The song was first recorded in 1957 by Brazilian singer
Elizete Cardoso and released on her 1958 album, Canção do Amor Demais. However, people took little notice of her release of the song. João Gilberto included the second recorded version in 1958.[1] Released as a single, the song became a hit and would consolidate
bossa nova as a permanent genre in the Latin music lexicon. The song also appeared on Gilberto's first album Chega de Saudade.
The title can be
translated roughly as "enough longing", though the Portuguese word, saudade, carries a far more complex meaning. The word implies an intensity of heartfelt connection that is yearned for passionately, not unlike feeling
withdrawal symptoms from a drug that makes one feel good. Another good analogy might be an intense homesickness. Chega, in this case, means no more, enough.
The song form is 68 measures long. The first 32 measures are in a minor key, followed by 36 measures in a major key. The key of the original recording by Elizete Cardoso went from D minor to D major.
It has been recorded by jazz and rock performers, with the English language title "No More Blues". English lyrics were written by
Jon Hendricks and "Jessie Cavanaugh" (actually a
pseudonym for music publisher
Howard S. Richmond)
In 2000, the João Gilberto version was inducted to the
Grammy Hall of Fame. A year later, Gilberto's album Chega De Saudade was inducted to the first Latin Grammy Hall of Fame.
The song was performed by Brazilian metal band
Angra at a live acoustic set at the auditorium of the Paris FNAC Forum in 1995. The recording was later featured on their EP "Live Acoustic at FNAC" in 1998.[4]
Emmet Cohen and his trio performed an arrangement of the song featuring Spanish singer
Mar Vilaseca and guitarist Yotam Silberstein, this specific version has a more bluesy feel, which is appropriate as the title of the song is sometimes translated into English as, "No More Blues."