A native of São Paulo, Zizi Possi (born as Maria Izildinha Possi in Mar, 28… Read Full Bio ↴A native of São Paulo, Zizi Possi (born as Maria Izildinha Possi in Mar, 28 1956) began learning to play the piano and to sing in her childhood, and later went on to Salvador to study composition and regency. She failed to graduate and, along with her brother, became involved in theater, where she discovered her talent for musicals. She recorded several jingles, and then moved to Rio de Janeiro, where she met Roberto Menescal, the producer who brought her to Polygram. It was with Polygram that she launched her career as a professional singer, recording several discs and appearing on a 1978 Chico Buarque album singing "Pedaço de Mim", her first hit. Her interpretation of "Nunca" (Lupicínio Rodrigues), "Meu Amigo, Meu Herói" (Gilberto Gil), "Asa Morena" (Zé Caradípia) and "Perigo" (Nico Rezende/ Paulinho Lima) granted her a distinguished position within BPM .

She left Polygram in 1990, moved to São Paulo and decided to dedicate herself to a less commercial repertoire than that demanded by her former record label. She put together the show "Sobre Todas as Coisas", backed up by Marcos Suzano (percussion) and Lui Coimbra (violin-cello), with whom she toured Brazil. The show was later recorded by the label Eldorado. In 1993, "Valsa Brasileira", with its slick repertoire and expert technical back-up, was released by the label Velas and helped to put her up amongst the leading names on the MPB scene. In 1997, she recorded "Per Amore" – which was a commercial sensation, with its sales boosted by the title track. The following year, she released "Passione", an album Italian songs, only.

Capim
Zizi Possi Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

Capim do vale
Vara de goiabeira
Na beira do rio
Paro para me benzer
Mгe d’бgua sai um pouquinho
Desse teu leito, ninho
Tenho um carinho
Para lhe fazer

Pinheiros do Paranб
Que bom tк-los
Como areia no mar
Mangas do Parб
Pitombeiras da Borborema
A ema gemeu
No tronco do jurema
Cacique perdeu
Mas lutou, que eu vi
Jari nгo й Deus
Mas acham que sim
Que fim levou o amor

Plantei um pй de fulф
Deu capim

Overall Meaning

The song "Capim" by Zizi Possi depicts the beauty of nature in Brazil. The opening line "Capim do vale" refers to the grass that grows in the valley. The singer then goes on to describe the different elements of nature that she encounters while wandering by the river. She sees a guava tree branch (vara de goiabeira) and stops to bless herself. She asks the goddess of the water (Mгe d'бgua) to allow her to show her affection by moving slightly away from the bank of the river. The next lines talk about some of the other natural wonders that she comes across, like the pine trees from Paranб, the mango and pitomba trees from Parб, and the emu that moans on the trunk of the jurema tree.

The singer briefly shifts focus to mention a fight between a cacique (a native Brazilian leader) and Jari, which she witnessed. Jari is not a god, but some people believe that he is. The final lines in the song reveal a deeper meaning - the singer wonders what happened to love. She planted a crop of beans, but instead, all she got was grass (capim). This is a metaphor for how love is sometimes elusive, just as it is challenging to get a good crop. In essence, "Capim" is a song that immerses the listener in the beauty of Brazil's natural landscape and silently laments the difficulty of finding love.

Line by Line Meaning

Capim do vale
In the valley, there is grass

Vara de goiabeira
A branch of guava tree

Na beira do rio
On the riverbank

Paro para me benzer
I stop to bless myself

Mгe d’бgua sai um pouquinho
Water spirit, come out a little bit

Desse teu leito, ninho
From your bed, nest

Tenho um carinho
I have a fondness

Para lhe fazer
To do something for you

Pinheiros do Paranб
Pine trees of Paranб

Que bom tк-los
How nice to have them

Como areia no mar
Like sand in the sea