Chega de Saudade

Album: Chega de Saudade (1957)
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • Widely regarded as the first recorded bossa nova song, "Chega de Saudade" was written by Antonio Carlos Jobim and Vinícius de Moraes and first recorded by Joao Gilberto on guitar with singer Elizete Cardoso in 1957. Two years later, Gilberto re-recorded the song with a simpler arrangement for his debut album, Chega de Saudade, causing a sensation when the melodic, samba-influenced groove hit Brazilian radio.
  • The Portuguese-language love tune finds the lonely narrator desperately hoping his lover will return. Vinícius de Moraes admitted he struggled writing the lyrics because of "the arduousness of trying to fit the words into a melodic structure with so many comings and goings."
  • By the early '60s, the bossa nova craze crossed over to the US with loads of popular singers borrowing the cool sway of the genre for a number of hits, including Eydie Gorme with "Blame It On The Bossa Nova" and Elvis Presley with "Bossa Nova Baby." But it was another Jobim/de Moraes collaboration the marked the peak of the bossa nova fervor: "The Girl From Ipanema," sung by Gilberto's then-wife Astrud Gilberto.
  • The lyrics for the English version, titled "No More Blues," was written by jazz singer/songwriter Jon Hendricks and music publisher Howard S. Richmond (under the pseudonym Jessie Cavanaugh).
  • Frank Sinatra, accompanied by Jobim, recorded this for his 1967 album Francis Albert Sinatra & Antonio Carlos Jobim. The bossa nova-influenced pop album was nominated for the Grammy Award for Album of the Year but lost to The Beatles' Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band.
  • "Mission: Impossible" composer Lalo Schifrin recorded this for his 1962 album Bossa Nova: New Brazilian Jazz.
  • Gilberto's version was entered into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 2000.
  • This inspired the 2007 Brazilian-French movie of the same name. Directed by Lais Bodanzky, the romantic drama centers around a group of elderly people who frequent a ballroom in Sao Paulo.

Comments

Be the first to comment...

Editor's Picks

Chris Rea

Chris ReaSongwriter Interviews

It took him seven years to recover from his American hit "Fool (If You Think It's Over)," but Chris Rea became one of the top singer-songwriters in his native UK.

Early Days of MTV

Early Days of MTVFact or Fiction

If you can recall the days when MTV played videos, you know that there are lots of stories to tell. See if you can spot the real ones.

Gavin Rossdale of Bush

Gavin Rossdale of BushSongwriter Interviews

On the "schizoid element" of his lyrics, and a famous line from "Everything Zen."

Shaun Morgan of Seether

Shaun Morgan of SeetherSongwriter Interviews

Shaun breaks down the Seether songs, including the one about his brother, the one about Ozzy, and the one that may or may not be about his ex-girlfriend Amy Lee.

Song Titles That Inspired Movies

Song Titles That Inspired MoviesSong Writing

Famous songs that lent their titles - and in some cases storylines - to movies.

The Fratellis

The FratellisSongwriter Interviews

Jon Fratelli talks about the band's third album, and the five-year break leading up to it.