"Chega de Saudade" (), also known as "No More Blues", is a bossa nova jazz standard. It is often considered to be the first bossa nova song to be recorded. Like "

The Girl from Ipanema "Garota de Ipanema" ("The Girl from Ipanema") is a Brazilian bossa nova and jazz song. It was a worldwide hit in the mid-1960s and won a Grammy for Record of the Year in 1965. It was written in 1962, with music by Antônio Carlos Jobim and Por ...

", the music for "Chega de Saudade" was composed by

Antônio Carlos Jobim Antônio Carlos Brasileiro de Almeida Jobim (25 January 1927 – 8 December 1994), also known as Tom Jobim (), was a Brazilian composer, pianist, guitarist, songwriter, arranger, and singer. Considered one of the great exponents of Brazilian mu ...

, with lyrics by

Vinícius de Moraes Marcus Vinícius da Cruz e Mello Moraes (19 October 1913 – 9 July 1980), better known as Vinícius de Moraes () and nicknamed O Poetinha ("The little poet"), was a Brazilian poet, diplomat, lyricist, essayist, musician, singer, and playwrigh ...

Overview

The song was first recorded in 1957 by Brazilian singer

Elizete Cardoso Elizeth Moreira Cardoso (sometimes listed as Elisete Cardoso) (July 16, 1920 – May 7, 1990), was a singer and actress of great renown in Brazil. Biography Cardoso was born in Rio de Janeiro; her father was a serenader who played guitar, a ...

and released on her 1958 album, '' Canção Do Amor Demais''. However, people took little notice of her release of the song. João Gilberto included the second recorded version in 1958. Released as a single, the song became a hit and would consolidate bossa nova as a permanent genre in the Latin music lexicon. The song also appeared on Gilberto's first album '' Chega de Saudade''. The title can be translated roughly as "enough longing", though the Portuguese word, ''

saudade ''Saudade'' (, , , ; plural ''saudades'') is an emotional state of melancholic or profoundly nostalgic longing for something that one loves despite it not necessarily being real. It often carries a repressed knowledge that the object of lo ...

'', carries a far more complex meaning. The word implies an intensity of heartfelt connection that is yearned for passionately, not unlike feeling

withdrawal symptoms Drug withdrawal, drug withdrawal syndrome, or substance withdrawal syndrome, is the group of symptoms that occur upon the abrupt discontinuation or decrease in the intake of pharmaceutical or recreational drugs. In order for the symptoms of wit ...

from a drug that makes one feel good. Another good analogy might be an intense homesickness. ''Chega'', in this case, means ''no more'', ''enough''. The song form is 68 measures long. The first 32 measures are in a minor key, followed by 36 measures in a major key. The key of the original recording by Elizete Cardoso went from D minor to D major.

Covers and versions

*It has been recorded by jazz and rock performers, with the English language title "No More Blues". English lyrics were written by

Jon Hendricks John Carl Hendricks (September 16, 1921 – November 22, 2017), known professionally as Jon Hendricks, was an American jazz lyricist and singer. He is one of the originators of vocalese, which adds lyrics to existing instrumental songs and re ...

and "Jessie Cavanaugh" (actually a

pseudonym A pseudonym (; ) or alias () is a fictitious name that a person or group assumes for a particular purpose, which differs from their original or true name (orthonym). This also differs from a new name that entirely or legally replaces an individua ...

for music publisher Howard S. Richmond) *

Quincy Jones Quincy Delight Jones Jr. (born March 14, 1933) is an American record producer, musician, songwriter, composer, arranger, and film and television producer. His career spans 70 years in the entertainment industry with a record of 80 Grammy Award n ...

recorded a version for his " Big Band Bossa Nova" album in 1962. *In 2000, the João Gilberto version was inducted to the

Grammy Hall of Fame The Grammy Hall of Fame is a hall of fame to honor musical recordings of lasting qualitative or historical significance. Inductees are selected annually by a special member committee of eminent and knowledgeable professionals from all branches of ...

. A year later, Gilberto's album ''Chega De Saudade'' was inducted to the first Latin Grammy Hall of Fame. *The song was recorded by the cellist,

Yo-Yo Ma Yo-Yo Ma ('' Chinese'': 馬友友 ''Ma Yo Yo''; born October 7, 1955) is an American cellist. Born in Paris to Chinese parents and educated in New York City, he was a child prodigy, performing from the age of four and a half. He graduated from ...

for his album '' Obrigado Brazil''. American jazz vibraphonist

Gary Burton Gary Burton (born January 23, 1943) is an American jazz vibraphonist, composer, and educator. Burton developed a pianistic style of four-mallet technique as an alternative to the prevailing two-mallet technique. This approach caused him to be he ...

also recorded the composition for his 1966 album ''

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'' and his solo album ''

Alone at Last ''Alone at Last'' is the first solo album by vibraphonist Gary Burton, on which he also plays piano and organ. It was recorded in 1971, and features three performances from the Montreux Jazz Festival and four performances from the studio. It rel ...

'' (Atlantic, 1971). In 1984, under the English-language title "No More Blues", it was the opening track on singer

Roseanna Vitro Roseanna Elizabeth Vitro (born February 28, 1951) is a jazz singer and teacher from Arkansas. Biography Born Roseanna Elizabeth VitroScott Fredrickson and Gary W. Kennedy.Vitro (Wickliffe), Roseanna" In ''The New Grove Dictionary of Jazz'', 2 ...

's debut LP, '' Listen Here''.

Rosa Passos Rosa Passos (; born April 13, 1952) is a Brazilian singer and guitarist. Passos began playing piano at age thirteen, but after listening to Dorival Caymmi and João Gilberto she abandoned the instrument to become a singer. In the late 1960s, s ...

, Stan Getz, Dizzy Gillespie,

Toninho Horta Antônio Maurício Horta de Melo (born December 2, 1948) is a Brazilian jazz guitarist and vocalist. In addition to composing and performing his own work, Horta has worked for many years as arranger or sideman for Brazilian artists such as El ...

, Joe Henderson, The Hi-Lo's,

Carmen McRae Carmen Mercedes McRae (April 8, 1920 – November 10, 1994) was an American jazz singer. She is considered one of the most influential jazz vocalists of the 20th century and is remembered for her behind-the-beat phrasing and ironic interpre ...

, and César Camargo Mariano are among other who covered the song. *

Eliane Elias Eliane Elias
BrowseBiography.com, 20 November 2011; retrieved 10 September 2014. is a Brazilian

Fantasia'' and in her 1996 album ''

The Three Americas ''The Three Americas'' is the eleventh studio album by Brazilian jazz artist Eliane Elias. The record was released in 1996 via Blue Note label. The name of the album is explained by Elias in the notes:"My intention for this recording is not onl ...

''. *The song was performed by Brazilian metal band Angra at a live acoustic set at the auditorium of the Paris FNAC Forum in 1995. The recording was later featured on their EP "Live Acoustic at FNAC" in 1998.Angra - Live Acoustic At Fnac
"Discogs"
Retrieved 2016-05-13. * The Game Boy Color version of

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has a chiptune arrangement of the song as its character selection music, composed by Anthony Paton. * Also recorded by Caroll Vanwelden on ''Portraits of Brazil'' (2016). *

Katie Noonan Katie Anne Noonan (born 2 May 1977) is an Australian singer-songwriter. In addition to a successful solo career encompassing opera, jazz, pop, rock and dance, she was the singer in the band George and remains the singer in the band Elixir; perf ...

Karin Schaupp Karin Schaupp (born 1972) is a German-born Australian classical guitarist. She has won APRA Music Awards and ARIA Music Awards. Early life Karin Schaupp was born in Hofheim am Taunus, Germany, in 1972. Her mother, Isolde Schaupp, was a teacher ...

covered the song on their album '' Songs of the Latin Skies'' (2017). * Zule Guerra recorded it for her EP ''Tres de tres: Brazilian''. * A version of the song was recorded by Geoff Knorr for the soundtrack of '' Civilization V'' as the musical theme for the Brazilian civilizatio

*

Persona 5 Royal is a 2016 role-playing video game developed by Atlus. It takes place in modern-day Tokyo and follows a high school student known by the pseudonym Joker who transfers to a new school after being falsely accused of assault and put on probation. ...

's ''No More What Ifs'' melody would bear a resemblance to the song and is sung by Lyn Inaizumi, composed by Shoji Meguro (2020). *

Eliane Elias Eliane Elias
BrowseBiography.com, 20 November 2011; retrieved 10 September 2014. is a Brazilian

'' (1996) and '' Brazilian Classics'' (2003).

Recognition

The song was voted by the Brazilian edition of ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first known for its ...

'' as the 6th greatest Brazilian song.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Chega De Saudade Bossa nova songs Brazilian songs 1958 songs Grammy Hall of Fame Award recipients Portuguese-language songs Songs with music by Antônio Carlos Jobim Songs with lyrics by Vinicius de Moraes