Born in Rio de Janeiro to a family deeply rooted in the samba tradition, Paulinho met and befriended much of Rio's samba elite as a child. His father was a guitar player and musicians like Pixinguinha and Jacob do Bandolim would often come to his house for rehearsals, which Paulinho watched for hours on end. After the rehearsals, Paulinho would pick up his father's guitar and strum the few chords he knew. Later, as a teenager, he was frequently seen at jams at Jacob do Bandolim's house, quietly and attentively observing the older, more experienced musicians. He began writing his own songs as a teenager, but never considered a career as a professional musician until he met poet Hermínio Bello de Carvalho in 1964. By then, Paulinho was working as a teller at a bank in Rio de Janeiro, and recognised Hermínio from the jam sessions at Jacob do Bandolim's house. The two became close friends and soon began writing music together. The first song they wrote together was Duvide-o-dó, recorded by singer Isaurinha Garcia. He then began performing his own songs at a restaurant in Rio, owned by samba legend Cartola and his wife.
He got his famous nickname in 1965, when he was a member of the samba group A Voz do Morro (the voice of the hills), alongside Zé Keti and Oscar Bigode. After their first recording session, a publicist from the record label reportedly told him "'Paulo César' is not a samba name!". Zé Keti and journalist Sérgio Cabral eventually came up with the nickname "Paulinho da Viola" (something to the lines of "Guitar Paul").
By the 1970s, Paulinho was at the most prolific stage of his career, releasing an average of one album per year. He was already a household name in samba, choro and MPB circles and broadened his audience by touring all over Brazil and also playing at festivals in Europe and the USA. His productivity and popularity had waned by the mid-80s, when he decided to focus more on his songwriting. In 1996 he regained notoriety after releasing the much-acclaimed album Bebadosamba, in which he once again joined forces with Hermínio Bello de Carvalho and Elton Medeiros, his early songwriting partners. He still lives in Rio de Janeiro and performs around Brazil.
Ruas que Sonhei
Paulinho da Viola Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Não trouxe o dia que anseia meu olhar
E leva embora o consolo dos olhares
Das morenas
Bem no tempo de sorrir e namorar
Toda beleza que havia nesta rua
Há pouco tempo deu um vento e carregou
E muita gente se vestindo de alegria
Que a tristeza já passou
Amor, repare o tempo
Enquanto eu faço um samba triste pra cantar
Te mostro a vida pra mudar o teu sorriso
Te dou meu samba com vontade de chorar
Amor, felicidade
É o segredo que outro dia te contei
O sol que morre nos cabelos das morenas
Um dia nasce sobre as ruas que sonhei
The lyrics of Paulinho Da Viola's song "Ruas que Sonhei" are filled with melancholic and nostalgic imagery of streets that once were full of life and happiness but are now barren and empty. The first stanza talks about how the sun beating down on the streets does not bring the day that the singer-longs for. The streets used to be vibrant, filled with the consoling gazes of brown-skinned girls, but now all that beauty has vanished, carried away by the winds of time. The people still put on a facade of joy and happiness, pretending that the sadness has passed.
The second stanza talks about how the singer is going to make a sad samba song about how time is slipping away, and how life has changed for the worse. He wants to show his lover how life can change and give her the secret to happiness, which he revealed to her on another day. The song ends with the hope that the sun that once set on the hair of the brown-skinned girls will one day rise again over the streets that he once dreamed of.
"Ruas que Sonhei" is a famous samba song in Brazil, and it has been covered by many popular artists in the genre.
Line by Line Meaning
O sol que bate na calçada nesta tarde
The sun shining on the pavement in the afternoon
Não trouxe o dia que anseia meu olhar
Fails to bring the day I long for
E leva embora o consolo dos olhares
Taking away the comfort of the gaze
Das morenas
Of the brown-skinned girls
Bem no tempo de sorrir e namorar
When it's time to smile and fall in love
Toda beleza que havia nesta rua
All the beauty that used to exist on this street
Há pouco tempo deu um vento e carregou
Recently taken away by the wind
E muita gente se vestindo de alegria
But many still dressing up with joy
Vai fingindo todo dia
Pretending every day
Que a tristeza já passou
That sadness is already gone
Amor, repare o tempo
Love, take notice of time
Enquanto eu faço um samba triste pra cantar
While I create a sad samba to sing
Te mostro a vida pra mudar o teu sorriso
I'll show you life to change your smile
Te dou meu samba com vontade de chorar
I'll give you my samba with a desire to cry
Amor, felicidade
Love, happiness
É o segredo que outro dia te contei
It's the secret I told you another day
O sol que morre nos cabelos das morenas
The sun setting on the hair of the brown-skinned girls
Um dia nasce sobre as ruas que sonhei
One day it will rise over the streets I dreamed of
Contributed by Logan H. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
Choro e Poesia
Reparem na afinação quase inacreditável da Amélia Rabello...
Sandrovisks Beverllyders
Fato. Maravilhosa!!!
Aline Pessoa
Ela tem a voz das cantoras do rádio dos anos 50. 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻
E Paulinho maravilhoso!
Italo Henrique
Poesia cantada lindo de mais
C Web
O maior sambista do Brasil!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Francisco Marcos
É das mais antigas mas e das mais bonitas e mto simples! Puro Paulinho!
Gustavo Ferreira
Gostaria de um dia compor um samba.
É tão bonito!
EDINALDO ABREU DA COSTA
A versão de Roberto Riberti é da hora!!!
Rosa dos Ventos
Pode crer, na porra da Europa você não vai achar nenhum Paulinho da Viola.
Ricardo Henrique
Que maravilha!!