Águas de Março

People have asked what the heck is "The Waters of March" ? Why that song? Here is the explanation from Wikipedia

• "Waters of March" ("Águas de Março") is a bossa nova song composed by Antonio Carlos Jobim. Jobim wrote both the English lyrics and Portuguese lyrics. When writing the English lyrics, Jobim avoided words with Latin roots resulting in the English version having more verses.

  In 2001 Brazil's leading daily newspaper polled more than 200 Brazilian journalists, musicians and other artists to name the all-time best Brazilian song; Águas de Março won.

  The song lyrics do not tell a story, but rather present a series of images that form a collage; nearly every line starts with "É...", in the Portuguese language, or "It's..." — the equivalent in the English language. Everything mentioned in the song is referred back to "the waters of March" or spring waters. The waters of March are a metaphor for the passing of daily life and its continual, inevitable progression towards death.

  The music has a constant downward progression much like spring waters flowing from the mountains as spring runoff into the ocean when the ice melts. The orchestration creates the illusion of the constant descending of notes much like Shepard tones.

  The song was used by Coca-Cola for a television commercial in the mid-1970s.Guitarist Oscar Castro-Neves relates that Jobim told him that writing in this kind of stream of consciousness was his version of therapy and saved him thousands in psychoanalysis bills.

Also, since I was born in March, to me it has a more poignant meaning. Although many people have sang it, below is the definitive version, by the the wonderful Elis Regina and incomparable Antonio Carlos Jobim.

• Águas de Março É pau, é pedra, é o fim do caminho É um resto de toco, é um pouco sozinho É um caco de vidro, é a vida, é o sol É a noite, é a morte, é um laço, é o anzol É peroba do campo, é o nó da madeira Caingá, candeia, é o Matita Pereira É madeira de vento, tombo da ribanceira É o mistério profundo, é o queira ou não queira É o vento ventando, é o fim da ladeira É a viga, é o vão, festa da cumeeira É a chuva chovendo, é conversa ribeira Das águas de março, é o fim da canseira É o pé, é o chão, é a marcha estradeira Passarinho na mão, pedra de atiradeira É uma ave no céu, é uma ave no chão É um regato, é uma fonte, é um pedaço de pão É o fundo do poço, é o fim do caminho No rosto o desgosto, é um pouco sozinho É um estrepe, é um prego, é uma conta, é um conto É uma ponta, é um ponto, é um pingo pingando É um peixe, é um gesto, é uma prata brilhando É a luz da manhã, é o tijolo chegando É a lenha, é o dia, é o fim da picada É a garrafa de cana, o estilhaço na estrada É o projeto da casa, é o corpo na cama É o carro enguiçado, é a lama, é a lama É um passo, é uma ponte, é um sapo, é uma rã É um resto de mato, na luz da manhã São as águas de março fechando o verão É a promessa de vida no teu coração É uma cobra, é um pau, é João, é José É um espinho na mão, é um corte no pé É um passo, é uma ponte, é um sapo, é uma rã É um belo horizonte, é uma febre terçã São as águas de março fechando o verão É a promessa de vida no teu coração

  Waters of March A stick, a stone, It's the end of the road, It's the rest of a stump, It's a little alone It's a sliver of glass, It is life, it's the sun, It is night, it is death, It's a trap, it's a gun The oak when it blooms, A fox in the brush, A knot in the wood, The song of a thrush The wood of the wind, A cliff, a fall, A scratch, a lump, It is nothing at all It's the wind blowing free, It's the end of the slope, It's a beam, it's a void, It's a hunch, it's a hope And the river bank talks of the waters of March, It's the end of the strain, The joy in your heart The foot, the ground, The flesh and the bone, The beat of the road, A slingshot's stone A fish, a flash, A silvery glow, A fight, a bet, The range of a bow The bed of the well, The end of the line, The dismay in the face, It's a loss, it's a find A spear, a spike, A point, a nail, A drip, a drop, The end of the tale A truckload of bricks in the soft morning light, The shot of a gun in the dead of the night A mile, a must, A thrust, a bump, It's a girl, it's a rhyme, It's a cold, it's the mumps The plan of the house, The body in bed, And the car that got stuck, It's the mud, it's the mud Afloat, adrift, A flight, a wing, A hawk, a quail, The promise of spring And the riverbank talks of the waters of March, It's the promise of life It's the joy in your heart A stick, a stone, It's the end of the road It's the rest of a stump, It's a little alone A snake, a stick, It is John, it is Joe, It's a thorn in your hand and a cut in your toe A point, a grain, A bee, a bite, A blink, a buzzard, A sudden stroke of night A pin, a needle, A sting, a pain, A snail, a riddle, A wasp, a stain A pass in the mountains, A horse and a mule, In the distance the shelves rode three shadows of blue And the riverbank talks of the waters of March, It's the promise of life in your heart, in your heart A stick, a stone, The end of the road, The rest of a stump, A lonesome road A sliver of glass, A life, the sun, A knife, a death, The end of the run And the riverbank talks of the waters of March, It's the end of all strain, It's the joy in your heart.

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  Listen to Jobim sing this beautiful song

  Love Jobim? Go here

  
  

  Note: You will note that the English translation is longer than the original Portuguese version. Jobim added lyrics to the song when it made the transition to English. If you speak Portuguese, you will also notice that some of the English lyrics bear no resemblance to the original lyrics. For example, the beautiful fourth stanza more properly translates to "It is wood that resists the wind, the falls of the riverbank, it's the profound mystery, it's wanting or not wanting." You can find more faithful (but perhaps less lyrical) translations, such as this one or this one. In each case, however, both the original lyrics and translations are flawed. Regarding the original lyrics, trust those offered at the Jobim fan site (which are the ones offered on this page). This translation is a little better, (and you can read about the results of selecting the best Brazilian song of all time ... guess first, of course). Regrettably, no translation can do justice to the original lyrics. You've just got to learn Portuquese .

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