Águas de Março (Waters of March)

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Águas de Março (Waters of March) — words and music by Antônio Carlos Jobim

According to Wikipedia,

The first recording of this song…appeared on a[n] EP released on the month of May, 1972, named O Tom de Antonio Carlos Jobim e o Tal de João Bosco. This EP was released as a bonus included in the [B]razilian periodical O Pasquim, and was never reissued…

More excerpts from the Wikipedia article:

The inspiration for “Águas de Março” comes from Rio de Janeiro’s rainiest month. March is typically marked by sudden storms with heavy rains and strong winds that cause flooding in many places around the city. The lyrics and the music have a constant downward progression much like the water torrent from those rains flowing in the gutters, which typically would carry sticks, stones, bits of glass, and almost everything and anything.

Jobim wrote both the English and Portuguese lyrics. When writing the English lyrics, Jobim endeavoured to avoid words with Latin roots, which resulted in the English version having more verses than the Portuguese. Another way in which the English lyrics differ from the Portuguese is that the English version treats March from the perspective of an observer in the northern hemisphere. In this context, the waters are the “waters of defrost” in contrast to the rains referred to in the original Portuguese, marking the end of summer and the beginning of the colder season in the southern hemisphere.^[1].

Lyric, Portuguese:

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Elis Regina — 1973 MPB special (TV Cultura)

Tom Jobim and Elis Regina — The pair recorded the song for their highly-regarded 1974 collaboration Elis & Tom

lip-sync duet performance, 1974(?)

(below) In this live duet, Jobim also plays flute. The provider identifies the performance as “Tom e Elis no Fantástico. (1974).” Wikipedia says:

Fantástico … is a Brazilian weekly television newsmagazine broadcast on the nights of Sundays on Rede Globo since August 5, 1973, created by José Bonifácio de Oliveira Sobrinho.

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Tom Jobim and Miúcha –– live performance, from an October 1978 television special featuring Vinícius de Moraes, Toquinho, Tom Jobim and Miúcha

(Below) João Gilberto — first track on the album João Gilberto, 1973

Stan Getz featuring João Gilberto — from The Best of Both Worlds, 1976. Vocals: João Gilberto and Heloisa Baurque de Hollanda (Miúcha)

Tom Jobim — Montreal Jazz Festival at Place des Arts, 1986

Antônio Carlos Jobim – piano, vocal
Jaques Morelenbaum – violoncelo
Paulo Jobim – guitar
Danilo Caymmi – flute
Sebastião Neto – bass
Paulo Braga – drums
Ana & Elizabeth Jobim, Simone Caymmi, Maúcha Adnet, Paula Morelenbaum – vocals

Mina — Italian version “La pioggia di marzo” (words by Giorgio Calabrese), from the 1973 LP Frutta e verdura

Trio Esperança — live performance at Festival Jazz à Vienne; date unknown

Sofia — from the 2006 album Bossa Latino Lite

Smoke City — “Águas de Março (Joga Bossa Mix)” from the 1997 album Flying Away

The Smoke City version contains a unique lyric whose songwriter(s) I’ve yet to identify. Partial lyric:

(Play)
Cantar is to sing
Doer is to hurt
Camisa dez, number ten shirt
Surfer surfista, samba dancer sambista

(Sentir the heat)
Nada is to swim, and nothing too
Viajar is to travel, and you can come too
To smoke is fumar
To escape, escapar
Samba joga bossa nova samba

“Águas de Março (Joga Bossa Mix)” lyric: