“A Felicidade” is a bossa nova song composed by Antônio Carlos Jobim with lyrics by Vinícius de Moraes. Written in 1958 for the French film Orfeu Negro (Black Orpheus), it was one of three new songs Jobim and Moraes created for the film after collaborating on the 1956 stage play Orfeu da Conceição. Agostinho dos Santos made the original recording in 1959 and sings the song over the film’s opening credits, accompanied on guitar by Roberto Menescal.
The lyric centers on the fragility and transience of happiness, contrasting it with enduring sadness and using images of dew, wind, and Carnaval. In the film’s context, its closing verses relate to Orfeu’s search for Euridice. Orfeu Negro won the Palme d’Or at Cannes in 1959 and the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film in 1960, bringing international attention to Jobim, Moraes, and bossa nova. Notable later recordings include versions by João Gilberto, Sylvia Telles, Antônio Carlos Jobim, Astrud Gilberto, Ella Fitzgerald, and Joe Henderson.
