See Sérgio Mendes.

Sérgio Santos Mendes (born Niteroi, 11 February 1… Read Full Bio ↴See Sérgio Mendes.

Sérgio Santos Mendes (born Niteroi, 11 February 1941) is a Brazilian musician. Born the son of a physician in Niteroi, Brazil, Mendes attended the local conservatory with hopes of becoming a classical pianist. As his interest in jazz grew, he started playing in nightclubs in the late-1950s just as bossa nova, a jazz-inflected derivative of samba, was taking off. Mendes played with Antonio Carlos Jobim (regarded as a mentor), and many U.S. jazz musicians who toured Brazil.

Mendes formed the Sexteto Bossa Rio and recorded Dance Moderno in 1961. Touring Europe and the United States, Mendes recorded albums with Cannonball Adderly and Herbie Mann and played Carnegie Hall. Mendes moved to the U.S. in 1964 and cut two albums under the Brasil '65 group name with Capitol Records and Atlantic Records. When sales were tepid, he replaced his Brazilian born vocalist Wanda Sa with the distinctive voice of Chicago native Lani Hall (who learned Mendes' Portuguese material phonetically) and switched to Herb Alpert's A&M label and released Sergio Mendes and Brasil '66. (Hall would later marry Alpert). The album ultimately went platinum based largely upon the success of the single Mas Que Nada and the personal support of Alpert, with whom Mendes toured regularly. Though his early singles with Brasil '66 (most notably Mas Que Nada) met with some success, Mendes really burst into mainstream prominence when he performed the Oscar nominated Burt Bacharach/Hal David song "The Look of Love" on the Academy Awards telecast in March 1968. Brasil '66's version of the song quickly shot into the top 10, eclipsing Dusty Springfield's version from the soundtrack of the movie, and Mendes spent the rest of 1968 enjoying consecutive top 10 and top 20 hits with his follow-up singles, "The Fool on the Hill" and "Scarborough Fair." Though he continued to enjoy adult contemporary chart successes with Brasil '66 through 1971, he would not experience the mainstream chart hits he enjoyed in 1968 until his comeback album in 1983 generated the biggest single of his career, "Never Gonna Let You Go." However, from 1968 on, Mendes was arguably the biggest Brazilian star in the world, enjoying immense popularity worldwide and performing in venues as varied as stadium arenas and the White House, where he gave concerts for both President Johnson and President Nixon.

Mendes' career in the U.S. stalled in the mid-70s, but he remained very popular in South America and Japan. (This disparity became a Seinfeld in-joke.) His two albums with Bell Records in 1973 and 1974, followed by several for Elektra from 1975 on, found Mendes continuing to mine the best in American pop music and post-Bossa writers of his native Brazil, while forging new directions in soul with collaborators like Stevie Wonder, who wrote Mendes' R&B-inflected minor hit, "The Real Thing." In 1983, he rejoined Alpert's A&M records and enjoyed huge success with a self-titled album and several follow-up albums, all of which received considerable adult contemporary airplay with charting singles. By the time Mendes released his Grammy-winning Elektra album Brasileiro in 1992, he was the undisputed master of pop-inflected Brazilian jazz. The late-1990s lounge music revival brought retrospection and respect to Mendes' oeuvre, particularly the classic Brasil '66 albums. He has released over thirty-five albums, and still plays his bossa nova heavily crossed with jazz and funk. His newest album, Timeless released in 2006, featured Chali 2na of Jurassic 5, will.i.am of Black Eyed Peas, Q-Tip, Justin Timberlake, and Pharoahe Monch.

(Text taken in whole from the Wikipedia article at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sergio_Mendes on March 30, 2006)

Crystal Illusions
Sergio Mendes Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

Look back to see all the dreams
You said you never even tried for
Like mirrors try to see
New reflections that will be
Crystal Illusions

I'll walk but don't walk behind me
I'll go where no one will find me

The shadows walking beside me will find me

Could it be I'm just a dreamer
Only looking for the sun
If I stay awake the morning
I believe the day will come

I'll go away
(I'll go away)
I'll find a way
(I'll find a way)
I'll try to know
(Know what I say)
I'll go

All the love that hides behind the eyes
That try to find a reason
If you only look within it's true
Love will begin
Waiting there to find you

I'll walk but don't walk behind me
I'll go where no one will find me
The shadows walking beside me will find me

All I want to know is wonder
Want my eyes to feel the rain
All the tears that spill for sorrow
Will begin and end again

I'll go away
(I'll go away)
I'll find a way
(I'll find a way)
I'll try to know
(Know what I say)
I'll go

I'll walk but don't walk behind me
I'll go where no one will find me
(I will be waiting for the sun)
The shadows walking beside me will find me
(I want my eyes to feel the rain)
I'll walk but don't walk behind me
(We'll begin and end again)
I'll go where no one will find me

(I will be waiting for the sun)
The shadows walking beside me will find me . . .

Overall Meaning

The lyrics to Sergio Mendes & Brasil '66's song Crystal Illusions contain themes of reflection, chasing dreams, and the loneliness of the individual journey. The opening lines urge the listener to look back at the dreams they never attempted to chase, like a mirror that shows new reflections. The chorus repeats the title phrase, "Crystal Illusions," suggesting that those dreams may have never been attainable or may have been a mere mirage.

The second verse reinforces the idea of the individual journey with the lines, "I'll walk but don't walk behind me/ I'll go where no one will find me." While the singer is searching for love and wonder, they are also aware that they may be seen as a dreamer who cannot or will not face reality. The phrase "shadows walking beside me will find me" carries a sense of uncertainty and potential danger, suggesting that the singer is willing to take risks despite the unknown dangers.

Overall, the lyrics of Crystal Illusions convey a sense of longing and optimism despite the potential pitfalls of chasing one's dreams. The singer is willing to leave behind what is comfortable or familiar in pursuit of something more meaningful, and while they are aware that the journey may be difficult or even impossible, they remain hopeful.

Line by Line Meaning

Look back to see all the dreams You said you never even tried for
Reflect on your past aspirations that you didn't put effort into

Like mirrors try to see New reflections that will be Crystal Illusions
Like mirrors, seek new goals that will create beautiful illusions

I'll walk but don't walk behind me I'll go where no one will find me The shadows walking beside me will find me
I will walk alone without followers, seeking solitude where only the inner voice can guide me

Could it be I'm just a dreamer Only looking for the sun If I stay awake the morning I believe the day will come
Maybe I'm just an idealist searching for hope, but I believe that if I stay vigilant, my dreams will become reality

I'll go away (I'll go away) I'll find a way (I'll find a way) I'll try to know (Know what I say) I'll go
I'll step back to find a new path, I'll discover it, I'll attempt to understand it, then I'll follow through with my plan

All the love that hides behind the eyes That try to find a reason If you only look within it's true Love will begin Waiting there to find you
Love is concealed within our thoughts, waiting to be discovered. If we seek it, we will find it

All I want to know is wonder Want my eyes to feel the rain All the tears that spill for sorrow Will begin and end again
I seek to be amazed and feel life, including its pain. Tears dry, and the cycle of life repeats

The shadows walking beside me will find me (I will be waiting for the sun) I'll walk but don't walk behind me (We'll begin and end again) I'll go where no one will find me (I will be waiting for the sun) The shadows walking beside me will find me . . .
My solitude and inner voice will bring enlightenment, and my shadows will guide me towards the light

Contributed by Jonathan N. Suggest a correction in the comments below.

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