Saudade is a uniquely expressive Portuguese word for the deep ache of missing someone or something, often blending longing, nostalgia, and affection. In the song, “A saudade é dor” means “Longing is painful,” as the singer asks his love to return when possible.
Jorge Aragão opens Já É with a man who has lost track of someone he loved: "Não sei como aconteceu, dava tudo pra saber onde você se escondeu" (I don't know how it happened, I'd give anything to know where you hid). His plan to win her back is sweetly old-fashioned. He's thinking of writing "uma carta de amor em forma de um coração" (a love letter in the shape of a heart), or just telling her that what they had "foi linda pra gente acabar assim" (was too beautiful for us to end like this). And he makes it clear whose choice the breakup was not: "se dependesse de mim" (if it were up to me).
The chorus is where the title lands. "Pra onde você for, lá pra mim já é" (wherever you go, count me in) uses já é, Brazilian slang for "done deal" or "I'm in", so he isn't asking where she went, he's already packed. "Irei se você quiser" (I'll go if you want), he sings, and then the plea: "A saudade é dor, volta meu amor, assim que você puder" (missing you hurts, come back my love, as soon as you can). It's a samba of longing with the door left wide open, and a great song for picking up everyday spoken Portuguese like pra, tô and a gente.
Jorge Aragão was born in Rio de Janeiro in 1949 and came up through the composers' wing of the Cacique de Ramos carnival block, where the backyard samba sessions of the late 1970s gave birth to pagode. He was a founding member of Fundo de Quintal and sang on the group's first album in 1980 before going solo.
He made his name as a songwriter first: Elza Soares recorded his "Malandro" in 1977, and Beth Carvalho, Alcione and Zeca Pagodinho all went on to record his songs. "Coisinha do Pai", which he wrote with Almir Guineto and Luiz Carlos da Vila, was played on Mars in 1997 during NASA's Pathfinder mission. His live album Jorge Aragão Ao Vivo (1999) sold around 800,000 copies and put him in the same league as Martinho da Vila and Zeca Pagodinho.