Estrada Branca, known in English as This Happy Madness, is a 1958 bossa nova tune composed by Antônio Carlos Jobim with Portuguese lyrics by Vinícius de Moraes. The Portuguese title means "white road." Jobim reportedly wrote it at his parents' home in Poço Fundo, inspired by rain. The first recording was by Elizete Cardoso for the album Canção do Amor Demais in April 1958, an album said to have inaugurated the bossa nova sound. English lyrics were added later by Gene Lees, and the melody is considered one of Jobim's early, and sometimes challenging, tunes. Notable later versions include Frank Sinatra's recording on Sinatra & Company (recorded 1969, released 1971) and Jobim's own rendition on Terra Brasilis (1980).
