Boa tarde, meu povo! Good afternoon, my people! Estão no clima para um samba? Are you in the mood for some samba?

One of the most popular and iconic músicas (songs) to talk about our country is the legendary Aquarela do Brasil. You have probably ouviu (heard) it before even if you’re not Brazilian! It was escrita (written) by Ary Barroso, a songwriter from the state of Minas Gerais, composed over such a stormy day that the author couldn’t leave his house to party and decided to stay home and make some music. Originally gravada (recorded) in 1939, it was later sung by a number of great artists ranging from Carmen Miranda to Frank Sinatra, João Gilberto, Gal Costa, Caetano Veloso, Elis Regina and Paul Anka. The song was not initially successful, rising to prominence only when it was included in the soundtrack for the 1942 Disney animated film Saludos Amigos. After that, it gained not just national but worldwide recognition, being the first Brazilian song to reach the mark of 1 million plays in the US radios and it has been featured in over trinta (30) movies since then.

Aquarela do Brasil is about Brazil’s many qualidades (qualities), praising our natural resources and riches of our terra (land), celebrating our belezas (beauties), our traditions and our people. Truly nationalist and patriotic, it was criticized at the time for sympathizing with our military dictatorship (a regime that censored any criticism to the country), although the author strongly disagrees with these claims and even counterargues that he also wrote antifascist songs.

Despite of the polemic, Aquarela do Brasil remains as one of the most lasting love songs to Brazil, and it deserves being listened to!

So check out the version by João Gilberto and follow the lyrics:

Aquarela do Brasil | Brazil Watercolor

Brasil!

Brazil!

Meu Brasil Brasileiro

My Brazilian Brazil

Mulato inzoneiro

My good-looking mulatto

Vou cantar-te nos meus versos

I will sing you in my verses

Brasil, samba que dá

Brazil, samba that gives

Bamboleio, que faz gingar

A swing that makes you sway

O Brasil do meu amor

A swing that makes you sway

Terra de Nosso Senhor…

Land of Our Lord…

Abre a cortina do passado

Open the curtain to the past

Tira a mãe preta do cerrado

Take the black mother from the woods

Bota o rei congo no congado

Put the congo king in the congado dance

Canta de novo o trovador

Let the troubador sing again

A merencória à luz da lua

To the melancholy moonlight

Toda canção do seu amor

Every song of your love

Quero ver essa dona caminhando

I want to see this lady walking

Pelos salões arrastando

Through the halls, wearing

O seu vestido rendado…

Her lace dress

Esse coqueiro que dá coco

This palm tree that yields coconuts

Oi! Onde amarro minha rede

Oi! where I tie my hammock

Nas noites claras de luar

On clear moonlit evenings

Por essas fontes murmurantes

For these murmuring fountains

Onde eu mato a minha sede

Where I quench my thirst

Onde a lua vem brincar

Where the moon comes to play

Esse Brasil lindo e trigueiro

This beautiful and wheaten Brazil

É o meu Brasil Brasileiro

Is my Brazilian Brazil

Terra de samba e pandeiro…

Land of samba and tambourine…

Brasil!

Brazil!

Terra boa e gostosa

Good and pleasant land

Da morena sestrosa

Of the beautiful mulatto girl

De olhar indiferente

With the indifferent gaze

Brasil, samba que dá

Brazil, samba that gives

Para o mundo se admirar

Wonder to the world

O Brasil, do meu amor

Brazil of my love

Terra de Nosso Senhor…

Land of Our Lord…

If you’re curious, go to YouTube to see the many other recordings of this song!

Tenham um bom fim de semana! Have a nice weekend!