Tuesday, April 4, 2023

2015 Àguas de março SANT ANDREU JAZZ BAND ALBA ARMENGOU RITA PAYES JOEL ... and The Girl From Ipanema, Portuguese language, Brazilian weather


This is the earliest and slowest of two recordings of this song, which my family found on the internet.

Portuguese language songs. I looked up the words in Portuguese of the band's song Triste, then translated it into English. 
the song doesn't really go anywhere. Many of this genre are just reptitions of the theme of love or unrequited love, romance, mood and the weather.

If you are not into Jazz, or think you are not, let me explain how my attitude has evolved.  As a teenager, I liked music with a pronounced beat which I and partners could dance to. I like ballads and songs which told a story, were affirmative rather than negative. I was happy with trad jazz songs, such as When the Saints go marching in.  But I was bored and confused by modern jazz. Now that has changed.

Jazz seemed a waste of time because it seems to lack what to me were the essential qualities of both the music and the words.  My husband is a jazz fan and enlightened me about modern jazz. 

Let's start with one of the most recorded songs which you probably know, or should know, which is a Brazilian popular song and jazz and bossa nova..

'The Girl from Ipanema" (Portuguese title "Garota de Ipanema") is one of the most recorded songs of all time, allegedly only second to The Beatles' "Yesterday," as well as one of the most famous bossa nova jazz songs ever.' Frank Sinatra, Madonna and Amy Winehouse have sung versions of it.

Bossa nova means new trend or new wave.  Nova, new. The adjective new comes after the noun in Portuguese.  Bossa nova was derived from samba, with more added.

Samba had lots of percussion and flambuoyant costumes, reminiscent of Rio's carnival.

Samba started in the early 1900s. Bossa Nova took over in the 1950s and 1960s. The Girl from Ipanema was created in 1962 by a song-writing pair, a musical partnership. Composer Tom Jobin. Lyrics (words) by Vinicius de Moraes. 


The girl who inspired the song can be seen in Wikipedia and various articles about the song and her.

If you ever visit Brazil, Madeira or Portugal, these words from maps, signs and songs will be useful.

 Handy English- Portuguese translations

Portuguese - English
aguas - waters/rainfall
amor - love
avenida - avenue
casa - house
castelo - castle
de - of
eu - I
Eu te amo - I love you (literally I you love, subject, object, verb)
jardim - garden
Marca - March (noun, the month)
meu - me/mine
nova - new
pinheiro - pine tree, pine tree forest (Place name)
ponte - bridge
porto - harbour
rio - river
rua - street
torre -  tower
triste - sad 

English - Portuguese
avenida - avenue
bridge - ponte
castle - castelo
garden - jardim
harbour - porto
house - casa
I - eu
love - amor
me/mine - meu
new - nova
of - de
old - velha (feminine) velho (masculine)
pine tree/pine tree forest - pinheiro
rain - aguas
river - rio
sad - triste (the same word in French)
street - rua
tower - torre

Useful Websites






The girl from Ipanama, in Brazil. Helo Pinheiro.

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