Chega de Saudade


"Chega de Saudade", also known as "No More Blues", is a bossa nova jazz standard. It is often considered to be the first recorded bossa nova song. The music was composed by Antonio Carlos Jobim and the lyrics were written by Vinícius de Moraes. João Gilberto's recording is the most famous.

Overview

The song was first recorded in 1957 by Brazilian singer Elizete Cardoso and released on her 1958 album entitled Canção Do Amor Demais; however, the public took little notice of her release. João Gilberto included the second recorded version of the track in 1958. Released as a single, the song became a hit and would solidify 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, carries with it a far more complex meaning. The word implies an intensity of heartfelt connection that is yearned for passionately, not unlike feeling withdrawal symptoms 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 64 measures. It is equally split between 32 measures in a minor key and the 32 measures in a major key. The key of the original recording by Elizete Cardoso went from D minor to D major.

Covers and versions

The song was voted by the Brazilian edition of Rolling Stone as the 6th greatest Brazilian song.