Tico-Tico no Fubá
Encyclopedia
Tico-Tico no Fubá is the title
of a renowned Brazilian choro
music
piece composed by Zequinha de Abreu
in 1917. Its original title was Tico-Tico no Farelo, but since Brazilian guitarist Américo Jacomino Canhoto (1889 – 1928) had a work with the same title, Abreu's work was given its present name in 1931.
Choro
(literally translated meaning lament) is also popularly known as chorinho in the affectionate diminutive form of Brazil
ian Portuguese. "Fubá" is a type of maize flour, and "tico-tico" is the name of a bird, the rufous-collared sparrow (Zonotrichia capensis). Hence, "tico-tico no fubá" means "tico-tico in the cornmeal".
The first recording of the work was made by Orquestra Colbaz (Columbia 22029, 1931).
Tico-Tico no Fubá was recorded and made popular internationally by Carmen Miranda
(who performed it onscreen in Copacabana (1947)) and Ray Conniff
. Another well known recording was made by first lady of the organ, Miss Ethel Smith
on the Hammond organ
.
A biographical
movie by the same title
was produced in 1952 by the Brazilian film
studio Companhia Cinematográfica Vera Cruz with Anselmo Duarte playing the main role.
The song was also featured in the "Aquarela do Brasil" segment of the Walt Disney
film Saludos Amigos
(1942) and in Woody Allen
's Radio Days
(1987). It was also featured in the MGM film Bathing Beauty
(1943).
The expression also features in the lyrics to the song O Pato made famous by João Gilberto
.
The great flamenco guitarist Paco De lucia performed Tico, tico in 1967
Watch Watch Paco De Lucia
Tico tico guitar version
This song was also played as an instrumental by James Booker with the Jerry Garcia Band.
In Quebec the song has been used for several decades in commercials for Sico paint.
Title
A title is a prefix or suffix added to someone's name to signify either veneration, an official position or a professional or academic qualification. In some languages, titles may even be inserted between a first and last name...
of a renowned Brazilian choro
Choro
Choro , traditionally called chorinho , is a Brazilian popular music instrumental style. Its origins are in 19th century Rio de Janeiro. In spite of the name, the style often has a fast and happy rhythm, characterized by virtuosity, improvisation, subtile modulations and full of syncopation and...
music
Music
Music is an art form whose medium is sound and silence. Its common elements are pitch , rhythm , dynamics, and the sonic qualities of timbre and texture...
piece composed by Zequinha de Abreu
Zequinha de Abreu
José Gomes de Abreu, better known as Zequinha de Abreu , was a Brazilian musician and composer who in 1917 wrote the famous choro tune "Tico-Tico no Fubá"...
in 1917. Its original title was Tico-Tico no Farelo, but since Brazilian guitarist Américo Jacomino Canhoto (1889 – 1928) had a work with the same title, Abreu's work was given its present name in 1931.
Choro
Choro
Choro , traditionally called chorinho , is a Brazilian popular music instrumental style. Its origins are in 19th century Rio de Janeiro. In spite of the name, the style often has a fast and happy rhythm, characterized by virtuosity, improvisation, subtile modulations and full of syncopation and...
(literally translated meaning lament) is also popularly known as chorinho in the affectionate diminutive form of Brazil
Brazil
Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...
ian Portuguese. "Fubá" is a type of maize flour, and "tico-tico" is the name of a bird, the rufous-collared sparrow (Zonotrichia capensis). Hence, "tico-tico no fubá" means "tico-tico in the cornmeal".
The first recording of the work was made by Orquestra Colbaz (Columbia 22029, 1931).
Tico-Tico no Fubá was recorded and made popular internationally by Carmen Miranda
Carmen Miranda
Carmen Miranda, GCIH was a Portuguese-born Brazilian samba singer, Broadway actress and Hollywood film star popular in the 1940s and 1950s. She was, by some accounts, the highest-earning woman in the United States and noted for her signature fruit hat outfit she wore in the 1943 movie The Gang's...
(who performed it onscreen in Copacabana (1947)) and Ray Conniff
Ray Conniff
Joseph Raymond Conniff was an American bandleader and arranger best known for his Ray Conniff Singers during the 1960s.-Biography:...
. Another well known recording was made by first lady of the organ, Miss Ethel Smith
Ethel Smith (organist)
Ethel Smith was an organist who played primarily in a pop style on the Hammond organ.Her recording of Tico Tico was her best-known hit. It reached No. 14 on the U.S. pop charts in November 1944 and sold over one million copies worldwide. She also recorded it for the 1944 film, Bathing Beauty...
on the Hammond organ
Hammond organ
The Hammond organ is an electric organ invented by Laurens Hammond in 1934 and manufactured by the Hammond Organ Company. While the Hammond organ was originally sold to churches as a lower-cost alternative to the wind-driven pipe organ, in the 1960s and 1970s it became a standard keyboard...
.
A biographical
Biography
A biography is a detailed description or account of someone's life. More than a list of basic facts , biography also portrays the subject's experience of those events...
movie by the same title
Tico-Tico no Fubá (film)
Tico-Tico no Fubá is a 1952 Brazilian comedy film directed by Adolfo Celi and starring Anselmo Duarte. It was entered into the 1952 Cannes Film Festival....
was produced in 1952 by the Brazilian film
Film
A film, also called a movie or motion picture, is a series of still or moving images. It is produced by recording photographic images with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects...
studio Companhia Cinematográfica Vera Cruz with Anselmo Duarte playing the main role.
The song was also featured in the "Aquarela do Brasil" segment of the Walt Disney
Walt Disney
Walter Elias "Walt" Disney was an American film producer, director, screenwriter, voice actor, animator, entrepreneur, entertainer, international icon, and philanthropist, well-known for his influence in the field of entertainment during the 20th century. Along with his brother Roy O...
film Saludos Amigos
Saludos Amigos
Saludos Amigos is a 1942 animated feature produced by Walt Disney and released by RKO Radio Pictures. It is the 6th animated feature in the Walt Disney Animated Classics series. It is the first of six package films made by the Disney studio in the 1940s...
(1942) and in Woody Allen
Woody Allen
Woody Allen is an American screenwriter, director, actor, comedian, jazz musician, author, and playwright. Allen's films draw heavily on literature, sexuality, philosophy, psychology, Jewish identity, and the history of cinema...
's Radio Days
Radio Days
Radio Days is a 1987 comedy film directed by Woody Allen. The film looks back on an American family's life during the Golden Age of Radio using both music and memories to tell the story.-Plot:...
(1987). It was also featured in the MGM film Bathing Beauty
Bathing Beauty
Bathing Beauty is a 1944 musical starring Red Skelton, Basil Rathbone and Esther Williams and directed by George Sidney.Although this was not William's screen debut, it was her first Technicolor musical. The film was initially to be titled "Mr. Co-Ed" with Red Skelton having top billing...
(1943).
The expression also features in the lyrics to the song O Pato made famous by João Gilberto
João Gilberto
João Gilberto Prado Pereira de Oliveira, known as João Gilberto , is a Brazilian singer and guitarist. His seminal recordings, including many songs by Antônio Carlos Jobim and Vinicius de Moraes, established the new musical genre of Bossa nova in the late 1950s.-Biography:From an early age, music...
.
The great flamenco guitarist Paco De lucia performed Tico, tico in 1967
Watch Watch Paco De Lucia
Tico tico guitar version
Lyrics
The complete version of Aloysio de Oliveira's original Portuguese lyrics: O tico tico tá, tá outra vez aqui, o tico tico tá comendo o meu fubá. Se o tico tico tem, tem que se alimentar, Que vá comer umas minhocas no pomar. O tico tico tá, tá outra vez aqui, o tico tico tá comendo o meu fubá. Eu sei que ele vem viver no meu quintal, e vem com ares de canário e de pardal. Mas por favor tira esse bicho do celeiro, porque ele acaba comendo o fubá inteiro. Tira esse tico de lá, de cima do meu fubá. Tem tanta fruta que ele pode pinicar. Eu já fiz tudo para ver se conseguia. Botei alpiste para ver se ele comia. Botei um gato um espantalho e um alçapão, mas ele acha que o fubá é que é boa alimentação. Loose translation of the original lyrics: The tico tico is here, it is here again, the tico tico is eating my cornmeal. If that tico tico has to feed itself, it better eat a few earthworms at the orchard. The tico tico is here, it is here again, the tico tico is eating my cornmeal. I know that it comes to live in my yard, and that it puts on airs like a sparrow and a canary. But please take this animal off my granary, because it will end up eating all the cornmeal Throw that tico out of here, from the top of the cornmeal (heap), it has so much fruit to eat from. I have done everything to see if I could, Threw it canary feed to see if it ate it. Let a cat loose, and (even) set up a trap, but it finds cornmeal to be good nutrition. |
English version (not a translation): Oh tico-tico tick! Oh tico-tico tock! This tico-tico - he's the cuckoo in my clock. And when he says: "Cuckoo!" he means it's time to woo; It's "tico-time" for all the lovers in the block. I've got a heavy date - a tête-à-tête at eight, so speak, oh tico, tell me is it getting late? If I'm on time, "Cuckoo!" but if I'm late, "Woo-woo!" The one my heart has gone to may not want to wait! For just a birdie, and a birdie who goes no-where, He knows of ev'ry Lovers' Lane and how to go there; For in affairs of the heart, my Tico's terribly smart, He tells me: "Gently, sentiment'ly at the start!" Oh-oh, I hear my little tico-tico calling, Because the time is right and shades of night are falling. I love that not-so-cuckoo cuckoo in my clock: tico-tico tico-tico-tico tock! |
Miscellaneous
This was often performed by the Grateful Dead during their tuning jams which often happened in between songs.This song was also played as an instrumental by James Booker with the Jerry Garcia Band.
In Quebec the song has been used for several decades in commercials for Sico paint.
External links
- 61 versions of Tico Tico at WFMU'sWFMUWFMU is a listener-supported, independent community radio station headquartered in Jersey City, New Jersey, United States, broadcasting at 91.1 MHz FM, presenting a freeform radio format...
blog Cecilia Siqueira and Fernando Lima - http://www.whitegum.com/introjs.htm?/songfile/TICOTICO.HTM
- Tico tico guitar