Águas de Março – Elis Regina and Tom Jobim – Aguas de Marco – Waters of March

August 26, 2009 - 9:41 pm 21 Comments

For stereo, click here: http://vimeo.com/6112209

“Águas de Março” is a Brazilian song composed by Antonio Carlos Jobim. Jobim wrote both the English and Portuguese lyrics. The lyrics do not tell a story, but rather present a series of images that form a collage; nearly every line starts with “É…” (”[It] is…”). In both the Portuguese and English versions of the lyrics, “it” is a stick, a stone, a sliver of glass, a scratch, a cliff, a knot in the wood, a fish, a pin, the end of the road,” and many other things, although some specific references to Brazilian culture (festa da eeira, garrafa de cana), flora (peroba do campo) and folklore (Matita Pereira) were intentionally omitted from the English version, perhaps with the goal of providing a more universal perspective.

All these details swirling around the central metaphor of “the waters of March” can give the impression of the passing of daily life and its continual, inevitable progression towards death, just as the rains of March mark the end of a Brazilian summer. Both sets of lyrics speak of the water being “the promise of life,” perhaps allowing for other, more life-affirming interpretations, and the English contains the additional phrases “the joy in your heart” and the “promise of spring,” a seasonal reference that would be more relevant to most of the English-speaking world.

The inspiration for “Águas de Março” comes from Rio de Janeiro’s rainiest month. March is typically marked by sudden storms with heavy rains and strong winds that cause flooding in many places around the city. The lyrics and the music have a constant downward progression much like the water torrent from those rains flowing in the gutters, which typically would carry sticks, stones, bits of glass, and almost everything and anything. The orchestration creates the illusion of the constant descending of notes much like Shepard tones.
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Duration : 0:3:23


[youtube tHEQ-m4KSaQ]

21 Responses to “Águas de Março – Elis Regina and Tom Jobim – Aguas de Marco – Waters of March”

  1. elsandino Says:

    the very best
    the very best

  2. TheEdSS Says:

    É do Brasillllll!!! …
    É do Brasillllll!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

  3. rafaelsouzasp79 Says:

    There’s no such a …
    There’s no such a thing as “useless grammar rules”. Every grammar rule in Portuguese has a reason to be. When you don’t know the rules, you don’t speak properly. And, of course, it looks like other latin languages. It do find Spanish and Italian easier to pronounce, but that’s because there’s a lot in common amongst those languages. French, on the other hand, is also Latin and their words resemble Portuguese, but they pronounce in a very different way.

  4. shogunsetsu Says:

    portuguese is a …
    portuguese is a … too many useless grammar rules
    easier to spell than english, at least
    and looks a lot like spanish or italian or such
    That said…

    UAU!!! BAND 25 ANOS!!! xD

  5. ca2188 Says:

    Same here!
    I love …

    Same here!
    I love it! Portuguese is SUCH a beautiful language

  6. RidgeYorkCity Says:

    is their a radio …
    is their a radio station that gives anyof this!!!!
    plzzz tell me

  7. radiobeefan Says:

    BEST SONG EVER
    BEST SONG EVER

  8. ca2188 Says:

    beautiful
    beautiful

  9. fsukarlarenee Says:

    I First Heard This …
    I First Heard This Song In St. Thomas Laying In A Hammock Listening To Satellite Radio Smoking A Blunt . . . I Remember Instantly Wanting To Hear It Again, And Again . . . JOBIM IS KING ! * Elis Regina Is Smoking A Cigarette And Singing On Cue With Jobim . . . TOO COOL OF HER ! ! !

  10. ENelmakinmoves Says:

    lol jobim was such …
    lol jobim was such a jokester in his time, and he sure could lay down a tune. definately had the right idea, cheers for the video, this version is special and seeing the chemistry between jobim and regina is heartwarming

  11. holyhabadasheree Says:

    This song makes me …
    This song makes me want to learn Portuguese. I’ve already started by trying to memorize these lyrics, listening to the song over and over again, and watching the video. Beautiful.

  12. fuckthebuck007 Says:

    I always liked the …
    I always liked the laughing in this song. now I also can see them sing: great, tanx……

  13. elbuffalobill Says:

    I like almos all …
    I like almos all king of music of all times 70s,80s 90s, and thsi is one of the best songs ever

  14. evanssmieze Says:

    hermosa vozz ^^
    hermosa vozz ^^

  15. snarlydwarf Says:

    exactly,. …
    exactly,. kevjoewalsh. The first time I heard this version of the song (from ‘Elis e Tom’), I fell in love with Elis: that smile and laughter as she sings is what makes this song so perfect.

    This video is so great because you can see her smile and laughter as well as hearing it.

  16. Belson20 Says:

    carioca accent …
    carioca accent Rules!!

  17. ronnyalves1506 Says:

    espetacular
    espetacular

  18. zigdrim Says:

    Antologico!!! Duas …
    Antologico!!! Duas sumidades quando se juntam, pronto, é o máximo!!!

  19. kamikase87 Says:

    yeah is beautiful
    yeah is beautiful

  20. stynred Says:

    beautiful song,
    beautiful song,

  21. kevjoewalsh Says:

    I love how you when …
    I love how you when people smile you can hear it in their voice.

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