águas de março

some songs you can listen to again and again.
this is one of them: águas de março. this is my favorite version, performed by 2 of brazils greatest artists ever, tom jobim and elis regina - both deceased.
the title means 'waters of march'. it refers to the rain that usually falls in rio in march (though this year the águas de março seem to fall mainly in april...). the song does not tell a story. it is much more a collage of images, references. it gives the impression of life passing, of things inevitably coming to an end - just like the rain in march marks the end of summer in rio.
tom jobim made an english translation and recording of the song. he stuck to the title: waters of march. of course it rains in march in england (and in every other month of the year). these rains however are spring rains. they announce the end of winter, the awakening of nature, of new things to come. some sadness of the brazilian version is thus lost in the literal translation of the title.

traveling between rio and amsterdam i never really suffer jetlag; the time difference is after all only 3 to 5 hours (depending on summertime/wintertime here/there; can't even be bothered to explain). i do suffer from seasonlag though.
whereas here in rio, with the arrival of the águas de março the summer is making place for a cooler few months, without the madness of humidity and heat, carnival and masses of tourists, in europe people are crawling out of there houses and take to the terraces.
easter might be a christian holiday, but to me it is a badly disguised pagan spring fest: obviously eggs as symbols of fertility, the coming of the season of growth and reproduction in nature. here in rio this spring fest makes no sense to me.
when i travel to the netherlands in 2 weeks i am sure my autumn mood will clash with the happy feeling of awakening that will be present all over amsterdam. isn't it -

now it has begun to rain and i must take the hammock inside.