Eu Sei Que Vou Te Amar

EU SEI QUE VOU TE AMAR (Single)

Music by Antonio Carlos Jobim. Lyrics by Vinicius De Moraes. Guitar and vocals: Ed Hale. Recorded at Sunflower Recording Studios. Hollywood, FL 2002. Produced by Ed Hale, Cliff Rawnsley. Engineered and Mixed: Cliff Rawnsley.

Eu sei que vou te amar is a Brasilian classic. It is one of the most famous songs in the Brasilian repertoire of song and has been recorded by hundreds of famous Brasilian singers over the last thirty years, from Ellis Regina to Caetano Veloso. The music and melody were composed by one of the most respected and popular composers from the land of bossa nova and samba, Tom Jobim – the man who gave the world The girl from Ipanema and Aguas de Marco; two songs that even the most casual American listener would recognize. Eu sei que vou te amar is not as well known in circles outside of its native country like these other two songs. The lyrics are simple but absolutely gorgeous and heartbreaking and were written by the revered Brasilian poet Vinicius de Moraes – a man so well known in Brasil that one just need say “Vinicius” and everyone instantly knows who you are referring to. The two men teamed up to create an instant classic. When I first heard the song I was so moved by it both melodically and lyrically that I often found myself listening to it over and over again and often moved to near tears from its beauty. Out of that sublime passion that comes when one encounters something so breathtaking and beautiful I wanted desperately to become a part of, or better put, to have it be a part of me. So I started teaching myself how to play it on guitar and sat for hours practicing singing the melody. I loved the way the melody started out smooth and low, quiet, dark and mysterious, and then slowly rose up to the highest notes in the vocal register. As if each line brought us closer to feeling the character’s desperation to be near his beloved once more. At this time in my life I was so obsessed with Brasilian popular music that I had already made two separate trips to Brasil to study the language of Portuguese, music composition, chording, and guitar with various masters there. The first in 1998 and again in 2000. What many Westerners do not realize is that many countries have their own unique set of chords and scales that can be quite different than what we are accustomed to here in the US or in English speaking countries of Europe as musicians. One cannot necessarily just pick up a chord book or sit down with a song from Iran for example and “figure it out.” The entire musical architecture is different than our own. Hence the need to go to Brasil and actually sit down for a few months with the people who had grown up with it from infancy and had it in their blood. Because of those endless months of study I had Brasilian chords and melody inside of me. They were a part of me. So playing the song on guitar did not pose a significant challenge. But learning to sing it, hitting the notes, mastering the words without my English accent being too obtrusive, was a different story. Soon I found that I had found my own zone with the song and was playing and singing it well enough. I telephoned Cliff Rawnsley at Sunflower Studios – who had produced our Rise and Shine CD — one afternoon and asked if I could come in for an hour or two and record a “new song.” My intention was to lay down the guitar part first as is customary, at least to us, and then overdub my vocals on top of it. The problem was that he just couldn’t get it to happen. I cannot remember why. I believe it might have been bleed-through with the microphones. So he asked if I felt comfortable playing AND singing it at the same time. I said I’d give it a whirl. I recorded the song twice and we went with the second take. I then overdubbed a second guitar part to cover a few flubs of the first track and we combined them. We then added some ocean waves for ambience and that was that. I cannot honestly claim that my version is good or even adequate. I am well aware of the limitations of my accent. And my playing. But my intent was more just to bring a taste of the beauty and passion of Brasilian song to fans and friends so they could hear what all the fuss was about. And even more important I just needed to record it for some reason. I was obsessed with the romance that seems to suffuse from the combination of the melody and the lyrics. I still am. I think it is a perfect song. It is, like all great works of art, perfect in how simple, pure, and elegant it is.

Portuguese

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 ausencia 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

I know I will love you so

As long as I’m alive I will love you so

Relentlessly and desperately

I will love you so

With each goodbye I know

I will love you so

And every verse I write

Will say just this, will say

I know I will 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

Till you return to wipe them from my eyes

I know I will suffer so

An endless misadventure

Yes I know

Just waiting to be

At your side once more

For all my life

I know it.

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