Tom Jobim is the name that best represents Brazilian music on the second ha… Read Full Bio ↴Tom Jobim is the name that best represents Brazilian music on the second half of the 20th century. Pianist, composer, singer, arranger, occasional guitarist, he’s practically a unanimous call when it comes to musical quality and sophistication. Tom was born in the north part of Rio de Janeiro, but his family soon moved to Ipanema. Tom Jobim performed in bars and clubs in the early 50s, in Copacabana, and eventually got hired by a record company. Besides writing the arrangements for other people’s songs, he also had to transcribe melodies written by composers who were illiterate in terms of musical notations. He started writing his own compositions at that time. Tom Jobim was part of the embryonic nucleus of bossa nova. The album "Canção do Amor Demais" (1958), featuring music by Tom and Vinícius, sung by Eliseth Cardoso and accompanied by João Gilberto’s guitar, is regarded as a landmark for bossa nova, due to the freshness of the arrangements, harmonic and melodic patterns. Acquiring taste for classical composers like Villa-Lobos and Debussy, Tom Jobim went on writing and recording exquisite, finely inspired music, merging jazzy harmonies with typically Brazilian elements that he researched quite seriously. His last CD, "Antônio Brasileiro", was released in 1994, little before his passing away in December (in the United States).

Corcovado
Tom Jobim Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

Um cantinho e um violão
Este amor, uma canção
Pra fazer feliz a quem se ama

Muita calma pra pensar
E ter tempo pra sonhar

Da janela vê-se o Corcovado

O Redentor que lindo

Quero a vida sempre assim com você perto de mim
Até o apagar da velha chama

E eu que era triste
Descrente deste mundo
Ao encontrar você eu conheci
O que é felicidade meu amor

O que é felicidade, o que é felicidade

Overall Meaning

In "Corcovado," Tom Jobim paints a serene picture of a secluded nook with just a guitar, the presence of a loved one, and an accompanying song to make them happy. He emphasizes the importance of patience and reflection for dreaming and pondering effectively. The verses that follow commemorate the beauty of Rio de Janeiro's Corcovado mountain and its crowning statue, the Redeemer. Jobim expresses his desire to live life with his lover close to him, as they keep each other company until their dying embers. He concludes by noting the transformation his life has undergone upon meeting his lover, discovering the true essence of happiness.

Line by Line Meaning

Um cantinho e um violão
Just a small spot and a guitar

Este amor, uma canção
This love, a song

Pra fazer feliz a quem se ama
To make happy the one who is loved

Muita calma pra pensar
Plenty of calmness to think

E ter tempo pra sonhar
And have time to dream

Da janela vê-se o Corcovado
From the window, one sees the Corcovado

O Redentor que lindo
The Redeemer how beautiful

Quero a vida sempre assim com você perto de mim
I want life to always be like this with you close to me

Até o apagar da velha chama
Until the extinguishing of the old flame

E eu que era triste
And I who was sad

Descrente deste mundo
Disbelieving in this world