Getz/Gilberto by Stan Getz & João Gilberto
Released in: 1964
Genre: Bossa Nova & Jazz
It's 1961, and Jazz is losing the popularity war in America. Rock 'n' Roll has taken Swing's spot at the top of the Billboard top charts, with only a few hanger-ons managing to get a hit through the barrage of catchy, poppy Rock Around the Clock and Heartbreak Hotel.
Meanwhile, saxophonist Stan Getz has just gotten a visit from his friend, bassist Don Payne, who had returned from a trip to Brazil. Getz was of the opinion that a craze for innovation had turned Jazz into pompous, complex, chauvinistic egomania. The genre, he said, needed a breath of fresh air.
So when Payne showed Getz the collection of records he'd brought back with him, all featuring this new, exciting musical style, one that joined the danceability of samba with the subtlety of American cool jazz, Stan Getz was immediately taken by this new groove, the so-called “new wave”—Bossa Nova.
Immediately after, in 1962-63, he would record three albums in the style, covering songs from the Brazilian records. The albums were a hit—the first one, Jazz Samba, was a №1 pop hit, and quickly sold one million copies. They were, however, pale imitation. Though they may have occasionally featured some Brazilian musicians, Stan Getz and, most importantly, Creed Taylor, his producer, wanted an album that was a true “historical documentation” of Bossa Nova, and for that, they'd need the pioneers of the genre, the people behind the songs they'd been covering. Those men were João Gilberto and Antônio Carlos Jobim.
The recording was not without its troubles. Certain stylistic differences, such as Gilberto's minimalist playing vs. Getz's penchant for impactful sax solos, led to many disagreements. At one point, Gilberto is said to have said to Jobim, who was working double-time as their interpreter: “Tell this gringo he's an idiot.” Jobim turned to Getz, and dutifully translated: “Stan, João is saying that his dream always was to record with you.”
Still, the record came out, and became so successful as to forever shape the world's understanding of Brazilian music. To put it into perspective, the LP occupied the №1 spot on the Billboard album charts for 96 consecutive weeks, with only the Beatles' A Hard Day's Night being able to knock it off.
Ipanema is a famous neighbourhood and beach in the city of Rio de Janeiro.
Jobim had to fight to keep the reference in, as lyricist Norman Gimbel, who
wrote the English portion of the song, thought the word would mean nothing
to American audiences and harm the song's popularity.
00:07
Look what a beautiful thing, so full of grace
Olha que coisa mais linda, mais cheia de graça
00:12
She's the girl that comes and passes by
É ela a menina que vem e que passa
00:16
With a sweet sway, on her way to the sea
Num doce balanço a caminho do mar
00:22
Girl with her body golden from the Ipanema sun
Moça do corpo dourado do sol de Ipanema
00:27
Her sway is more than a poem
O seu balançado é mais que um poema
00:31
It's the most beautiful thing that I've ever seen pass by
É a coisa mais linda que eu já vi passar
00:37
Ah, why am I so alone?
Ah, por que estou tão sozinho?
00:44
Ah, why is everything so sad?
Ah, por que tudo é tão triste?
00:52
Ah, the beauty that exists
Ah, a beleza que existe
00:59
Beauty that is not just mine
A beleza que não é só minha
01:03
That also passes by alone
Que também passa sozinha
01:07
Ah, if only she knew
Ah, se ela soubesse
01:09
That when she passes by
Que quando ela passa
01:12
The world, smiling, is filled with grace
O mundo sorrindo se enche de graça
01:15
And becomes more beautiful because of love
E fica mais lindo por causa do amor
01:21
Tall and tan and young and lovely
01:25
The girl from Ipanema goes walking
01:29
And when she passes, each one she passes goes ah!
01:36
When she walks she's like a samba
01:39
That swings so cool and sways so gently
01:43
That when she passes, each one she passes goes ah!
01:51
Oh, but he watches so sadly
01:58
How can he tell her he loves her?
02:06
Yes, he would give his heart gladly
02:13
But each day when she walks to the sea
02:16
She looks straight ahead not at him
02:20
Tall and tan and young and lovely
02:24
The girl from Ipanema goes walking
02:28
And when she passes he smiles
02:31
But she doesn't see
(instrumental)
04:17
Oh, but he sees her so sadly
04:25
How can he tell her he loves her?
04:33
Yes, he would give his heart gladly
04:40
But each day when she walks to the sea
04:43
She looks straight ahead not at him
04:47
Tall and tan and young and lovely
04:51
The girl from Ipanema goes walking
04:55
And when she passes he smiles
04:58
But she doesn't see
05:01
She just doesn't see
05:05
No, she doesn't see
05:08
But she doesn't see
05:12
She doesn't see
05:16
No, she doesn't see
A slight change of pace
00:11
Doralice, didn't I tell you?
Doralice eu bem que te disse
00:13
Loving is foolish, it's silly, an illusion
Amar é tolice, é bobagem, ilusão
00:16
I prefer to live alone
Eu prefiro viver tão sozinho
00:19
To the sound of my guitar's lament
Ao som do lamento do meu violão
00:24
Doralice, didn't I tell you?
Doralice eu bem que te disse
00:25
Look at the mess I'll get myself into
Olha essa embrulhada em que vou me meter
00:29
Now, my love, Doralice, my dear
Agora amor, Doralice meu bem
00:32
What are we going to do?
Como é que nós vamos fazer?
00:35
One beautiful day you appeared to me
Um belo dia você me surgiu
00:39
I wanted to flee but you insisted
Eu quis fugir mas você insistiu
00:42
Something had been warning me
Alguma coisa bem que andava me avisando
00:45
It was almost like I could guess it
Até parece que eu estava adivinhando
00:51
I didn't want to marry you
Eu bem que não queria me casar contigo
00:52
I didn't want to face this danger, Doralice
Bem que não queria enfrentar esse perigo Doralice
01:01
Now you got to tell me
Agora você tem que me dizer
01:09
What are we going to do?
Como é que nós vamos fazer?
00:11
It's been a year and a half, love
Tá fazendo um ano e meio, amor
00:18
Since our home fell apart
Que o nosso lar desmoronou
00:26
My bird, my guitar
Meu sabiá, meu violão
00:33
And a cruel delusion were all that remained
E uma cruel desilusão foi tudo que ficou
00:43
Remained to hurt my heart
Ficou pra machucar meu coração
00:55
It's been a year and a half, love
Tá fazendo um ano e meio, amor
01:01
Since our home fell apart
Que o nosso lar desmoronou
01:09
My bird, my guitar
Meu sabiá, meu violão
01:17
And a cruel delusion were all that remained
E uma cruel desilusão foi tudo que ficou
01:27
Remained to hurt my heart
Ficou pra machucar meu coração
01:39
Who knows, maybe it was better this way
Quem sabe, não foi bem melhor assim
01:46
Better for you and better for me
Melhor pra você e melhor pra mim
01:52
Life is a school where we must learn
A vida é uma escola que a gente precisa aprender
02:01
The science of living so as not to suffer
A ciência de viver pra não sofrer
00:04
When you tell me I go out of tune, love
Se você disser que eu desafino amor
00:10
Know that this causes me immense pain
Saiba que isto em mim provoca imensa dor
00:16
Only the privileged have ears like yours
Só privilegiados tem o ouvido igual ao seu
00:23
I have only what God gave to me
Eu possuo apenas o que deus me deu
00:30
If you insist on categorizing
Se você insiste em classificar
00:36
My behaviour as anti-musical
Meu comportamento de anti-musical
00:43
Even if lying, I must argue
Eu mesmo mentindo devo argumentar
00:50
That this is Bossa Nova, that this is very natural
Que isto é Bossa Nova, que isto é muito natural
00:56
What you don't know, and never suspected
O que você não sabe nem sequer pressente
01:03
Is that the out of tune ones also have a heart
É que os desafinados também tem um coração
01:09
I photographed you with my Rolleiflex
Old line of analog cameras
Fotografei você na minha Rolleiflex
01:15
And your great ingratitude was revealed
To “develop” a photo in Portuguese is to “reveal” it—a pun
Revelou-se a sua enorme ingratidão
01:23
The only person you can't talk like this about is my love
Só não poderá falar assim do meu amor
01:30
He's the greatest you can find
Ele é o maior que você pode encontrar
01:35
You, with your music, forgot the main thing
Você com a sua música esqueceu o principal
01:42
That in the chest of the out of tune ones
Que no peito dos desafinados
01:45
The bottom of the chest
Do fundo do peito
01:49
It beats silently, that in the chest of the out of tunes
Bate calado, que no peito dos desafinados
01:52
Also beats a heart
Também bate um coração
Intro sung by Astrud Gilberto. The Corcovado is a mountain in the city of Rio
de Janeiro, famous for the statue located at its peak, Christ the Redeemer.
00:01
Quiet nights of quiet stars
00:05
Quiet chords from my guitar
00:08
Floating on the silence that surrounds us
00:14
Quiet thoughts and quiet dreams
00:18
Quiet walks by quiet streams
00:22
And a window that looks out on Corcovado
00:28
Oh, how lovely
(instrumental)
01:33
I want life to always be like this
Quero a vida sempre assim
01:37
With you close to me
Com você perto de mim
01:41
Until the snuffing of the old flame
Até o apagar da velha chama
01:47
And I, that used to be sad
E eu que era triste
01:52
And did not believe in the world
Descrente desse mundo
01:55
After meeting you I understood
Ao encontrar você eu conheci
02:02
What happiness was, my love
O que é felicidade, meu amor
00:05
I only dance Samba
Só danço samba
00:07
I only dance Samba
Só danço samba
00:09
Go, go, go, go, go
Vai, vai, vai, vai, vai
00:11
I only dance Samba
Só danço samba
00:13
I only dance Samba
Só danço samba
00:14
Go
Vai
00:17
I only dance Samba
Só danço samba
00:18
I only dance Samba
Só danço samba
00:20
Go, go, go, go, go
Vai, vai, vai, vai, vai
00:23
I only dance Samba
Só danço samba
00:24
I only dance Samba
Só danço samba
00:26
Go
Vai
00:28
I've danced the twist a lot
Já dancei o twist até demais
00:35
But I don't know, I got tired
Mas não sei, me cansei
00:37
Of everything, from calypso to cha-cha-cha
Do calipso ao chá-chá-chá
00:40
I only dance Samba
Só danço samba
00:41
I only dance Samba
Só danço samba
00:43
Go, go, go, go, go
Vai, vai, vai, vai, vai
00:46
I only dance Samba
Só danço samba
00:48
I only dance Samba
Só danço samba
00:49
Go
Vai
01:10
Come what may
Haja o que houver
01:16
There's always a man for a woman
Há sempre um homem para uma mulher
01:24
And there will always be, to be forgetten
E há de sempre haver para esquecer
01:30
A false love and a wish for death
Um falso amor e uma vontade de morrer
01:37
However it is, the great love shall win
Seja como for, há de vencer o grande amor
02:01
That shall be in the heart
Que há de ser no coração
02:04
As forgiveness to those that cried
Como perdão pra quem chorou
00:00
I'm always dreaming, dreaming
Vivo sonhando, sonhando
00:02
For a thousand hours on end
Mil horas sem fim
00:06
Time in which I ask myself
Tempo em que vou perguntando
00:09
If you like me
Se gostas de mim
00:13
Time to speak of the stars
Tempo de falar em estrelas
00:16
Speak of the sea, of a sky like this
Falar de um mar, de um céu assim
00:20
Speak of the good things I have
Falar do bem que se tem
00:22
But you don't come, don't come
Mas você não vem, não vem
00:27
If you don't come, don't come
Você não vindo, não vindo
00:29
Life will have an end
A vida tem fim
00:33
People laughing, talking
Gente se rindo, falando
00:35
Making fun of me
Zombando de mim
00:39
And me, talking about stars
E eu a falar em estrelas
00:44
Sea, love, moonlight
Mar, amor, luar
00:46
Poor me
Pobre de mim
00:48
That only knows to love you
Que só sei te amar