Waters of March

As March drips away, if you’re like me, you’ve been playing various versions of Jobim’s Águas de Março  (Waters of March) all month.  We’ve got about 40 cover versions @ the ARC.  A moving recent version is by BossaCucaNova, (Bossa Cuca Nova Ao Vivo.  Ziriguiboom, Brasil, ZIR 32, 2009) on the new CD + DVD of a live concert with many guest artists.  So here’s to one of the greatest “list’ songs ever written and to the beginning of spring.

Original score in Jobim’s handwriting, published in the Disco the Bolso (Pocket Record), a bonus record included in the weekly magazine O Pasquim, printed in Rio de Janeiro, on May, 1972.   Source: http://www.jobim.com.br/e.index.html

Sounds best in Portuguese, but here’s the English translation of the lyrics,

Waters of March

It’s stick, it’s stone
It’s the end of the road
It’s a rest of stump
It’s a little alone

It’s a shard of glass
It is life, it’s the sun
It is night, it is death
It’s the snare, it’s the fishhook

It’s peroba of the field
It’s the knot in the wood
Lamp caingá tree
It’s the matita-pereira tree

It’s wind-resistant wood
Falls of the ravine
It’s the profound mystery
It’s the you wish or you don’t

It’s the wind blowing
It’s the end of the slope
It’s the beam, it’s the span
The new roof party

It’s the rain raining
It’s riverbank talk
Of the waters of March
It’s the end of the struggle

It’s the foot, it’s the ground
It’s the walk on the road
Small bird in the hand
A slingshot stone

It’s a bird in the sky
It’s a bird on the ground
It’s a creek, it’s a fountain
It’s a piece of bread

It’s the bottom of the well
It’s the end of the way
In the face the annoyance
It’s a little lonely

It’s a thorn, it’s a nail
It’s a point, it’s a dot
It’s a drop dripping
It’s an tally, it’s a tale

It’s a fish, it’s a gesture
It’s silver shining
It’s the morning’s light
It’s the brick arriving

It’s the firewood, it’s the day
It’s the end of the trail
It’s the bottle of liquor
Splinter in the road

It’s the house’s design
It’s the body in bed
It’s the broken down car
It’s the mud, it’s the mud

It’s a footstep, it’s a bridge
It’s a toad, it’s a frog
It’s a rest of brush
In the morning’s light

They are the waters of March
Closing the summer
It’s the promise of life
In your heart

It’s a snake, it’s a stick
It’s John, it’s Joseph
It’s a thorn in the hand
It’s the cut on the foot

They are the waters of March
Closing the summer
It’s the promise of life
In your heart

It’s stick, it’s stone
It’s the end of the road
It’s a rest of stump
It’s a little alone

It’s a footstep, a bridge
It’s a toad, it’s a frog
It’s a beautiful horizon
It’s a tertian fever

They are the waters of March
Closing the summer
It’s the promise of life
In your heart

And here’s Waters of March as re-written, in English, by Jobim:

A stick, a stone,
It’s the end of the road,
It’s the rest of a stump,
It’s a little alone

It’s a sliver of glass,
It is life, it’s the sun,
It is night, it is death,
It’s a trap, it’s a gun

The oak when it blooms,
A fox in the brush,
A knot in the wood,
The song of a thrush

The wood of the wind,
A cliff, a fall,
A scratch, a lump,
It is nothing at all

It’s the wind blowing free,
It’s the end of the slope,
It’s a beam, it’s a void,
It’s a hunch, it’s a hope

And the river bank talks
of the waters of March,
It’s the end of the strain,
The joy in your heart

The foot, the ground,
The flesh and the bone,
The beat of the road,
A slingshot’s stone

A fish, a flash,
A silvery glow,
A fight, a bet,
The range of a bow

The bed of the well,
The end of the line,
The dismay in the face,
It’s a loss, it’s a find

A spear, a spike,
A point, a nail,
A drip, a drop,
The end of the tale

A truckload of bricks
in the soft morning light,
The shot of a gun
in the dead of the night

A mile, a must,
A thrust, a bump,
It’s a girl, it’s a rhyme,
It’s a cold, it’s the mumps

The plan of the house,
The body in bed,
And the car that got stuck,
It’s the mud, it’s the mud

Afloat, adrift,
A flight, a wing,
A hawk, a quail,
The promise of spring

And the riverbank talks
of the waters of March,
It’s the promise of life
It’s the joy in your heart

A stick, a stone,
It’s the end of the road
It’s the rest of a stump,
It’s a little alone

A snake, a stick,
It is John, it is Joe,
It’s a thorn in your hand
and a cut in your toe

A point, a grain,
A bee, a bite,
A blink, a buzzard,
A sudden stroke of night

A pin, a needle,
A sting, a pain,
A snail, a riddle,
A wasp, a stain

A pass in the mountains,
A horse and a mule,
In the distance the shelves
rode three shadows of blue

And the riverbank talks
of the waters of March,
It’s the promise of life
in your heart, in your heart

A stick, a stone,
The end of the road,
The rest of a stump,
A lonesome road

A sliver of glass,
A life, the sun,
A knife, a death,
The end of the run

And the riverbank talks
of the waters of March,
It’s the end of all strain,
It’s the joy in your heart.

B
Source of lyrics : Elma Lia Nascimento  @   http://www.brazzil.com/p08sep01.htm

Freddy’s Ready – Summer Sale Dates Announced

Join your pals @ ARC for our annual Summer Record + CD Sale.

Yes its true, mainstream rags are ga-ga for vinyl, those johnny-come-latelies trying to explain what we all know – you can’t love a CD!  So Fred put on his fez and got to work rooting through the 350,000 singles to pull third copies , just for you, for our next sale.

Cuz you can never have enough vinyl!

He’s working on the “R”s, trying to find some funky Johhny Ray, low-key Ramones and leathery Bobby Rydell.  Yes, he’s eyeing up a cartload of “R”s.  If we have THIRD copies,
well to the salebins they go

Sale begins Sat June 13 and goes everyday from 11am – 6pm, ending Sun June 21 , when mysterious traders, in fezes, clean us out.

If you have stuff to donate, do it soon.  If you need more, do frop by this June.

Dave Clark – Can’t Pay, Won’t Pay

We know the world has lost its moral compass when Gandhi chotskis hit the auction block.  Further proof is when former rockstars ask for a favor, on a quick turnaround, and than stiff you.  No we won’t go into ALL the folks who don’t pay their bills, knowing that ARC is too small to ever sue anyone, but here’s the latest.   We were asked to send a scan the cover of “Coast to Coast” (Epic, USA, LN 24128, Mono, [1965]) by Dave’s office.  We did it in a few hours, sent the scan, sent the bill.  A month later, nada.  We recontact and they say they sent by wire transfer.  We send them a copy of our banks transactions, proving it was never received.  They say well, it’s OUR problem.

So Dave.  I know times are tough.  You may not have the $100.  Sad.  Buy hey, when you wanted the scan we did it quickly, expertly, on faith.  That was our responsibility.  Your responsibility is to pay.  So despite the brazen stance in front of the US map, Dave Clark is no friend of America!  From the Stamp Act to the Dave Clark unpaid bill, it’s the same old story…

Strategien Gegen Architekturen

Recently the ARSC list posted info on the problems with the increasing number of unstable modern concrete structures, and how safety concerns were rumored (not true) to have led to the relocation, and unavailability, of the great pop music collection at Bowling Green State University.  But an archive in Cologne did collapse.  The heading for this info was, cleverly, Einstürzende Neubauten.

So just for fun, here is our hard-to-catalog list of Einstürzende Neubauten recordings @ ARC, alpha by title, not including compilations, white label promos or the uncatalogued 30plus twelve-inch singles and 11 seven-inch singles in the collection.   As point of reference ARC has catalogued 32 more EN recordings than the Library of Congress and 27 more than Bowling Green.

Einsturzende Neubauten
• 80-83 Strategien Gegen Architekturen  (Homestead, USA, HMS 063, 12″, vinyl disc-Lp, 1986)
• 80-83 Strategien Gegen Architekturen  (Mute, UK, STUMM 14, 12″, vinyl disc-LP, 1983)
• 1991 – 2001  (Mute Corporation, 9165-2, 5″, compact disc-2CD, 2002)
• 1/2 Mensch  (Rough Trade, USA, BIZZ/ART 1, 12″, vinyl disc-Lp, 1985)
• 2 x 4  (Roir, 133, 5″, compact disc, -)
• 2 x 4  (Roir, 8235, 5″, compact disc, 1997)
• Die Hamletmaschine  (Ego, Germany, 111, 5″, compact disc, -)
• Drawings of O.T.  (PVC, USA, PVC 9902, 12″, vinyl disc-LP, 1984)
• Ein Dokument 1985 In Tokio (Inclues a Booklet)  ( cassette –)
• Faustmusik  (Mute, 9021-2, 5″, Compact Disc, 1996)
• Faustmusik  (Ego, Germany, EGO 501, 5″, Compact Disc, 1996)
• Feurio!  (Rough Trade, Germany, RTD 065 T, 12″, vinyl disc-Single or Ep, 1990)
• Five On The Open-Ended Richter-Scale  (Thirsty Ear, THI 57016, 5″, compact disc, 1995)
• Fuenf Auf der Nach Oben Offenen Richterskala  (Relativity, USA, 88561-8188-1, 12″, vinyl disc-LP, 1987)
• Haus Der Luege  (Thirsty Ear, 57017, 5″, compact disc, 1995)
• Haus der Luege  (Rough Trade, USA, ROUGH 71 US, 12″, vinyl disc-LP, 1989)
• Haus Der Lüge  (Rough Trade, USA, RoughUS 71CD, 5″, compact disc, n.d.)
• Interim  (Mute, 61509-2, 5″, Compact Disc, 1997)
• Kalte Sterne – Early Recordings  (Mute, UK, CDStumm137, 5″, compact disc, 2004)
• Kalte Sterne – Early Recordings  (Mute, 9249-2, 5″, Compact Disc, 2004)
• Kollaps  (Zickzack, Germany, ZZ 65, 12″, vinyl disc-Lp, n.d.)
• Live At Club Chicago (Advance CASS)  (, , 12″, cassette , –)
• Perpetuum Mobile  (Mute, 9237-2, 5″, Compact Disc, 2004)
• Perpetuum Mobile  (Mute, UK, CDStumm221, 5″, compact disc, 2004)
• Schwarz (12″, vinyl disc-Single or Ep, –)
• Silence Is Sexy  (Mute, 9132, 5″, compact disc-2CD, 2000)
• Strategies Against Architecture II  (Mute, 61100-2, 5″, compact disc-2CD, 1991)
• Strategies Aganist Architecture  (Mute/Elektra, 61677-2, 5″, compact disc, 1994)
• Tabula Rasa  (Beton, 106, 5″, compact disc, 1993)
• Tabula Rasa  (Mute, 61458-2, 5″, Compact Disc, 1993)
• Tabula Rasa  (Mute, UK, CDStumm156 , 5″, compact disc-2CD, 2004)
• “Thirsty Animal” / “Durstiges Tier”  (Ripoff [?], Germany, n.n., 12″, , 1982) w/ Lydia Lunch.
• “Yu-Gung” // “Seele brennt” / “Sand”  (Some Bizzare, UK, BART 12, 12″, vinyl disc-Single or Ep, 1985)
• Zeichnungen des Patienten O.T.  (Some Bizzare, UK, SBVART 2, 12″, vinyl disc-LP, 1983)