Initially playing in colleges, Toquinho's professional career took off in the 1960s at shows promoted by radio personality Walter Silva at the famous Paramount theater in São Paulo. He composed his first recorded song with Chico Buarque entitled "Lua Cheia" (Full Moon). His first big hit was composed in 1970 with Jorge Benjor, "Que Maravilha" (What a Wonder). That same year he was invited by Vinícius de Moraes, co-writer of the worldwide hit song "Garota de Ipanema" (The Girl from Ipanema), to participate in a series of shows in Buenos Aires, forming a solid partnership that would continue for 11 years and produce 120 songs, 25 records and over a thousand shows.
After the death of Vinícius de Moraes in 1980, he went on to pursue a solo career, often performing with other talented musicians like Paulinho da Viola, Danilo Caymmi, Paulinho Nogueira and Chico Buarque. He continues to record and play.
Palavras Cruzadas
Toquinho Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Ouvindo baixinho uma canção de amor.
Do alto da minha janela
O quadrado é uma tela de som, luz e cor.
Esqueço a retina parada,
Olhando pra nada e pra qualquer lugar.
Lá embaixo a visão se repete,
É uma grande maquete a se movimentar.
Me deito na cama um momento,
O olhar desatento no tele-jornal.
A noite acende a cidade
Numa claridade artificial.
E como um papel solto ao vento,
Solto o pensamento a vagar por aí:
Da infância a um amor antigo,
Da mãe a um amigo que eu nunca mais vi.
Mas vem a lembrança recente
De um amor ausente a me torturar.
E esse vazio sem jeito,
Na cama e no peito, me faz relembrar
Quando ela fechou-me as saídas,
Levou minha vida sem olhar pra trás.
Dizendo, assim, se desculpando,
Baixinho, chorando: "Eu não te amo mais".
Revejo num canto, jogadas,
Palavras cruzadas de um velho jornal.
E em meio às notícias do dia,
Rio da ironia de uma vertical
Que diz: "sentimento profundo
Que ilumina o mundo com seu resplendor".
E aqui no meu quarto, sozinho, amigo da dor,
Eu ouço calado, baixinho, uma canção de amor.
In Toquinho's song Palavras Cruzadas, the singer finds himself alone in his room, listening to a love song softly. From his window, he looks out at the square below, which becomes a canvas of sound, light and colour. The stillness of his retina is forgotten as he gazes at nothing and everything all at once. Below, life moves like a great model city. The singer lays in bed for a moment, distractedly watching the news on TV. The night lights up the city with its artificial glow. His thoughts drift from childhood memories to a long-lost love, a mother, and a friend he never saw again. Then, his most recent memory comes back to him, that of a love that left him with an ache. He remembers when she closed all the exits, took his life without looking back, saying under her breath, "I don't love you anymore."
The singer finds solace in the words of a crossword puzzle from an old newspaper. Amidst the daily news, he laughs at the irony of a vertical column that describes love as a deep feeling that illuminates the world with its radiance. And there, in his room, alone and friend of pain, he listens silently and softly to a love song.
Palavras Cruzadas is a song that speaks to the human need for connection and love. The singer navigates through different moments of his life, filled with memories and joys, but also heartbreak and loneliness. The lyrics create a sense of melancholy, but the softness in the way Toquinho sings the song provides a sense of comfort.
Line by Line Meaning
Aqui no meu quarto, sozinho,
In my room alone,
Ouvindo baixinho uma canção de amor.
Softly listening to a love song.
Do alto da minha janela
From my window high above
O quadrado é uma tela de som, luz e cor.
The square is a screen of sound, light, and color.
Esqueço a retina parada,
Forget the motionless retina,
Olhando pra nada e pra qualquer lugar.
Looking at nothing and anywhere.
Lá embaixo a visão se repete,
Down there, the view repeats,
É uma grande maquete a se movimentar.
It's a big moving model.
Me deito na cama um momento,
Lie down on bed for a moment,
O olhar desatento no tele-jornal.
With an inattentive look on the news.
A noite acende a cidade
The night lights up the city
Numa claridade artificial.
In an artificial light.
E como um papel solto ao vento,
And like a paper loose in the wind,
Solto o pensamento a vagar por aí:
I let my thoughts wander around:
Da infância a um amor antigo,
From childhood to an old love,
Da mãe a um amigo que eu nunca mais vi.
From mother to a friend I never saw again.
Mas vem a lembrança recente
But then comes the recent memory
De um amor ausente a me torturar.
Of an absent love to torment me.
E esse vazio sem jeito,
And this awkward emptiness,
Na cama e no peito, me faz relembrar
In the bed and in the chest, makes me remember
Quando ela fechou-me as saídas,
When she blocked my exits,
Levou minha vida sem olhar pra trás.
Took my life without looking back.
Dizendo, assim, se desculpando,
Saying, apologizing,
Baixinho, chorando: "Eu não te amo mais".
Quietly, crying: 'I don't love you anymore.'
Revejo num canto, jogadas,
I see in a corner, cast pieces,
Palavras cruzadas de um velho jornal.
Crosswords from an old newspaper.
E em meio às notícias do dia,
And among the news of the day,
Rio da ironia de uma vertical
I laugh at the irony of a vertical
Que diz: "sentimento profundo
That says: 'deep feeling
Que ilumina o mundo com seu resplendor".
That illuminates the world with its splendor.'
E aqui no meu quarto, sozinho, amigo da dor,
And here, in my room, alone, friend of pain,
Eu ouço calado, baixinho, uma canção de amor.
I quietly listen to a love song.
Writer(s): Francis Victor Walter Hime, Antonio Pecci Filho
Contributed by Ellie C. Suggest a correction in the comments below.