Petula Clark (born 15 November 1932) is a British singer, actress, and song… Read Full Bio ↴Petula Clark (born 15 November 1932) is a British singer, actress, and songwriter. She started her professional career as a child performer and has had one of the longest careers of any British entertainer, spanning more than eight decades. Clark's professional career began during the Second World War as a child entertainer on BBC Radio. In 1954 she charted with "The Little Shoemaker", the first of her big UK hits, and within two years she began recording in French. Her international successes have included "Prends mon cœur", "Sailor" (a UK number one), "Romeo", and "Chariot". Hits in German, Italian, and Spanish followed. In late 1964 Clark's success extended to the United States with a four-year run of career-defining, often upbeat singles, many written or co-written by Tony Hatch and Jackie Trent. These include her signature song "Downtown" (US number one), "I Know a Place", "My Love" (US number one), "A Sign of the Times", "I Couldn't Live Without Your Love", "Who Am I", "Colour My World", "This Is My Song" (by Charlie Chaplin) (a UK number one), "Don't Sleep in the Subway", "The Other Man's Grass Is Always Greener" and "Kiss Me Goodbye". Between January 1965 and April 1968 Clark charted with nine US Top 20 hits in the US, where she was sometimes called "the First Lady of the British Invasion".

Clark has sold more than 68 million records. She has also enjoyed success in the musical film Finian's Rainbow and in the stage musicals The Sound of Music, Blood Brothers, Sunset Boulevard, and Mary Poppins.

Full Wikipedia article: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Petula_Clark

Discography
Petula Clark Sings (1956)
A Date with Pet (1956)
You Are My Lucky Star (1957)
À Musicorama (1958)
Petula Clark in Hollywood / Pet Clark (1959)
Prends mon coeur (1959)
Tête à tête avec Petula Clark (1961)
Rendez-vous avec Petula Clark (1962)
In Other Words (1962)
Petula (1962)
Le soleil dans les yeux (1963)
Ceux qui ont un coeur (1964)
Hello Paris (1964)
Petula au Canada (1964)
Downtown (1965)
I Know a Place (1965)
The World's Greatest International Hits (1965)
Petula '65 (1965)
My Love (1966)
I Couldn't Live Without Your Love (1966)
Petula Clark '66 (1966)
Colour My World (1967)
These Are My Songs (1967)
C'est ma chanson (1967)
Petula Italiana (1967)
The Other Man's Grass Is Always Greener (1968)
Petula (1968)
Portrait of Petula (1969)
Just Pet (1969)
Memphis (1970)
Warm and Tender / The Song of My Life (1971)
Comme une prière (1972)
La chanson de Marie-Madeleine (1972)
Now (1972)
Come On Home (1974)
I'm The Woman You Need (1975)
Je reviens (1977)
Destiny (1978)
Where The Heart Is (1998)
Here For You (1998)
Solitude & Sunshine: The Songs of Rod McKuen (2007)
Lost in You (2013)
From Now On (2016)
Living For Today (2017)
Vu d'ici (2018)

Boy From Ipanema
Petula Clark Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

Tall and tan and young and handsome
The boy from Ipanema goes walking
And when he passes, each girl he passes goes ahah
When he walks, he's like a samba
He swings so cool and sways so gently
That when he passes, each girl he passes goes ahah

Oh, but I watch him so sadly

How can I tell him I love him
Yes, I would give my heart gladly
But each day when he walks to the sea
He looks straight ahead, not at me

Tall and tan and young and handsome
The boy from Ipanema goes walking
And when he passes, I smile
But he doesn't see, no doesn't see

Oh, but I watch him so sadly
How can I tell him I love him
Yes, I would give my heart gladly
But each day when he walks to the sea
He looks straight ahead, not at me

Tall and tan and young and handsome
The boy from Ipanema goes walking

And when he passes, I smile
But he doesn't see, no doesn't see

Overall Meaning

Petula Clark's Boy From Ipanema is a beautiful tribute to an elusive crush. The song starts with a vivid image of a young and handsome boy walking on the streets of Ipanema. He is described as tall and tan, and his presence is enough to make every girl he passes go ahah. The boy's walk is compared to a samba, which is a popular Brazilian dance that is known for its smooth and rhythmic movements. The lyrics capture the essence of the boy's cool and gentle swaying, as he walks through the streets of Ipanema.

The second part of the song shifts to the singer's perspective. She is watching the boy from a distance and is hopelessly in love with him. She longs for him to notice her and reciprocate her feelings, but it seems like he is oblivious to her existence. She watches him walk towards the sea every day, but he never turns to look at her. The tone of the song is bittersweet, as the singer is torn between her love for the boy and the pain of unrequited love.

One interesting aspect of the song is that it didn't originate from Petula Clark. The song was actually written by Brazilian composers Antonio Carlos Jobim and Vinicius de Moraes, and it first became famous when it was recorded by a Brazilian singer named João Gilberto. Petula Clark's version of the song was released in 1965, and it became a huge hit, reaching number 31 on the Billboard Hot 100.

Line by Line Meaning

Tall and tan and young and handsome
The boy from Ipanema is described as tall, tan, young, and handsome.

The boy from Ipanema goes walking
The boy from Ipanema walks around the area.

And when he passes, each girl he passes goes ahah
Every girl he walks past admires him and lets out a sigh of appreciation.

When he walks, he's like a samba
His walk has a rhythmic and musical quality, as if he's dancing.

He swings so cool and sways so gently
His movements are effortless and stylish, with a smooth, flowing motion.

That when he passes, each girl he passes goes ahah
Again, every girl he walks past is smitten by him and can't help but show their admiration.

Oh, but I watch him so sadly
Despite admiring him, the singer watches the boy with sadness, likely because she knows he doesn't notice her.

How can I tell him I love him
The artist is struggling with the dilemma of expressing her love for the boy.

Yes, I would give my heart gladly
The artist would be willing to do anything for the boy she loves.

But each day when he walks to the sea
Every day, he walks to the sea.

He looks straight ahead, not at me
Despite the singer admiring him, the boy does not notice her and looks straight ahead instead.

And when he passes, I smile
Despite the heartache, the artist can't help but smile when the boy walks by.

But he doesn't see, no doesn't see
The boy doesn't notice her, causing the singer to experience unrequited love.

Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, IMAGEM MUSIC INC
Written by: ANTONIO CARLOS JOBIM, VINICIUS DE MORAES

Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind

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Comments from YouTube:

Jeff Freeman

3y↑12

As a kid watching this show, this song was one of those moments, even at 11 years old, I realized that I wanted the boy from Ipanema more than I wanted the girl. ;)

Duncan Moran

2y↑3

when i was a kid i found an incomplete season of some season of the muppets show on CD at a garage sale. i watched it all the time as a kid. it’s a strange source of nostalgia that in reality is a strange bizarre video ppl don’t really know about. i come back here to watch this video occasionally, it gives me such a strange nostalgic feeling.

Bob DeReimer

6y↑5

Stunning and funny!

Thomas Johnson

8y↑12

This thing looks like he should have a lifebar and an ominously-lengthy descriptor appear onscreen when he walks in. I suppose that puppet wasn't called a "Big Bossman" for nothing...

Claude Drouhin

11y↑3

SUPER ! je ne connaissais pas.

Derrick Sheldon

6y↑2

Petula Clark actually appeared in season 2 episode 20

IrishKatana

1y↑1

I’m wondering how many people it took to work that puppet

M01st_Nu6g3t

39w

one single person with a harness and three very long poles, that specific Muppet is called a "Bossman" or "Bossmen" if you wanna see photos of how the harness looks.