Talk:Waters of March

Matita Pereira is not Saci
Matita Pereira is linked with Saci's article, but Matita Pereira is another tale in Brazilian folklore. Please, can someone fix it? 189.46.137.170 (talk) —Preceding undated comment added 23:03, 11 May 2013 (UTC)


 * If you are an area expert why not fix it yourself? Are you disputing that Saci is a transformational character as referenced in the two Wikipedia articles Saci (Brazilian folklore) and Striped cuckoo? Liberato (talk) 11:52, 31 January 2015 (UTC)

Oscar Castro-Neves?
Who is this guy? There is no article written on him. Also, can the person who added the information about Jobim's "pschoanalysis" and the best song ever recorded add citations? Is there an article or an intreview? What is Brazil's "leading daily newspaper"? dq 02:59, 22 June 2006 (UTC)


 * Castro-Neves plays guitar on the album Elis & Tom. Thorns Among Our Leaves 23:28, 30 July 2006 (UTC)

Here's his official bio.: - macongo, 12/31/06, USA

Spring Waters?
Someone got the wrong interpretation of the music!! 1) March is FALL in the Southern Hemisphere, where coincidentally Brazil happens to be 2) There are no snowy mountains in Brazil. 3) If you ever lived in Rio (I was born there), you would know that March marks the end of SUMMER, usually with so much rain that floods are not unusual. So, if you stay at a window, you will see sticks, stones, and everything else flowing down with the rains. Maybe, just maybe, Tom made a metaphor about the life and the floods in Rio, but definetly, it was not SPRING WATERS nor MELTING SNOW he was thinking 201.78.162.66 17:19, 20 August 2006 (UTC)Rafael Pinto, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

Good point. In your interperetation, it even makes more sense since winter is considered to be death and spring is new life and since March is autumn in the Southern hemisphere, then it is the progression toward death. Please change the article accordingly. dq 17:32, 20 August 2006 (UTC)

I'll go on and change it as soon as I can... Thanks! 201.78.162.66 17:19, 20 August 2006 (UTC)Rafael Pinto, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

Just updated the text. Could any of you please review it, as English is not my native language? Thanks a lot. I am sincerely happy to be able to give Wikipedia a hand!! 201.78.162.66 02:57, 22 August 2006 (UTC)Rafael Pinto, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

Yes, thanks for offering your opinion. I'll review it and revamp the article in the next little while. dq 04:18, 9 September 2006 (UTC)

But the English lyrics (by Jobim) speak of the waters of March being life-giving: "it's the promise of life/it's the joy in your heart." My thought is that this song is about life and death and everything in-between. (Also true of the original lyrics, in Portuguese.) So the emphasis on "death" alone is misleading. - macongo, 12/31/06, USA/EUA

"Renditions" Getting a Little Large
I'm not sure if there needs to be a giant list of artists who have done versions of this song. Rather, only notable versions should be mentioned. I think, as a rule, a list like this should not be larger than its corresponding article. Can we pair-down this list? What do you think? dq 14:27, 7 February 2007 (UTC)


 * I removed the reference to the third Filipina singer who has done this song for two reasons:

1) It was put in the wrong place 2) This person may be popular in the Philippines, but I've never heard of her.

I've also never heard of the other Filipina singers mentioned in the list either. If someone can prove that these people are really popular outside of the Philippines then by all means add them. I'm also going to start pairing down the list and if people want to join in the discussion then please do. (I will leave one Filipina singer.) dq 03:38, 10 March 2007 (UTC)

only notable versions should be mentioned.
 * What is a notable version??? — Preceding unsigned comment added by 95.120.65.139 (talk) 04:55, 26 December 2011 (UTC)

Portuguese versus English lyrics
One of the most interesting features of this song (and a point which has been omitted from this article) is the fact that Jobim wrote the English lyrics from the perspective of March in the Northern Hemisphere, which is spring, whereas the Portuguese lyrics were written from the perspective of March in the Southern Hemisphere, which is the end of summer. I think this could be much more clearly explained, and it would shed insight on why the English lyrics contain the lyrics "The promise of spring."

Link now defunct
http://des.emory.edu/mfp/waters.html — Preceding unsigned comment added by 2A01:E35:2E42:CDA0:18A3:3E04:7259:C88B (talk) 00:01, 11 August 2013 (UTC)

What year
The article doesn't inform about what year this song was written and first released (although the earliest references are to 1973). This should be stated in the introduction and the article should be categorized in song by year category as well. __meco (talk) 10:53, 17 September 2009 (UTC)
 * I agree; this article completely misses out the original recording. Which version is the original? I don't know, which is disappointing after having read the article.78.86.61.94 (talk) 21:42, 14 May 2011 (UTC)


 * I added first recording in versions section. The eponymously titled album was also released as Matita Perê without English version.Liberato (talk) 02:24, 28 July 2011 (UTC)


 * Correction, second recording. it looks like someone found the very earliest release from 1972. Good job! Liberato (talk) 02:02, 20 September 2012 (UTC)

Jobim avoided Latin-based lyrics???
Whoever wrote that did not look at the Portuguese lyrics, which are about 90% based on Latin roots, beginning with the very title "Aguas de Março"! (Aguas vs. Aquae, and Março vs. Martius. ETC.) Portuguese is a ROMANCE language and by its very nature based on Latin. English is Germanic (with heavy borrowing from Latin). — Preceding unsigned comment added by Ekerilaz (talk • contribs) 00:29, 6 February 2014 (UTC)


 * Quote: >>When writing the English lyrics, Jobim endeavored to avoid words with Latin roots, which resulted in the English version having more verses than the Portuguese. Nevertheless, the English version still contains some words from Latin origin, such as promise, dismay, plan, pain, mountain, distance and mule.<<


 * Yeah, you are completely right. Perhaps even 99%. The two quoted sentences are just silly nonsense ;-) Something got lost in translation there. Jobim *never* *ever* "endeavored to avoid words with Latin roots". Jobim first wrote these lyrics in his native Portuguese, and they draw strongly from the many common observations of a life in the Brazilian interior. Later, Jobim discovered that his lyrics was equally poignant and lugubrious when he translated them into English. But what about the reversal of seasons? For Brazil, March represents the beginning of autumn, as reflected in his original Portuguese:

São as águas de março fechando o verão São promessas de vida no meu coração

Which translates:

While the waters of March bring an end to Summer There is the promise of life in my heart


 * So Jobim changed the English lyrics slightly to more strongly reflect that sense of rebirth that Spring brings to all Northern Hemisphere folks. We Southern Hemisphere folks in Brazil do not really have a "winter", we have a "rainy season" and a evergreen flora. ☮ & ♥. --91.10.62.221 (talk) 11:41, 22 June 2015 (UTC)

List of covers
Seems to me this list of covers nowhere near meets WP:COVERSONG. It's a standard; by definition, that means lots and lots of people cover it, and it's not at all notable that someone does so; and there's some real crap in the list too. Like most of the article, almost nothing is sourced. The song deserves a better treatment (and, of course, for a more comprehensive list of recordings one can go to a site devoted to exactly that.) --jpgordon&#x1d122;&#x1d106; &#x1D110;&#x1d107; 18:14, 4 April 2021 (UTC)
 * OK, time to start removing non-cited, non-charting covers from the list. --jpgordon&#x1d122;&#x1d106;&#x1D110;&#x1d107; 15:31, 10 March 2022 (UTC)
 * Which was all of them. --jpgordon&#x1d122;&#x1d106;&#x1D110;&#x1d107; 15:34, 10 March 2022 (UTC)

Why not mention Elis Regina, the original singer with Jobim?
I think the item should mention Elis Regina. 2A00:A040:189:EFFD:1CDB:F8FE:EE5:CAB2 (talk) 18:21, 26 March 2022 (UTC)