor dos olhos meus
Tira a tristeza ruim do adeus
Que ficou em mim
Que não sai de mim
Pelo amor de Deus
Vem suavizar a dor
Dessa paixão que anoiteceu
Vem e apaga do corpo meu
Cada beijo seu
Porque foi assim
Que ela me enlouqueceu
Fatal
Cruel, cruel demais
Mas não faz mal
Quem ama não tem paz
Quem ama não tem paz
The first verse of Nara Leão's song Anoiteceu describes the setting of the song: the light has died and the sky has lost its color, symbolizing the end of the day or the end of a particular phase. However, the real focus of the song is the singer's love, which has also come to an end. The use of the same verse twice emphasizes the finality of the situation. The repeated phrase "no nosso grande amor" (in our great love) drives home the fact that something significant has been lost, as if the size of the love makes the loss feel even greater.
In the second verse, the singer pleads with their former love to take away the loneliness they are feeling and to remove the love from their eyes. They want to forget the pain of the breakup and for this person to help them move on. The phrase "tira a tristeza ruim do adeus" (take away the bad sadness of the goodbye) captures the sense of regret and unresolved emotion that the singer is experiencing. They are asking for divine intervention to ease their pain and to help them find peace.
The final lines of the song, "quem ama não tem paz" (those who love have no peace) speak to the universal truth that loving someone deeply can be both a great joy and a great source of pain. The singer has lost their peace and their heart is broken, but they can't help but love this person anyway. It is a bittersweet acknowledgement of one of the most complex and powerful emotions that humans experience.
Line by Line Meaning
A luz morreu
The light has died
O céu perdeu a cor
The sky has lost its color
Anoiteceu
Night has fallen
No nosso grande amor
In our great love
Ah, leva a solidão de mim
Oh, take the loneliness away from me
Tira esse amor dos olhos meus
Remove this love from my eyes
Tira a tristeza ruim do adeus
Take away the sadness of goodbye
Que ficou em mim
That stayed within me
Que não sai de mim
That doesn't leave me
Pelo amor de Deus
For the love of God
Vem suavizar a dor
Come and alleviate the pain
Dessa paixão que anoiteceu
Of this passion that has turned into night
Vem e apaga do corpo meu
Come and erase from my body
Cada beijo seu
Each of your kisses
Porque foi assim
Because this is how it was
Que ela me enlouqueceu
That she drove me mad
Fatal
Fatal
Cruel, cruel demais
Cruel, too cruel
Mas não faz mal
But it doesn't matter
Quem ama não tem paz
Those who love have no peace
Contributed by Gabriella P. Suggest a correction in the comments below.