Meditation

This piece of bossa nova moves between calm and a rhythm that invites you to close your eyes. The main melody flows with that typical cadence of Jobim, where each note seems to breathe at the same time as the listener. The curious thing is that, although it was born in Portuguese, its English version —with lyrics by Norman Gimbel— became a standard for voices like those of Frank Sinatra or Andy Williams. That speaks to its ability to cross borders without losing its essence.

The idea emerged in the 1960s, when Jobim and his lyricist Newton Mendonça were working in Rio. Recorded in 1963, the song has an exact duration of three minutes and fifteen seconds, just enough time for the harmony and counterpoint between the guitar and piano to unfold without haste. Beyond Brazil, it also left its mark in Finland: Olavi Virta adapted it with lyrics by Saukki as "Hymy, kukka ja rakkaus", and years later, Erkki Liikanen covered it as "Taas on hiljaisuus". It’s a song that, without intending to, ended up being part of the Real Book, that jazz catalog featuring compositions that musicians play over and over again.