Port of Le Havre, September 7, 1964
Dearest Tom,
I’m here in a hotel room, which looks out over a plaza, which looks out over all of the lonesomeness in the world.
It’s 10 p.m. and not a soul to be seen.
My ship leaves only tomorrow afternoon and it’s impossible that anyone’s sadder than I am.
And as always at these times, I write you letters that I never send.
I left Paris behind with the longing of a year of love, and ahead of me, there’s Brazil, which is a permanent passion in my life as a constant exile. <...>
I was also really pleased by the news of the success of ‘Berimbau’ there in Brazil. I hear they’re playing the song ‘for real!’ That makes me really happy for Baden. And why lie? For myself too. It’s good to know that we haven’t been forgotten, that the people continue singing our songs; after all, deep down, that’s why we compose! I remember so well when we wrote the samba, one late late night, about three years ago. I told Baden: ‘this looks like a hit.’ And we sang and sang the samba until the sun came up.
Vinícius de Moraes — Tom Jobim
