The Girl from Ipanema
The Girl from Ipanema (A Garota de Ipanema) is usually known as the best-known bossa nova song ever written, and was a worldwide hit in the mid-1960s. It was written in 1962, with music by Antonio Carlos Jobim and Portuguese lyrics by Vinicius de Moraes; English lyrics were later written by Norman Gimbel.
It is often claimed to be the second-most recorded popular song in history, topped only by The Beatles' "Yesterday". The best-known version is that performed by Stan Getz and Astrud Gilberto, from the 1963 album Getz/Gilberto.
Background
The song was inspired by Heloísa Eneida Menezes Paes Pinto (or simply, Helô Pinheiro), an 18-year-old girl who lived on Montenegro street in the fashionable Ipanema district of Rio de Janiero. Every day, she would stroll past the popular "Veloso" bar-cafe on the way to the beach, attracting the attention of regulars Jobim and Moraes.
The song was originally composed for a musical comedy entitled "Dirigível" (Blimp), which was a work in progress of Vinícius de Moraes. The original title was "Menina que Passa" (The Girl Who Passes By), and the famous first verse was completly different.
In Revelação: a verdadeira Garota de Ipanema (Revealed: The Real Girl from Ipanema) Moraes wrote that she was:
- o paradigma do bruto carioca; a moça dourada, misto de flor e sereia, cheia de luz e de graça mas cuja a visão é também triste, pois carrega consigo, a caminho do mar, o sentimento da que passa, da beleza que não é só nossa - é um dom da vida em seu lindo e melancólico fluir e refluir constante.
which roughly translates to:
- the paradigm of the rude Carioca; golden, mixing flower and sereia, full of brightness and grace, but with a touch of sadness evocative of the ways of the sea, of feelings that pass by, of the beautiful and melancholy that is always ebbing and flowing.
Today, "Montenegro Street" is called "Vinícius de Moraes Street", and the "Veloso Bar" is named "A Garota de Ipanema". There is also a Garota de Ipanema Park in the nearby Arpoador neighborhood.