At the age of seven, Bebel made an appearance on her mother's first solo album Miúcha. At age nine, Bebel performed with her mother and jazz saxophonist Stan Getz at a jazz festival in New York's Carnegie Hall. Back in Brazil, Bebel performed and recorded for the soundtrack of the children's musical Os Saltimbancos, written by Sergio Bardotti and Chico Buarque. Later on Bebel joined an experimental theatrical group and was a member of the founding team of the performance space Circo Voador (Flying Circus) at Ipanema Beach. In this group she met singer/songwriter Cazuza, who became a close friend and soon a major rock star in Brazil during the 1980s.
Throughout the 1990s, Bebel collaborated with a variety of musical stars such as Arto Lindsay, Thievery Corporation, David Byrne, Towa Tei, Caetano Veloso and Chico Buarque. In 1996 Bebel was featured in the AIDS charity project Red Hot + Rio, produced by her close friend and collaborator Béco Dranoff. By the mid 1990s, Bebel also had successes as songwriter with the international dance hits "Technova" and "Batucada" in collaboration with producers Towa Tei and Arto Lindsay.
Bebel was featured on the soundtrack of Brad Anderson's film Next Stop Wonderland with Vinicius Cantuária and Mauro Refosco. In the late 1990s, Bebel moved to London where she began to develop the sound featured on her critically acclaimed debut album Tanto Tempo. During this period, she met Suba, the multi-talented Serbian producer living in São Paulo who ended up writing and producing several tracks on Tanto Tempo. While in London, she also worked with DJ/producer Amon Tobin, Dutch duo Arling & Cameron and singer Nina Miranda.
In 2000, Bebel's Tanto Tempo album was released on Ziriguiboom (Crammed Discs sub-label) and has sold over one million copies worldwide. The album was also nominated for two Latin Grammy Awards. Her second album, Bebel Gilberto (2004), was also released to great critical acclaim, receiving a MOBO Award in the UK and also a World Music Grammy nomination.
Also in 2006, Bebel started writing and producing the songs that would become part of her third album Momento, released in April 2007. On this album, Bebel collaborated with UK producer Guy Sigsworth, her friends Didi Gutman and Sabina Sciubba (from NY based band Brazilian Girls) and the Rio based Orquestra Imperial.
Gilberto's most recent album, All In One, was released in the US in September 2009 by jazz imprint Verve.
Desafinado
bebel gilberto Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Saiba que isso em mim provoca imensa dor
Só privilegiados tem ouvido igual ao seu
Eu possuo apenas o que Deus me deu
Se você insiste em classificar
O meu comportamento de anti-musical
Eu mesmo mentindo devo argumentar
Isso é muito natural
O que você não sabe, nem sequer pressente
É que os desafinados também tem um coração
Fotografei você na minha Rolleiflex
Revelou-se a sua enorme ingratidão
Só não poderá falar assim do meu amor
Que ele é o maior que você pode encontrar, viu
Você com a sua música esqueceu o principal
Que no peito dos desafinados
No fundo do peito bate calado
No peito dos desafinados também bate um coração
Se você disser que eu desafino amor
Saiba que isso em mim provoca imensa dor
Só privilegiados tem ouvido igual ao seu
Eu possuo apenas o que Deus me deu
Se você insiste em classificar
Meu comportamento de anti-musical
Eu mesmo mentindo devo argumentar
Que isso é bossa-nova
Isso é muito natural
O que você não sabe, nem sequer pressente
É que os desafinados também tem um coração
Fotografei você na minha Rolleiflex
Revelou-se a sua enorme ingratidão
Só não poderá falar assim do meu amor
Que ele é o maior que você pode encontrar, viu
Você com a sua música esqueceu o principal
Que no peito dos desafinados
No fundo do peito bate calado
No peito dos desafinados também bate um coração
The lyrics of Bebel Gilberto's song "Desafinado" convey a message of self-acceptance and the beauty of imperfection. The song starts with the line "If you say that I'm off-key, my love, know that it causes immense pain in me." Here, the singer acknowledges the criticism they receive for not conforming to society's standards of musical perfection. They express the hurt that comes from being judged for their natural way of singing or expressing themselves.
The lyrics continue to defend their individuality, stating that being "off-key" is a natural characteristic of the bossa nova genre. They argue that their behavior, which others may classify as "anti-musical," is simply an expression of the unique and authentic art form they belong to. The singer even mentions that those who are off-key also have a heart, suggesting that being different does not diminish their capacity for love and emotion.
The second part of the song introduces the metaphor of photography with the line "I photographed you with my Rolleiflex." It symbolizes the realization of the other person's ingratitude or lack of appreciation for the singer's love. However, the singer asserts that their love is greater than any judgment or criticism they may face. They emphasize that deep within the hearts of those who are considered "desafinados" (off-key) also beats a silent heart, implying that even those who don't fit societal norms have the same capacity for love and emotion.
Overall, "Desafinado" celebrates the uniqueness and authenticity of the off-key, reminding listeners that everyone, regardless of their flaws, deserves love and understanding.
Line by Line Meaning
Se você disser que eu desafino amor
If you say that I sing out of tune, my love
Saiba que isso em mim provoca imensa dor
Know that it causes immense pain in me
Só privilegiados tem ouvido igual ao seu
Only privileged ones have ears like yours
Eu possuo apenas o que Deus me deu
I possess only what God gave me
Se você insiste em classificar
If you insist on classifying
O meu comportamento de anti-musical
My behavior as anti-musical
Eu mesmo mentindo devo argumentar
Even if I lie, I must argue
Isso é bossa-nova
That is bossa nova
Isso é muito natural
That is very natural
O que você não sabe, nem sequer pressente
What you don't know, not even sense
É que os desafinados também tem um coração
Is that the out-of-tune ones also have a heart
Fotografei você na minha Rolleiflex
I photographed you with my Rolleiflex
Revelou-se a sua enorme ingratidão
Your enormous ingratitude was revealed
Só não poderá falar assim do meu amor
You cannot speak like that about my love
Que ele é o maior que você pode encontrar, viu
That it is the greatest you can find, you see
Você com a sua música esqueceu o principal
You, with your music, forgot the main thing
Que no peito dos desafinados
That in the hearts of the out-of-tune ones
No fundo do peito bate calado
Deep inside, beats silently
No peito dos desafinados também bate um coração
In the hearts of the out-of-tune ones, a heart also beats
Lyrics © Editora e Importadora Musical Fermata do Brasil Ltda., CORCOVADO MUSIC CORPORATION, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: Newton Mendonca, Tom Jobim
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind