On a recent trip to Brazil, I commented to the bossa nova-era songwriter Carlos Lyra that so many of the great Brazilian songs contain the word coracao – heart – in them. "It's so romantic," I said to Lyra. "It seems that Brazilians can't help but sing of the pain and the joy in their hearts." "Actually," Lyra replied, "there's another reason. Coracao is the easiest word in the Portuguese language to rhyme."