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.
Em tempo de adeus
Nara Leão Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
e é tão triste a gente ir (BIS)
Ter que deixar tanta esperança
tanta gente a quem amar
quem sabe alguém
pra me olhar
e é tão triste a gente ir (BIS)
Ah, se eu pudesse
ter te encontrado
a dor da morte era assim igual
mas mil vidas dadas
uma só guardar
para viver sempre
toda sempre ao lado teu
Quando eu morrer
e é tão triste a gente ir (BIS)
Alguém escreva para mim
numa primavera qualquer
a palavra liberdade
junto ao meu desespero
de acabar
Quando eu morrer
e é tão triste a gente ir (BIS)
Nara Leão's song Em tempo de adeus portrays an emotional journey of accepting the inevitability of death and the sadness of leaving behind loved ones and unfulfilled dreams. The opening line, "Quando eu morrer" (When I die), sets the tone for the rest of the song, as Nara reflects on the sadness of having to leave behind so much hope and so many people to love.
She longs for someone to look after her once she's gone, picturing the loneliness and uncertainty of death. The imagery of leaving behind so much to cherish is heightened when Nara sings, "Ter que deixar tanta esperança/ tanta gente a quem amar" (Having to leave behind so much hope/ so many people to love). It's a bittersweet reminder that, despite our best efforts, death is an inevitable reality that we'll all have to face someday.
The second verse of the song takes a different turn as Nara imagines what it would be like to have met someone meaningful and held onto them forever. She sings, "mais mil vidas dadas/ uma só guardar/ para viver sempre/ toda sempre ao lado teu" (to give a thousand lives/ but to keep just one/ to always live by your side). This verse reflects on the beauty of love and the idea of wanting to preserve it beyond death.
The final verse of the song is a call to freedom and an expression of despair. She asks someone to write the word "liberdade" (freedom) alongside her despair on a spring day, creating a powerful image of hope and loss.
Overall, Nara Leão's Em tempo de adeus is a poignant and emotional reflection on the inevitability of death and the complex emotions that come with it, such as hope, love, and despair.
Line by Line Meaning
Quando eu morrer
At the time of my death
e é tão triste a gente ir (BIS)
And it's so sad to leave
Ter que deixar tanta esperança
To have to leave so much hope behind
tanta gente a quem amar
So many loved ones to say goodbye to
quem sabe alguém
Maybe someone
pra me olhar
Will look after me
Ah, se eu pudesse
Oh, if only I could
ter te encontrado
Have found you
a dor da morte era assim igual
The pain of death would be the same
mas mil vidas dadas
But if I had a thousand lives
uma só guardar
I would save only one
para viver sempre
To live forever
toda sempre ao lado teu
Always by your side
Alguém escreva para mim
Someone write to me
numa primavera qualquer
In any springtime
a palavra liberdade
The word freedom
junto ao meu desespero
Beside my despair
de acabar
Of ending
Contributed by Jayce A. Suggest a correction in the comments below.