João e Maria is a classic Brazilian waltz launched in the decade 1970 by Chico Buarque de Holanda, a well-known pop music composer in Brazil.
🎧 ABOUT THE SONG
The song’s melody was composed by Sivuca(Severino Dias de Oliveira) in 1940, the year Chico Buarque was born. After almost 30 years, in 1976, Sivuca sent Chico an audiotape with the song. Chico Buarque heard the waltz and composed lyrics for it. According to him, based on a dialogue between children.
The song reminds Chico’s childhood, so he wrote the music lyrics as a fairy tale. João and Maria are characters in the well-known fairy tale written by the Brothers Grimm and published in 1882 in Germany. The original children’s names are Hansel and Gretel which were translated as João and Maria ( John and Mary) when it was published in Portuguese.
“João e Maria” song was recorded by the singer Nara Leão, released on the album “Os Meus Amigos São Um Barato”, in 1977, which featured the participation of Chico and Sivuca – the first in the duet, the second playing the accordion
The song ended up popularized by the soap opera “Dancin’ Days”, from Rede Globo and later in 2012 in another novel “Carrossel” in Larissa Manoelas’ voice.
Vídeo
The following arrangement for the guitar was composed by Fernando Neves in fingerstyle and it is in the key of E minor, Time Signature 3/4 and 95 bpm.
🅻🆈🆁🅸🅲🆂
(Portuguese – original)
by Chico Buarque de Holanda
Agora eu era o herói
E o meu cavalo só falava inglês
A noiva do cowboy era você além das outras três
Eu enfrentava os batalhões, os alemães e seus canhões
Guardava o meu bodoque e ensaiava o rock para as matinês
Agora eu era o rei
Era o bedel e era também juiz
E pela minha lei a gente era obrigada a ser feliz
E você era a princesa que eu fiz coroar
E era tão linda de se admirar
Que andava nua pelo meu país
Não, não fuja não
Finja que agora eu era o seu brinquedo
Eu era o seu pião, o seu bicho preferido
Vem, me dê a mão, a gente agora já não tinha medo
No tempo da maldade acho que a gente nem tinha nascido
Agora era fatal que o faz-de-conta terminasse assim
Pra lá deste quintal era uma noite que não tem mais fim
Pois você sumiu no mundo sem me avisar
E agora eu era um louco a perguntar
O que que a vida vai fazer de mim?
🆃🆁🅰🅽🆂🅻🅰🆃🅸🅾🅽 🆃🅾 🅴🅽🅶🅻🅸🆂🅷
Hansel and Gretel
Now, I pretend to be the hero
And my horse only speaks in English
You are the cowboy’s bride besides the other three
I’d confront the battalions
The German with their cannons
Then I’d put down my homemade guns
And rehearse the rock for the matinées
Now, I pretend to be the king
I pretend to be the school watchman and also the judge
And according to my law
We are required to be happy
And you are the princess I crowned
And you are so beautiful to admire
And you walk naked in my country
No, don’t run away
Pretend now that I am your toy
I am your spinning top
Your favorite pet
Come, give me your hand
We have no fear now
In the evil times, we weren’t even born
Now it was fatal That the make-believe would end up like this
Beyond this backyard, It was a never-ending night
Because you disappeared into the world without telling me
And now I am a crazy boy wondering
What will life do to me?
