Aprumar means 'to straighten up' or 'to get oneself together'. It's a less common verb that carries a strong sense of self-improvement and resilience.
In the context of Tim Maia's song, the singer declares, "Vou me aprumar" (I'm going to get myself together). This word perfectly encapsulates the song's theme of overcoming heartbreak and making a conscious effort to move forward and be happy, making it both interesting and inspiring.
Tim Maia opens with a vow to himself: 'Vou lutar' [I'll fight], 'Vou vencer' [I'll win]. Under it sits a plain admission of heartbreak — 'Te esquecer' [I'll forget you] — but he turns it into a task rather than a wound, repeating 'Depende um pouco' [It depends a little], 'Do meu próprio esforço' [On my own effort] like a mantra through the whole song.
By the second verse there's already someone new: 'Uma linda menina' [A beautiful girl], 'Aqui do meu lado' [Here by my side]. And when he sings 'Não me interessa' [I don't care], 'Quem foi embora' [Who left], it reads less like real indifference and more like a man talking himself into moving on.
Tim Maia, born Sebastião Rodrigues Maia in Rio de Janeiro in 1942, was the singer who gave Brazil its own brand of soul. He started out as a teenage drummer and singer in the Tijuca neighbourhood, spent a few restless years in the United States soaking up rhythm and blues, then came home and poured all of it into Portuguese.
His self-titled 1970 debut made him a national star almost overnight, carried by classics such as "Azul da Cor do Mar" and "Primavera". Over the next three decades he practically invented samba soul and Brazilian funk, took a famous mystical detour with the "Racional" albums, and became as legendary for his huge, unpredictable personality as for his voice. He died in 1998 at the age of 55, and his songs are still everywhere in Brazil, from beach radios to film soundtracks.