“Coração do Estudante” (Milton Nascimento, 1983)
“Coração do Estudante” (“Student Heart”) is one of the great Milton Nascimento’s most well-known and beloved songs. Originally written by Wagner Tiso as an instrumental for a movie about President João Goulart, Milton added words and first recorded it on his 1983 album “Ao vivo” (“Live”). The title is the name of a flowering begonia common in the state of Minas Gerais where Milton spent much of his childhood, but the lyrics are inspired by the 1968 government assassination of Edson Luís de Lima Souto. This song was purportedly President Tancredo Neves’s favorite song, was a theme song for the movement for direct elections, and is played in many student graduations in Brazil to this day.
“Student Heart”
I want to talk about something
Guess where it’s been?
It must be in my chest
Or it’s walking through the air
It could be right here
Much closer than we thought
The bloom of youth
Is the right name for this love
They’ve already pruned your moments
Diverted your destiny
Your boyish smile
How many times hidden
But hope renews itself
The new dawn of each day
And we have to take care of the buds
So that life gives us flowers and fruit
Student heart
We have to take care of life
We have to take care of the world
Take care of friendship
Happiness and many dreams
Scattered along the way
Green plants and feelings
Leaves, heart, youth, and faith