Last night I saw a tweet about a Brasilian song called Águas de Março by Elis Regina & Tom Jobim.
The mention of this song triggered a massive flood of memories and feelings for me: a wave of intense saudade. When I lived in Brasil for a year, this was one of the very first songs that I was introduced to. Like the song 'Sampa' by Caetano Veloso, this song never left me.
Where I was living (Santos, Sao Paulo), Elis and Caetano and MPB were everything. Music wasn't just a song in the background or casual entertainment. It was blood. It was life. It was everything.
I spent this morning with this song on repeat: versions on vinyl, youtube live recordings, rare versions like the O Pasquim release that I had dug up years ago.
It's the lyrics that make this song so important. Lyrics that describe so much of everyday Brasilian life. Across the country, Brasilians are still living these stories right now. For me it brought memories, sadness, an intense longing for Brasil. For moments lost. For times past. For days in Brasil with family and friends.
Songs like Águas de Março were the beginning of my hopeless, relentless, absolute obsession with music. Music changed everything for me. It's the only thing I know. The only thing that make sense. My blood. My life.
Thanks Mark. Thanks Elis.