Tom Jobim was one of the greatest composer of MPB (Brazilian Pop Music). He had this lyric quality that Chopin had and a gift for composing magical and moving tunes. Each time I listen to his compositions, it is always as if I had the impression to float in the airs invaded by a feeling of wellbeing.

Composer, musician, Tom was also a poet. Let's skim through below the words of his songs among the most famous. Note that this lyrics have been reproduced from Club do Tom.

Waters of March (Águas de março)   Antônio Carlos Jobim (1972) A stick, a stone, it's the end of the road It's the rest of a stump,  it's a little alone It's a sliver of glass, it is life, it's the sun It is night, it is death, it's a trap, it's a gun The oak when it blooms, a fox in the brush A knot in the wood, the song of a thrush The wood of the wind, a cliff, a fall A scratch, a lump, it is nothing at all It's the wind blowing free, it's the end of the slope It's a beam it's a void, it's a hunch, it's a hope And the river bank talks of the waters of March It's the end of the strain The joy in your heart The foot, the ground, the flesh and the bone The beat of the road, a slingshot's stone A fish, a flash, a silvery glow A fight, a bet the fange of a bow The bed of the well, the end of the line The dismay in the face, it's a loss, it's a find A spear, a spike, a point, a nail A drip, a drop, the end of the tale A truckload of bricks in the soft morning light The sound of a shot in the dead of the night A mile, a must, a thrust, a bump, It's a girl, it's a rhyme, it's a cold, it's the mumps The plan of the house, the body in bed And the car that got stuck, it's the mud, it's the mud A float, a drift, a flight, a wing A hank, a quail, the promise of spring And the river bank talks of the waters of March It's the promise of life, it's the joy in your heart A stick, a stone, it's the end of the road It's the rest of a stump, it's a little alone A snake, a stick, it is John, it is Joe It's a thorn in your hand and a cut in your toe A point, a grain, a bee, a bite A blink, a buzzard, a sudden stroke of night A pin, a needle, a sting a pain A snail, a riddle, a wasp, a stain A pass in the mountains, a horse and a mule In the distance the shelves rode three shadows of blue And the river talks of the waters of March It's the promise of life in your heart A stick, a stone, the end of the road The rest of a stump, a lonesome road A sliver of glass, a life, the sun A knife, a death, the end of the run And the river bank talks of the waters of March It's the end of all strain, it's the joy in your heart

Quiet nights of quiet stars (Corcovado)  Antônio Carlos Jobim / Gene Lees (1960) Quiet nights of quiet stars Quiet chords from my guitar Floating on the silence that surrounds us Quiet thoughts and quiet dreams Quiet walls by quiet streams And a window looking on the mountains and the sea How lovely This is where I want to be Here with you close to me Until the final flicker of life's embers I who was lost and lonely Believing life was only A bitter tragic joke Have found with you, the meaning of existence Oh my love

Off key (Desafinado)    Antônio Carlos Jobim / Newton Mendonça (1958) English lyrics by Gene Lees If you say my singing is off key, my love You will hurt my feelings, don't you see, my love? I wish I had an ear like yours, a voice that would behave All I have is feeling and the voice God gave You insist my music goes against the rules Yes, but rules were never made for love sick fools I wrote this little song for you, but you don't care It's a crooked song, ah, but, all my heart is there The thing that you would see if you would play your part Is even if I'm out of tune I have a gentle heart I took your picture with my trusty Rolleiflex And now all I have developed is a complex Possibly in vain, I hope you'll weaken, oh my love And forget those rigid rules that undermine my dream of a life of love and music with someone Who'll understand That even though I may be out of tune When I attempt to say how much I love you All that matters is the message that I bring which is : My dear, one, I love you

" I've made this Desafinado samba to take the defence of a person who does not sing in tune and his girl friend says : " You sing completely out of tune ! " (desafinado). It is thus a song which defends the amateur, amateur in the way of the one who likes. " Tom Jobim.

How insensitive (Insensatez)     Antônio Carlos Jobim / Vinícius de Moraes (1961) How insensitive I must have seemed When she told me that she loved me How unmoved and cold I must have seemed When she told me so sincerely Why? She must have asked Did I just turn and stare in icy silence? What was I to say What can you say When a love affair is over Now she's gone away And I'm alone With a memory of her last look Vague and drawn and sad I see it still All her heartbreak in that last look How, she must have asked Could I just turn and stare in icy silence What was I to do What can you do When a love affair is over

Meditation (Meditação)    Antonio Carlos Jobim / Newton Mendonça (1959) English lyrics by Norman Gimbel In my loneliness When you're gone and I'm all by myself And I need your caress I just think of you And the thought of you holding me near Makes my loneliness soon disappear Though you're far away I have only to close my eyes And you are back to stay I just close my eyes And the sadness that missing you brings Soon is gone and this heart of mine sings Yes I love you so And that for me is all I need to know I will wait for you Til the sun falls from out of the sky For what else can I do I will wait for you meditating How sweet life will be When you come back to me