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The "perfect summer song" turns 50.
Published: 7/3/2012 12:06 PM
Last Modified: 7/3/2012 12:06 PM

A lot of pop songs are about summer and all its various experiences, but nothing has so perfectly captured the feel of summer -- that lulling, languid, relaxed feeling -- as well as the stray dreams and their answering ironic realities as "The Girl from Ipanema."

Composed in 1962 by Antônio Carlos Jobim to lyrics by poet Vinícius de Moraes, the song was inspired by the sight of a young women the two men happened to see as they sat at a beach side cafe in Ipanema, a neighborhood of Rio de Janiero.

It was a popular in Brazil, but it wasn't until an English version was released in 1965 -- with Astrud Gilberto's soft, hesitant vocals against Joao Gilberto's guitar and Stan Getz's saxophone -- that the song became an international phenomenon, introducing Brazil's bossa nova to the music world at large.

It's now the second most recorded song in pop music history -- only the Beatles' "Yesterday" has been recorded more often.

And it remains a perfect -- maybe the perfect -- summer song, because it does what it does so well. The gentle loping rhythm immediately soothes so that you feel yourself starting to relax before the first bar of the music is played. And the vivid and precise words conjure up an idea, an image, of unattainable beauty -- like a perfect moment on a perfect, lazy summer day, that can only be appreciated in an instant, yet remembered for a lifetime.

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Jayhawk Ken (8 months ago)

Thank you, James, for casting me off into dreamland with your poetic writing.

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ARTS

James D. Watts Jr. has lived in Oklahoma for most his life, even though he still has people saying to him, "Don't sound like you're from around these parts." A University of Oklahoma Phi Beta Kappa graduate, Watts has received the Governor Arts Award, Harwelden Award and the National Conference of Christians and Jews Beth Macklin Award for his writing. Before coming to the Tulsa World, Watts worked for the Tulsa Tribune.

Contact him at (918) 581-8478.

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Archive

Past Articles By James D. Watts Jr

2/15/2013		'Concept/OK' exhibit ends Saturday
2/14/2013		Symphony to host piano soloist
2/14/2013		Broadway tours bring 'Shrek,' improv musical to Tulsa area this weekend
2/14/2013		Arts roundup: Improv reigns at several upcoming theater events
2/14/2013		'Lion King' returns to Tulsa PAC June 4
2/12/2013		Review: Signature Symphony reprises '100 Years of Oklahoma Music'
2/11/2013		Tulsa Symphony's concert salutes diverse American music
2/10/2013		Cherokee artist weaves messages into baskets
2/10/2013		Tesla Quartet set for Tulsa residency next week with variety of activities
2/10/2013		Jim Murphy wins 2013 Anne Zarrow Award
2/10/2013		LBJ chronicler Robert Caro to speak at TU on Tuesday
2/9/2013		Theater review: Playhouse makes "Barefoot in the Park" believable

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