Born in Lisbon, Portugal, official documents have her date of birth as the 23rd July, but Rodrigues always said her birthday was the 1st July 1920. She was born in the rua Martim Vaz (Martim Vaz Street), freguesia of Pena, Lisbon. Her father was a trumpet player and cobbler from Fundão who returned there when Amália was just over a year old, leaving her to live in Lisbon with her maternal grandmother in a deeply Catholic environment until she was fourteen, when her parents returned to the capital and she moved back in with them.
She was known as the "Rainha do Fado" ("Queen of Fado"), and was most influential in popularising fado worldwide. She was unquestionably the most important figure in the genre’s development, by virtue of an innate interpretive talent carefully nurtured throughout a forty-year recording and stage career. Rodrigues' performances and choice of repertoire pushed fado’s boundaries and helped redefine it and reconfigure it for her and subsequent generations. In effect, Rodrigues wrote the rulebook on what fado could be and on how a female singer - or fadista - should perform it, to the extent that she remains an unsurpassable model and an unending source of repertoire for all those who came afterwards.
After a few years of amateur performances, Rodrigues’ first professional engagement in a fado venue took place in 1939, and she quickly became a regular guest star in stage revues. There she met Frederico Valério, a classically-trained composer who, recognising the potential in such a voice, wrote expansive melodies custom-designed for Rodrigues’ voice, breaking the rules of fado by adding orchestral accompaniment.
Her Portuguese popularity began to extend abroad with trips to Spain, a lengthy stay in Brazil (where, in 1945, she made her first recordings on Brazilian label Continental) and Paris (in 1949). In 1950, while performing at the Marshall Plan international benefit shows, she introduced "April in Portugal" to international audiences (under its original title "Coimbra"). In the early fifties, the patronage of the acclaimed Portuguese poet David Mourão-Ferreira marked the beginning of a new phase; Rodrigues sang many of the country's greatest poets, and some wrote lyrics specifically for her.
In 1954, Rodrigues' international career skyrocketed through her presence in Henri Verneuil’s film The Lovers of Lisbon, where she had a supporting role and performed on-screen. By the late 1950s the USA, England, and France had become her major international markets (Japan and Italy followed in the 1970s); in France especially, her popularity rivalled her Portuguese success, and she graduated to headliner at the prestigious Olympia theatre within a matter of months. Over the years, she performed nearly all over the world, going as far as the Soviet Union and Israel.
At the end of the 1950s, Rodrigues took a year off. She returned in 1962 with a richer voice, concentrating on recording and performing live at a slower pace. Her comeback album, 1962's Amália Rodrigues, was her first collaboration with French composer Alain Oulman, her main songwriter and musical producer throughout the decade. As Valério had before him, Oulman wrote melodies for her that transcended the conventions of fado. Rodrigues did not shy away from controversy: her performance in Carlos Vilardebó’s 1964 arthouse film The Enchanted Islands was better received than the film, based on a short story by Herman Melville, and her 1965 recording of poems by 16th century poet Luís de Camões generated acres of newspaper polemics. Yet her popularity remained untouched. Her 1968 single "Vou Dar de Beber à Dor" broke all sales records, and her 1970 album Com que Voz, considered by many her definitive recording, won a number of international awards.
During the 1970s, Rodrigues concentrated on live work, and embarked upon a heavy schedule of worldwide concert performances. During the frenetic period after the 25th April 1974 she was falsely accused of being a covert agent of the PIDE, causing some trauma to her public life and career. (In fact, during the Salazar years, Rodrigues had been an occasional financial supporter of some communists in need.) Her return to the recording studio in 1977 with Cantigas numa Língua Antiga was received as a triumph. The 1980s and 1990s brought her enthronement as a living legend. Her last all-new studio recording, Lágrima, was released in 1983. It was followed by a series of previously lost or unreleased recordings, and the smash success of two greatest hits collections that sold over 200,000 copies combined.
Despite a series of illnesses involving her voice, Rodrigues continued recording as late as 1990. She eventually retreated from public performance, although her career gained in stature with an official biography by historian and journalist Vítor Pavão dos Santos, and a five-hour television series documenting her fifty-year career, featuring rare archival footage (later distilled into the ninety-minute film documentary, The Art of Amália). Its director, Bruno de Almeida, has also produced Amália, Live in New York City (a concert film of her 1990 performance at New York City Hall).
Rodrigues died on the 6th October 1999 at the age of seventy-nine in her home in Lisbon. Portugal's government promptly declared a period of national mourning. Her house (in Rua de São Bento) is now a museum. She is now buried at the National Pantheon alongside other Portuguese notables.
1946.
Esquina do Pecado
Amália Rodrigues Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Não me castigues, te peço!
Nem mesmo teu dó
Eu agora te mereço
Só maus passos soube dar
Ao fugir do teu carinho
Agora quero voltar
E já nem sei o caminho
Esquina do pecado, que chão tão pisado,
Ó rua sombria!
Onde de amor me perdia,
Julgando ter felicidade!
Esquina do pecado
Lembrando o passado,
Eu digo e não minto,
Que nem sei bem se o que sinto
É o remorso ou saudade!
Queres guiar-me até quando
Vê bem o que se dá depois,
Nas ruas por onde eu ando
Não há lugar pra nós dois!
Sai depressa do meu lado!
Segue em frente, eu fico aqui!
Estou na esquina do pecado,
Onde um dia me perdi!
The lyrics of Amalia Rodrigues' "Esquina do Pecado" express a sense of regret and longing as the singer reflects on past mistakes and attempts to reconcile with a lover. The opening lines plead for forgiveness and mercy, acknowledging the wrong turns taken in the past. The singer's desire to return to the relationship is also expressed, along with a sense of confusion and uncertainty over how to navigate the path back to love.
The chorus of the song references the "esquina do pecado," or the corner of sin, which serves as a metaphor for the place where the singer's past mistakes were made. The lyrics suggest a sense of nostalgia and sadness for the lost innocence of the past. Despite the singer's desire to return to the relationship, there is a hint of skepticism over whether it is possible to overcome the mistakes of the past.
Overall, the lyrics of "Esquina do Pecado" are emotive and introspective, expressing a mix of regret and longing. The use of metaphor and vivid descriptions of the physical location add depth and complexity to the song.
Line by Line Meaning
Por favor, deixa-me só!
Please, leave me alone!
Não me castigues, te peço!
Please don't punish me!
Nem mesmo teu dó / Eu agora te mereço
I don't deserve your mercy now
Só maus passos soube dar / Ao fugir do teu carinho
I only took wrong steps by running away from your love
Agora quero voltar / E já nem sei o caminho
Now I want to come back, but I don't even know the way
Esquina do pecado, que chão tão pisado, / Ó rua sombria!
Corner of sin, such a well-worn ground, oh dark street!
Onde de amor me perdia, / Julgando ter felicidade!
Where I lost myself in love, thinking it would bring happiness!
Esquina do pecado / Lembrando o passado, / Eu digo e não minto, / Que nem sei bem se o que sinto / É o remorso ou saudade!
Corner of sin, remembering the past, I tell you the truth, I'm not sure if what I'm feeling is remorse or nostalgia!
Queres guiar-me até quando / Vê bem o que se dá depois, / Nas ruas por onde eu ando / Não há lugar pra nós dois!
Do you want to lead me until when? Think about what will happen next! In the streets where I walk, there's no room for both of us!
Sai depressa do meu lado! / Segue em frente, eu fico aqui! / Estou na esquina do pecado, / Onde um dia me perdi!
Leave me quickly! Move on, I'll stay here! I'm at the corner of sin, where I once got lost!
Contributed by Hudson I. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
armandoacgarcia
Homenagem à Rainha do
Fado - Amália Rodrigues
Amália, do outro lado,
Junto do Homem da cruz
Pediu pra cantar um fado
Em homenagem a Jesus
Deus consentiu no pedido
E foi ouvi-la cantar
Ficou muito arrependido,
Tê-la mandado chamar
Disse ao anjo, francamente
Que vacilo foi o teu
Amália, eternamente
Em Portugal tinha o céu !
É tão grande a perfeição
Da cantora portuguesa
Os anjos não conseguirão
Imitá-la, com certeza
Ao povo das caravelas
Que tantas graças lhe dei
Dei-lhe Amália como estrela
Por descuido, lha tirei !
São Paulo, 29/04/2013 (data da criação)
Armando A. C. Garcia
Visite meus blogs:
http://brisadapoesia.blogspot.com
http://preludiodesonetos.blogspot.com
http://criancaspoesias.blogspot.com
Direitos autorais registrados
Mantenha a autoria do poema
JP RV
Vós Sois o Povo do Graal Ó Povo de Portugal
Pois É Entre Vós que se Encobre o Tal
Obrigado Alma Portuguesa
A Alma dos Extremos
Que vai do mais Pequeno (a Mesquinhes)
Ao mais Elevado
A Capacidade de se exprimir desta forma
Em relação aos desejos mais Metafisicos da Alma (O SER)
O Fado Exprime a Saudade que a Alma Sente pelo Eterno
De onde sabe ter vindo
Tal como a gota de orvalho procura e anseia pelo Oceano onde sabe pertencer
Esta Diva vivia nessa mesma ansiedade a saudade do Eterno
Onde o Ser se sente Completo
Por essa razão ela Canta a Saudade da Alma como mais Ninguém
Quem a conheceu a fundo creio que concordará
Esta Diva nunca se apegou a nada na Vida
Viveu-a de uma Forma Intensa mas em Completo Desapego
Tal como vivem as poucas Almas
Que Conhecem O Caminho da Evolução Humana
O Desapego permite que Conheça-mos O REAL em Nós
A Consciência (O SER) que nos Habita
Porque Viveu neste Desapego
Identificou-se Totalmente com o Fado O Seu Único apego
Dando-lhe o Verdadeiro Significado
Através da Profundidade com que o interpreta
O Fado Nasce Com Camões
Renasce Com A Diva e a Continuação da Grandiosidade da Poesia em Portugal
Esta Nostalgia da Alma Refere-se ao Futuro e não ao Passado
Saudades refere-se ao passado e está Relacionado com o Ego
Saudade é um Chamamento do Futuro do Total do Inevitável Intemporal
Está Relacionado com a Alma com o Eterno (A Existência)
Esta Diva Fala-vos do Imortal que Habita em Vós
Ó Gente da Minha Terra
Ouçam com o Coração que está mais próximo do Ser
Alimentai todas as partes que o Compõem
Corpo Mente Coração e Alma
Lembrai-vos que Sois o Povo da Luxitãnia (O povo da Luz)(A Consciência)
O Farol da Humanidade
A quem foi dada a Responsabilidade Maior
De Unir os Povos da Terra
Relembra-los que Somos Eternos
No Mínimo
Só por Respeito a Esse Facto
Deveria-mos Estar a Viver como Humanos
Esta Diva e a Diva que colocou os Cravos nas Armas de Abril
São Dois dos Mais belos Rebentos da Humanidade
Autênticas Inspirações para a Própria Existência no seu Processo de Evolução
Sois Vós a Inpiração da Terra Ó Povo do Graal Ó Povo de Portugal
É Entre Vós que se Encontra o Real
O Gene do Imortal
Pecos V
Interpretación maravillosa!!!!
antonio alves Almeida
Eterna e Única Rainha do Fado e de Portugal 🇵🇹❤️. Saudades.
Siloj
Maravillosa Dña. Amalia, gracias por esta joya.
Maria Amador7
Qualquer dos fados antigos não a escolha são sempre
Bem cantados voz maravilhosa que saudades
Pecos V
Por dios que bella composición y que excepcional interpretación....!!!! Amalia es UNICA iiii
Augusto Candido
Ate aqui Amalia nos elucida que quando caimos nao devemos atirar pedras pois essas podem cair em alguns de nos.
Augusto Candido
que liricos que voz abenÇoada Amalia que nos levas a nostalgia do fado mas a alegria de sabermos que os Imortais nao morrem !
herminia lourenço
todas. que. dourem. cantadappla
cibusana
Isto é lindo!!!!Parabéns por mais um vídeo lindo!!!!Bjs. mana Cibele.
perla51
Voce intensa !!!!!! Grande interprete!!!!!Perla.