Re: Las Vegas ConneKTion

[chrisw@fciad2.bsd.uchicago.edu (chris williams)]

Valerie asks:
>During the Rio Hotel's "Conga" dinner show this weekend, 
>Rio Rita sang "Brazil"! Same version, same tempo...you can
>imagine the stunned look on my face. The "Conga" show took
>from a lot of pop songs dealing with Brazil/Latin America, 
>but KATE?! 

>Did Kate write the song? My mother thought it sounded
>familiar to her, so I suspect it's just an old tune that Kate
>covered. But then again, she may have just heard the Kate
>version once or twice.

   It is an old song. I'm not sure exactly when it was written,
but the writer was Harry (or Ary) Barrosso (or Boroso - the "Brazil
CD booklet is singlulary unhelpful) and it's name *might* be
_Aquarella Dos Brazil_ (or not.) But is does appear to be a
song from the 1930's (in keeping with much of the feeling of
the "regressed distopian future" of the film.) I can ask my
mom, who seems to be able to remember the lyrics of practically
every song she has ever heard. I remember how surprised I was
when she once sang the words to the Looney Tunes theme song,
_The Merry-Go-Round Broke Down_. I didn't even know it *had*
lyrics.

   So, in short, it was a very popular samba tune and the Michael
Kamen made an amazing number of different variations on it in the
soundtrack. The version Kate sang on appears in the film without
Kate's vocal. It's in the dream sequence before Sam first wakes
up to go to work. The wistful tone of the lyrics obviously fit
into Terry Gilliam's vision.
   
                          Chris Williams of
                             Chris'n'Vickie of Chicago
                               chrisw@fciad2.bsd.uchicago.edu (his)
                                 vickie@njin.rutgers.edu      (hers)