Sérgio Santos Mendes (born Niterói, … Read Full Bio ↴See Sérgio Mendes & Brasil '66.
Sérgio Santos Mendes (born Niterói, 11 February 1941) is a Brazilian musician. Born the son of a physician in Niterói, 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 '66 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.
Dock of the Bay
Sergio Mendes & Brasil '66 Lyrics
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I'll be sitting when
The evening come
Watching the ships roll in
And then I watch em
Roll away again, yeah
I'm sitting on
Watching the tide roll away
Ooh, I'm just sitting on
The dock of the bay
Wasting time
I left my home in Georgia
Headed for the Frisco bay
Cause I've had nothing to live for
And look like nothing's
Gonna come my way
So, I'm just gonna sit
On the dock of the bay
Watching the tide roll away
Ooh, I'm sitting on
The dock of the bay
Wasting time
Look like nothing's gonna change
Everything still remains the same
I can't do what ten people tell me to do
So I guess I'll remain the same, yes
Sitting here resting my bones
And this loneliness
Won't leave me alone
It's two thousand miles I roamed
Just to make this dock my home
Now, I'm just gonna sit
At the dock of the bay
Watching the tide roll away
Owee, sitting on
The dock of the bay
Wasting time
The Dock of the Bay is a song about a man who has left his home in Georgia and is now idling away his time, watching the ships come and go from the San Francisco Bay. The song's melancholic tone suggests that the man is feeling lost and aimless. He has left everything behind and has no direction.
The song's opening lines set the scene for the rest of the song. The man is sitting on the dock, waiting for something to happen. He is watching the ships rolling in and out of the bay, but nothing seems to change. The lyrics suggest that the man is searching for something, but he does not know what that something is.
The line "I can't do what ten people tell me to do, so I guess I'll remain the same" suggests that the man feels trapped and unable to move forward in his life. He has no direction or purpose, and he is resigned to his fate of sitting on the dock and watching the world go by.
Overall, The Dock of the Bay is a melancholic song that captures the feeling of being lost and unsure. The man in the song has left his home and has nothing to show for it. He is sitting on the dock, watching the world go by, and waiting for something to happen.
Line by Line Meaning
Sittin' in the mornin' sun
I am currently sitting on the dock during the morning hours when the sun is just beginning to rise.
I'll be sittin' when the evenin' come
I plan to stay here and continue sitting until the evening arrives.
Watching the ships roll in
I am observing as ships come into the bay.
And then I watch 'em roll away again, yeah
I am also watching the ships as they leave the bay.
I'm sittin' on the dock of the bay
I am currently sitting on a dock that overlooks the bay.
Watching the tide roll away
I am observing the movement of the tide as it rolls in and out of the bay.
Ooo, I'm just sittin' on the dock of the bay
I am enjoying my peaceful surroundings and am content with just sitting here.
Wastin' time
I have nothing else to do at the moment and am simply passing the time.
I left my home in Georgia
I left my hometown in Georgia to come to this location.
Headed for the 'Frisco bay
I came here specifically to visit the San Francisco Bay area.
'Cause I've had nothing to live for
I came to this location because I felt like I had nothing to live for back in Georgia.
And look like nothin's gonna come my way
I feel like there is no hope for my future and that nothing good will come my way.
So I'm just gonna sit on the dock of the bay
Given my circumstances and my lack of purpose, I have decided to simply sit here and enjoy the scenery.
Look like nothing's gonna change
My perception is that things will remain the same and that my situation will not improve.
Everything still remains the same
I am observing that everything around me has not changed since I arrived at this location.
I can't do what ten people tell me to do
I have my own ideas and my own way of doing things and will not conform to the expectations of others.
So I guess I'll remain the same, yes
Given that I am not willing to change who I am or how I live, I will likely remain in the same situation as before.
Sittin' here resting my bones
I am enjoying the peace and relaxation of being able to sit and rest without any demands or expectations placed on me.
And this loneliness won't leave me alone
Despite my beautiful surroundings, I am still feeling lonely and isolated.
It's two thousand miles I roamed
I have traveled a great distance to get to this location.
Just to make this dock my home
I consider this dock and its beautiful view to be my new home.
Now, I'm just gonna sit at the dock of the bay
I have come to the decision that this is where I belong and I plan to stay here for a while.
Watching the tide roll away
I will continue to watch the tide roll in and out of the bay as an ongoing form of entertainment.
Oooo-wee, sittin' on the dock of the bay
I am truly enjoying my time spent sitting on this beautiful dock and enjoying the view.
Wastin' time
I continue to pass the time in a leisurely manner, without any pressing demands or expectations.
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management, Universal Music Publishing Group, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: Steve Cropper, Otis Redding
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
michael
My favorite musicians since 1963. Genius
H F
In 1969 I was 12 in Tokyo,Japan.Since that time, I keep listening to this.
John Bacho
The first time i heard this rendition of dock of the bay i was at pt reyes fifty years ago i still play play play