A new generation of composers

Yesterday I interviewed some young cats from a new generation of sambistas that are writing incredible songs. The location is the mythic Pedra do Sal. You can see the famous granite hillside with the steps carved into the stone that leads up to the Morro da Conceição.

In the video clip above are composers Mingo (in the hat), Juninho Tibal, and later joined by legendary Chiquinho Vírgula. These are all nicknames, by the way. For those who don't speak Portuguese, in the first minute, Juninho and Mingo talk about their love of composing and playing samba. Juninho, in his wise 21 years of age, says something that I thought was incredibly poetic:

"When the seed is truly pure, you plant it and it will grow... People will come along and try to destroy it, but it will grow back..."

These three are partners, having written many songs together. In the second part Chiquinho Vírgula talks about his tremendous success with songs like "Fases do Amor" (recorded by Fundo de Quintal on their third LP from 1983) and "Insensato Destino" (recorded by various artists, first by Almir Guinéto in 1985, and later by Zeca Pagodinho, Alcione and FdQ). Again, translations do not do the songs justice. There is just something about romantic sambas like these that is just inherently better in Portuguese...

I wish I had recordings of songs by Juninho and Mingo to share with you, but I only have two of Chiquinho's biggest hits mentioned above. I particularly love the phrasing and the rhythm of the words in "Fases do Amor"... Also, only in samba will you find a word like "successively" used with such rhyme and rhythm...!


"Fases do Amor" (Chiquinho/Marquinho PQD/Fernando Piolho)
from the album Nos Pagodes da Vida (1983) by Fundo de Quintal

O primeiro amor enche de alegria
Qualquer coração em nossa vida
A mais doce ilusão, a mais doce ilusão
quando na infância se vê de repente
A ingênua visão do amor
Quando a gente cresce, ele esmorece
Não tem mais valor

No segundo amor, tudo modifica
É bem diferente, a inocência vai
vem a experiência pra nos completar
Se aprende a viver
Já não se ilude com qualquer prazer
Do primeiro amor o que ficou pra trás
Não há mais ferida

E assim sucessivamente
Então virão novas aventuras
Não devemos ir fundo
Porque nesse mundo de desilusões
Tem tantas falsas juras colhendo
Amarguras para os corações

***
"Phases of Love"
The first love fills with joy
Any heart in our lives
The sweetest illusion, the sweetest illusion
When in youth we suddenly see
The ingenuous vision of love
When we grow older, it fades
No longer has any value

The second love, everything changes
It's very different, innocence goes
Experience comes to complete us
You learn to live
We don't get fooled by any pleasure
From the first love left behind
There are no remaining wounds

And so, successively
New adventures will come
We shouldn't go deep
Because in this world of disillusions
There are so many false vows collecting
Bitterness for the heart
***

The following song, recorded by several major label artists, is an enormous hit. It is one of those songs that everyone knows the words to at any given samba.


"Insensato Destino" (Acyr Marques/Chiquinho/Mauricio Lins)
from the live album Samba de Raiz 3 - Ao Vivo (2003)

Ó insensato destino pra quê
Tanta desilusão no meu viver
Eu quero apenas ser feliz ao menos uma vez
E conseguir o acalanto da paixão
Fui desprezado e magoado, por alguém que abordou meu coração

Destino, porque fazes assim, tenha pena de mim
Veja bem, não mereço sofrer
Quero apenas um dia poder, viver num mar de felicidade
Com alguém que me ame de verdade

***
"Senseless Destiny"
Oh, senseless destiny, why
So much disillusion in my life
I only want to be happy, just once
And feel the embrace of passion
I've been hurt and cheated, by someone that stole my heart

Destiny, why you do this, have pity on me
See that I don't deserve to suffer
I only want one day to live in a sea of happiness
With someone that truly loves me

***
Wonderful guys who have made me a part of their family. I am honored.