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[This may not be the best forum for this question, but I'm unaware of a better one.]

I'm aware of two versions of lyrics to Manhã de Carnaval, listed below and delimited with ~~~~. The first appears to be canonical.

What is the history of this song / its lyrics? I understand it was written by Bonfa for the film Black Orpheus, but there seem to be multiple versions.

What are the canonical versions and covers?

Manhã de Carnaval
Luiz Bonfa

Manhã, tão bonita manhã
Na vida, uma nova canção
Cantando só teus olhos
Teu riso, tuas mãos
Pois há de haver um dia
Em que virás

Das cordas do meu violão
Que só teu amor procurou
Vem uma voz
Falar dos beijos perdidos
Nos lábios teus

Canta o meu coração
Alegria voltou
Tão feliz a manhã
Deste amor

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~`

Manhã tão bonita manhã
De um dia feliz que chegou
O sonho seu surgiu
E em cada cor brilhou
Voltou o sonho então
Ao coração

Depois deste dia feliz
Não sei se outro dia haverá
É nossa manhã tão bela afinal
Manhã de carnaval

La ra ra rara

Canta o meu coração
A alegria voltou
Tão feliz
A manha desse amor
zadrozny
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1 Answers1

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Here is a good history of Carnaval, also known as Manha de Carnaval, Black Orpheus, Theme from Black Orpheus, A Day in the Life of a Fool, Orfeu Negro, and La Chanson d'Orphee (but not Samba de Orfeu, which is a different song).

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manh%C3%A3_de_Carnaval

The article states that the number of different Portuguese lyric versions is "vast."

In jazz, usually the original recorded version is considered the canon. In this case that would be the movie soundtrack version. You will have to watch the entire film to discover if both your verses are used in different places on the soundtrack. A link to the film is here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WYlIoY_rU1Y

However, when other versions break through in popularity, they may overtake the original in a canonic way. This phenomenon wreaks havoc in jazz circles because what is considered the standard canon varies dramatically from region to region, even within the same country. Imagine the exacerbation then when we English-speakers attempt to determine what is standard in Brazil!

Everett Steed
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