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.
O Grande Amor
Nara Leão Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Há sempre um homem
Para uma mulher
E há de sempre haver
Para esquecer um falso amor
E uma vontade de morrer
Seja como for
Há de vencer
Que há de ser
No coração
Como um perdão
Pra quem chorou
The lyrics of Nara Leão's song "O grande amor" are a reflection on the power of love and its ability to triumph over pain and heartbreak. The opening lines - "Haja o que houver / Há sempre um homem / Para uma mulher" - suggest that no matter what happens in life, there will always be a man for a woman. However, the song goes on to explore the more complex aspects of love and relationships.
The lines "E há de sempre haver / Para esquecer um falso amor / E uma vontade de morrer" speak to the pain and despair that can accompany a failed relationship. But even in the darkest moments, the song insists, there is always hope. "Há de vencer / O grande amor" - love will conquer all. The final lines - "Que há de ser / No coração / Como um perdão / Pra quem chorou" - suggest that love has the power to heal and bring forgiveness, even to those who have suffered the most.
Line by Line Meaning
Haja o que houver
No matter what happens
Há sempre um homem
There is always a man
Para uma mulher
For a woman
E há de sempre haver
And there always will be
Para esquecer um falso amor
To forget a false love
E uma vontade de morrer
And a desire to die
Seja como for
No matter what
Há de vencer
Love will overcome
O grande amor
The great love
Que há de ser
That must be
No coração
In the heart
Como um perdão
Like forgiveness
Pra quem chorou
For those who cried
Contributed by Matthew O. Suggest a correction in the comments below.