Happy Birthday, Lalá Lamartine Babo to the rescue of MPB. Daniella Thompson 10 January 2004 Lamartine Babo 10 January 1904–16 June 1963 No Rancho Fundo (Ary Barroso/Lamartine Babo, 1930) No rancho fundo Bem pra lá do fim do mundo Onde a dor e a saudade Contam coisas da cidade... No rancho fundo De olhar triste e profundo Um moreno conta as “mágua” Tendo os olhos rasos d’água Pobre moreno Que de tarde no sereno Espera a lua no terreiro Tendo o cigarro por companheiro Sem um aceno Ele pega da viola E a lua por esmola Vem pro quintal desse moreno No rancho fundo Bem pra lá do fim do mundo Nunca mais houve alegria Nem de noite nem de dia Os arvoredos Já não contam mais segredos E a última palmeira Já na cordilheira Os passarinhos Internaram-se nos ninhos De tão triste esta tristeza Enche de trevas a natureza Tudo por que? Só por causa do moreno Que era grande, hoje é pequeno Para uma casa de sapê Se Deus soubesse Da tristeza lá serra Mandaria lá pra cima Todo o amor que há na terra Porque o moreno Vive louco de saudade Só por causa do veneno Das mulheres da cidade Ele que era O cantor da primavera Que até fez do rancho fundo O céu maior que tem no mundo O sol queimando Se uma flor lá desabrocha A montanha vai gelando Lembrando o aroma da cabrocha This immortal song, known by all and still recorded today, might never have emerged from obscurity had Lamartine Babo not stepped in to save it in its infancy. In 1930, Ary Barroso, fresh from his first carnaval success with the marcha “Dá Nela,” was composing a great deal for the teatro de revista. One of the musical revues to which he contributed was the two-acter É do Outro Mundo by J. Carlos and Margarida Max, which premiered at the Teatro Recreio in Rio de Janeiro on 13 June of that year. J. Carlos (José Carlos de Brito e Cunha) was none other than the legendary caricaturist and illustrator whose work sometimes graces these pages. Among the songs Ary composed for the show was the samba-canção “Esse Mulato Vai Sê Meu,” with the following lyrics by J. Carlos: Na grota funda Na virada da montanha Só se conta uma façanha Do mulato da Raimunda Matou a nega Cum pedaço de canela E depois, sem mais aquela Foi juntá com uma galega Ela morreu Na virada da montanha Vai havê outra façanha Esse mulato vai sê meu Esse mulato Vai fazendo o que ele qué Já matou duas muié Porque bamba ele é de fato Se não morreu Vai mangá esse cachorro Na virada ali do morro Esse mulato vai sê meu The song was performed as a curtain number by the première dame of Brazilian musical theatre, Araci Cortes. Although the critics praised É do Outro Mundo, commenting that the sketches and scenes were as good as those in American and French revues, the public didn’t take well to the show, which closed at the end of the same month. One of the few spectators to see the show was the young songwriter Lamartine Babo, then 26-years old. He fell in love with the melody of “Esse Mulato Vai Sê Meu” (better remembered by its alternate title “Na Grota Funda”) but detested J. Carlos’ lyrics, finding the first stanza ridicuous. Whether or not Lamartine consulted the song’s authors is debatable. His biographer, Suetônio Soares Valença, claims in the book Tra-La-Lá that Ary’s authorization was sought and obtained. On the other hand, Ary’s biographer Sérgio Cabral insists in No Tempo de Ari Barroso that neither of the authors was consulted. Be that as it may, Lalá wrote his own lyrics to Ary’s melody and presented the song under a new title in a Rádio Educadora program with Bando de Tangarás (Almirante, João de Barro, Noel Rosa, Henrique Brito, and Álvaro Miranda). Image courtesy of Dijalma M. Candido The result was twofold. “No Rancho Fundo” became one of the great standards of Brazilian popular music. It was first recorded in 1931 by Elisinha Coelho, accompanied by Ary Barroso on piano and by two guitarists (possibly Rogério Guimarães and João Batista Nogueira). Many recordings followed. On the other hand, the birth of “No Rancho Fundo” created an irreparable rift between J. Carlos and Ary Barroso. The former was convinced until the end of his days that Ary had conspired behind his back to change the song and rob him of his author’s credit. Ary and Lamartine, whose songwriting partnership began in 1927 with the foxtrot “Oh!... Nina!...” and continued in 1928 with the marcha-charge “Cachorro-Quente”—both songs recorded for the first time only in the CD era—went on to create other standards during the 1930s. One of those, “Na Virada da Montanha” (recorded by Francisco Alves in 1935), again pokes gentle fun at the lyrics of “Na Grota Funda.” That couldn’t have pleased J. Carlos. Lamartine Babo would have reached the century mark today—nine weeks and a day after his partner Ary Barroso. He was one of the three kings of the carnaval marchinha, along with João de Barro and Haroldo Lobo. He also was the composer-supreme of futebol, having composed all the anthems of the major carioca soccer clubs. Copyright © 2004–2013 Daniella Thompson. All rights reserved.