This piece started out as a chord progression. The melody emerged from the progression and the initial composition was written for Jazz Ensemble. Once the title was selected to fully embrace the feel of the music, the lyrics naturally followed. This melancholy ballad includes a section in 12/8 as well as a development section. Phonetically Saudade is saw-day-dzz.

SAUDADE LYRICS:

At one time my heart was full, ever joyful
Sunshine days so pure, never ending
Breezes’ soft allure, ever playful
filling my mind with, memories of yesterpleasures 

Laughter echoes fade, in the stillness
Now I yearn for days, dispossessed or
Is this just a phase, in my mind-field
Aching for times, of all of us being all together

Technicolor past, now black and white dreams
Timeless days with you, yet my heart grieves
All my memories, falling like leaves
Grasping for times, before my mind completely recedes

Time, out of control, I feel it racing forward ever faster each day
Gone, out of my grasp, all of those times, when we enjoyed gatherings, toast-ing things, as one
Now, as I embrace loss, and I stare at blankness, feeling empty, aching inside, list-less
Enervated, apathetic, acquiescent, disconsolate, melancholy, lugubrious, me
Devastation, overwhelming, ruination, dysphoria, desperation, despondency, here
Now, in this troubled mind-set, lost, without extant bearing, directionless, desultory, bits and pieces gone

In my mind, yesterday, it seems real, murmur
Voices, laughter, conversing, echoing, din
Din, in my heart, it feels true, passion
Honest, sincere, accurate, factual, sense
Sense, in my soul, absolute, belief
Certain, sureness, confident, assurance 
Now, timeless, loss, or

Only my reality when 
happiness was mine, my Saudade
Or was I just blind, mindful decay
Memories confined, to my replay
How can I know, what memories convey?

Copyright © 2022 by Joe Sandoval