Milton Nasciento’s “Ponta de Areia” /Photos from YouTube matched to words of the song

John Fraim

The world needs so much more music like this. Especially today. Not just any music but rather gorgeous, beautiful music full of passion and wonderment for life and all it holds. In the end, it is music created by artists rather than fakes. From the heart more than the mind. Few in music today see to know how to create this type of music.

One of the most beautiful songs in jazz is the melancholic farewell to a lost railway in the Brazil of the 60s. Ponta de Areia was a station on the Bahia-Minas steam train line, which connected the state of Minas Gerais in the interior with the coastal state of Bahia.  This song laments the destruction of this by the military dictatorship of the 1964-1985, which left small towns abandoned.

The song by legendary Brazilian musician Milton Nascimento is a poignant reflection on the closure of a once-vital railway line that connected the state of Minas Gerais to the port in Bahia, Brazil. The lyrics evoke a deep sense of nostalgia and loss, capturing the emotional and social impact of this change on the local communities. The ‘Ponta de Areia’ represents the end of the line, both literally and metaphorically, signifying the finality of an era and the severing of a crucial link between inland and coastal regions.

Nascimento at 80

The imagery of the ‘velho maquinista’ (old train conductor) with his cap reminiscing about the joyful people who used to travel the route adds a personal and human touch to the narrative. The ‘Maria fumaça’ (steam train) no longer sings for the young women, flowers, windows, and backyards, symbolizing the end of a vibrant and lively period. The train, once a source of connection and joy, is now silent, and its absence is felt deeply by the community.

The song also paints a picture of desolation and abandonment, with ‘praça vazia’ (empty square) and ‘casas esquecidas’ (forgotten houses) highlighting the void left behind. The ‘viúvas nos portais’ (widows in the doorways) further emphasize the sense of loss and mourning, as the community grapples with the changes brought about by the dismantling of the railway. 

Through its evocative lyrics and melancholic tone, ‘Ponta de Areia’ serves as a powerful commentary on the impact of progress and modernization on traditional ways of life, and the inevitable passage of time.

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“Ponta de Areia” / From Wayne Shorter’s Native Dancer, Featuring Milton Nascimento (1974)

The beautiful song has seen a number of versions after the original Nascimento version. Perhaps the most powerful was Wayne Shorter on his famous Native Dancer album of 1974. The album featured vocals by Nascimento with a stellar collection of musicians: Wayne Shorter – soprano saxophone, Milton Nascimento – vocals, Jay Graydon – electric guitar, Herbie Hancock – piano, Wagner Tiso – organ, Dave McDaniel – bass and Robertinho Silva – drums.

After his international breakthrough with Native Dancer, Nascimento collaborated further with Wayne Shorter as well as with Paul Simon, Pat Mancini, Ron Carter, Herbie Hancock, James Taylor, Peter Gabriel, and other widely known artists. He did not, however, trade his sense of Brazilian identity for world music renown. In fact, he came to represent Brazilian identity.

In the 1980s, the tide was turning on Brazil’s military dictatorship and the middle class that had earlier supported it was now lobbying for free democratic elections. Milton Nascimento became involved, performing at political rallies and serving as a symbol of change and reconciliation by virtue of his music, the life-affirming message in so many of his songs, and, yes, his race. The song Coracao de Estudante figured prominently in rallies as did his Cancão da América which opens with a vocalise on vowels in the style of aboio cattle herding songs of Brazilian cowboys who work in the country’s interior.

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It’s interesting that Nascimento met Wayne Shorter in the mid-70s when Shorter was co-leading the group Weather Report with Joe Zawinal. Around this same time, leaders in jazz were becoming more and more involved with exploring South American music. Particularly the music of Brasil. Listening to the above interplay between Nascimento and Shorter, one can hear so much of the turn towards the south of jazz legends like Chick Corea and McCoy Tyner with his “Bahia” composition. More than anything, it sounds so close to what Weather Report was putting out in the mid 70s.

As we noted above, the evocative lyrics and melancholic tone, makes ‘Ponta de Areia’ serve as a powerful commentary on the impact of progress and modernization on traditional ways of life, and the inevitable passage of time. Yes, its about the end of a railroad in Brazil. But it is really about the end of a certain period in ones life. The life of Nascimento. And the new life of Brasil, that always mysterious country in South America which produces music like this.

The incredible high, beautiful soprano voice of Nascimento works powerfully with the saxophone of Shorter. Milton would have a long career ahead of him. And through his life, a lot of love to spread through his music.

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John was born in LA and is founder of Midnight Oil Studios. He’s the author of numerous articles as well as the book Spirit Cather: The Life & Art of John Coltrane (GreatHouse) and Battle of Symbols: Global Dynamics of Advertising, Entertainment and Media (Daimon Verlag, Zurich). His new book is Hollywood Safari: A Tour Through Screenwriting Theory (2024-Late). He is a graduate of UCLA and Loyola Law School (Los Angeles).

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Lyrics

Point of sand, period 
From Bahia to Minas, natural road 
That connected Minas to the port, to the sea 
Railways ordered to be started 
Old train driver with his cap 
Remember the happy people who came to court 

Maria Fumaça, no longer sings 
For girls, flowers, windows and yards 
In the empty square, a cry oh 
Forgotten houses, widows in the portals

NOTES

Article on Nascimento from The Guardian in 2022.
The Magic of Milton Nascimento from Folkworks in 2014.

Wikipedia on Nascimento