She was born in 1934 and she had the ambition to be a ballet dancer. She studied with Madeleine Rosay at the Teatro Municipal's corp de ballet in Rio de Janeiro, but she would also practice singing and playing the piano.[1]
Telles preceded the advent of bossa nova, and began covering songs by such influential composers as Antonio Carlos Jobim, and worked with others such as Luiz Bonfá. She also did several tribute albums to Antonio Carlos Jobim. One of the most famous classic bossa nova songs was written for her by Jobim, its namesake her nickname - "Dindi".
By the early 1960s, she had made her first trip to the United States, recording U.S.A. with Barney Kessel (among others) for Philips. Her husband, producer Aloysio de Oliveira, proved instrumental in her later signing to Odeon and Elenco, two labels where he worked. Telles had just recorded her second tribute to Jobim, 1966's The Music of Mr. Jobim (or Sings the Wonderful Songs of Antonio Carlos Jobim), when she was killed in a car accident at the age of 32. Telles is the mother of singer, musician and songwriter Claudia Telles, born August 26, 1957. [2]
Canção da Volta
Sylvia Telles Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
O que o meu coração pedir
Nunca mais vou ouvir
O que o meu coração mandar
O coração fala muito
E não sabe ajudar
Sem refletir
Qualquer um vai errar, penar-
Eu fiz mal em fugir
Eu fiz mal em sair
Do que eu tinha em você
E errei em dizer
Que não voltava mais
Nunca mais
Hoje eu volto vencida
A pedir pra ficar aqui
Meu lugar é aqui
Faz de conta que eu não saí
In the song "Canção da Volta" by Sylvia Telles, the lyrics depict the regret of a person who left a past love and is now returning, humbled and defeated, to ask for forgiveness and a second chance. The first part of the song is a vow to never again act solely on the impulses of the heart and to not blindly follow its commands. The singer acknowledges that the heart speaks loudly but doesn't always bring clarity, and rushes to make mistakes that cause pain and suffering. The second part of the song and its chorus reveal the singer's remorse and longing to be back in the arms of the person they left behind. The person recognizes their mistake, admits that they were wrong to leave, and implores for the chance to stay and make things right.
The song's lyrics are a common theme in various music genres, but Sylvia Telles' interpretation, released in 1959, has become an iconic bossa nova classic. Much of the song's popularity is due to Sylvia Telles' sultry and intimate vocal performance, which captures the deep longing and vulnerability of the lyrics. The song's status as a classic is also due to the masterful guitar work of João Gilberto, Telles' former partner and one of the pioneers of bossa nova. "Canção da Volta" is a masterpiece of Brazilian music, a beautiful and evocative song that speaks to the human experience of love, loss, and the desire for redemption.
Line by Line Meaning
Nunca mais vou fazer
I'll never again do what my heart urges me to do.
O que o meu coração pedir
I won't follow the desires of my heart.
Nunca mais vou ouvir
I won't listen to what my heart tells me to do.
O que o meu coração mandar
I won't obey the orders of my heart.
O coração fala muito
The heart speaks too much.
E não sabe ajudar
And it doesn't know how to help.
Sem refletir
Without reflecting,
Qualquer um vai errar, penar
Anyone will make mistakes and suffer.
Eu fiz mal em fugir
I did wrong in running away.
Eu fiz mal em sair
I did wrong in leaving.
Do que eu tinha em você
From what I had with you.
E errei em dizer
And I was wrong in saying
Que não voltava mais
That I wouldn't come back.
Nunca mais
Never again.
Hoje eu volto vencida
Today, I return defeated.
A pedir pra ficar aqui
Begging to stay here.
Meu lugar é aqui
My place is here.
Faz de conta que eu não saí
Pretend that I never left.
Contributed by Benjamin G. Suggest a correction in the comments below.