One of my favorite songs to walk to is a bossa nova tune that was a worldwide hit in the mid-1960s. It’s the first song on my “beach walking play list.” I use this list when we vacation at a sunny get-away-spot.
But today I listened to it as I did my winter weekend walk and it really put me in a good mood! I was glad to be moving – it was one of those “almost like spring” days that can fool you here in the Northwest. I tore myself away from my home office and left my husband working in the yard and took time to do something that’s really good for me and always puts me in a good mood. I went off with my Ipod and walked in the crisp sunshine.
My 90-minute path is saved for weekend days and I get to hear a lot of my favorite music. This song has a great story behind it and a woman that is a national hero in her South American country for being “The Girl.” She was the only woman in the 60s that was famous for her beach walking. As the words of the song tell us – she walked every day on the beach. This is probably the first (and only) popular song about how having a daily activity program makes you beautiful and desirable to those who watch you pass. I like to imagine that someone is singing it about me as I walk past them! That really puts me in a good mood and makes me laugh as I put on my parka and neck scarf.
You can find more than 60 recorded versions of the song on the web. Listen to the version sung by Astrud Gilberto that topped the charts in the 60s. I hope you enjoy it too!
Here are the words to my workout song suggestion…
The Girl from Ipanema
Words and music by Jobim/Gimbel/Demoraes
Tall and tan and young and lovely
The girl from Ipanema goes walking
And when she passes, each one she passes goes - ah
When she walks, she’s like a samba
That swings so cool and sways so gentle
That when she passes, each one she passes goes - ooh
(ooh) but I watch her so sadly
How can I tell her I love her
Yes I would give my heart gladly
But each day, when she walks to the sea
She looks straight ahead, not at me
Tall, (and) tan, (and) young, (and) lovely
The girl from Ipanema goes walking
And when she passes, I smile - but she doesn’t see
(doesn’t see, she just doesn’t see, she never sees me,...)
Alice Lockridge,
Physical Activity expert, MS PhysEd, Exercise Physiologist