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).

Falando de Amor
Tom Jobim Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

Se eu pudesse por um dia
Esse amor essa alegria
Eu te juro te daria
Se pudesse esse amor todo dia

Chega perto, vem sem medo
Chega mais meu coração
Vem ouvir esse segredo

Escondido num choro ou canção

Se soubesses como eu gosto
Do teu cheiro teu jeito de flor
Não negavas um beijinho
A quem anda perdido de amor

Chora flauta, chora pinho
Choro eu o teu cantor
Chora manso bem baixinho
Esse choro falando de amor

Chega perto, vem sem medo
Chega mais meu coração
Vem ouvir esse segredo
Escondido num choro ou canção

Quando passas tão bonita
Nessa rua banhada de sol
Minha alma segue aflita
Eu esqueço até do futebol

Vem depressa, vem sem medo
Foi pra ti meu coração
Que eu guardei esse segredo

Escondido num choro ou canção
Lá no fundo do meu coração

Overall Meaning

The lyrics of Tom Jobim's song Falando de Amor speak of a deep and intense love that the singer wishes they could share with the person they love. The first two lines illustrate this longing, with the singer expressing the desire to give their love and joy to the person they love. The repetition of "Se pudesse" emphasizes the singer's desire and their inability to fulfill it. The rest of the song speaks of the secrets of love and how they can be expressed through music, specifically through a choro (a traditional Brazilian music style). The singer urges the person they love to come closer and hear this secret that is hidden within a song or a cry.

The second verse speaks of the singer's admiration for the person they love, describing their scent and their "flower-like" quality. The singer pleads with the person they love to give them a kiss, acknowledging that they are lost in love. The chorus repeats the invitation to come closer and hear the secrets that live within music. The third verse elaborates on the singer's deep love, confessing that even when they see the person they love in public, their mind is still preoccupied with thoughts of them. The final verses reiterate the invitation to come closer and hear the secrets that the singer has hidden deep within their heart.

Overall, the song speaks of the intensity of love and the power that music has in expressing it. The singer implores the person they love to come closer and hear their confession, which is hidden within a choro or a song.

Line by Line Meaning

Se eu pudesse por um dia
If I could for one day

Esse amor essa alegria
This love, this joy

Eu te juro te daria
I swear I'd give it to you

Se pudesse esse amor todo dia
If I could have this love every day

Chega perto, vem sem medo
Come closer, don't be afraid

Chega mais meu coração
Get closer to my heart

Vem ouvir esse segredo
Come listen to this secret

Escondido num choro ou canção
Hidden in a cry or song

Se soubesses como eu gosto
If you knew how much I like

Do teu cheiro teu jeito de flor
Your smell, your way of being like a flower

Não negavas um beijinho
You wouldn't deny me a kiss