J.S. Bach + Bossa Nova = Sublime

Eu sei que vou ter amar [I know I am going to love you] is a marvelously touching bossa nova song composed by Tom Jobim with lyrics by the poet Vinicius de Morais [site with sound!] (some facts about the song here). A couple of weeks ago my brother, who lives in New Zealand, asked me to purchase an instrumental mp3 file of this song on Amazon for his friends who are getting married and want to use the recording in their wedding.

When I began to listen, I was startled and wondered: "What is Jesu, Joy of Man's Desiring  doing here in this Bossa Nova song?" It feels strange, out of place, but then, the more you listen to it, the more beautiful and sublime it sounds.

Thanks to my now, oh... so dear, YouTube, I can share the song with you without having to try to figure out how to share a music file (phew!). The Portuguese lyrics and an English translation by Paul Sonnenberg, can be found under the embedded video. Enjoy!



Portuguese lyrics by Vinicius de Morais:

Eu sei que vou te amar
Por toda a minha vida eu vou te amar
A cada despedida eu vou te amar
Desesperadamente
Eu sei que vou te amar
E cada verso meu sera
Pra te dizer
Que eu sei que vou te amar
Por toda minha vida
Eu sei que vou chorar
A cada ausencia tua eu vou chorar
Mas cada volta tua ha de apagar
O que essa tua ausência me causou
Eu sei que vou sofrer
A eterna desventura de viver
A espera de viver ao lado teu
Por toda a minha vida

English translation by Paul Sonnenberg (found here, you can see him singing it here):

I Know I'll Love You So
        English adaptation by Paul Sonnenberg
I know I'll love you so
As long as I'm alive, I'll love you so
With each goodbye I know I'll love you so
Relentlessly and desperately I'll love you so
And every verse I'll write will say just this:
Will say: I know I'll love you so
As long as life is in me
I know that I will cry
Each time you leave, I know that I will cry
Tears falling from the time you say goodbye
'Til you return and wipe them from my eyes
I know I'll suffer so,
An endless misadventure, yes I know
Just waiting to be at your side once more
For all my life, I know it.