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.
L'Important C'Est La Rose
Amália Rodrigues Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Seul dans la trop grande ville
Avec le cafard tranquille du passant
Toi qu'elle a laissé tomber
Pour courir vers d'autres lunes
Pour courir d'autres fortunes l'important
L'important c'est la rose
L'important c'est la rose crois-moi
Toi qui cherches quelque argent
Pour te boucler la semaine
Dans la ville tu promènes ton ballant
Cascadeur, soleil couchant
Tu passes devant les banques
Si tu n'es que saltimbanque l'important
Toi, petit, que tes parents
Ont laissé seul sur la terre
Petit oiseau sans lumière, sans printemps
Dans ta veste de drap blanc
Il fait froid comme en Bohême
T'as le coeur comme en carême et pourtant
Toi pour qui, donnant donnant
J'ai chanté ces quelques lignes
Comme pour te faire un signe en passant
Dis à ton tour maintenant
Que la vie n'a d'importance
Que par une fleur qui danse sur le temps
REFRAIN
The song "L'Important C'est La Rose" by Amália Rodrigues tells a story about different individuals who are facing various challenges and hardships in life. The lyrics highlight the importance of focusing on the simple and beautiful things in life, represented by the rose.
The first verse addresses someone who is walking alone in a bustling city, feeling a sense of nostalgia and sadness. This person has been abandoned by someone they loved, who moved on to chase other dreams and fortunes. Despite the melancholy they feel, the lyrics emphasize that what truly matters in life is the rose. This metaphor suggests that even amidst the difficulties and disappointments, finding beauty and joy in small things can bring solace.
The chorus reinforces this idea, repeating that the rose is the important thing. It serves as a reminder that amidst the burdens of everyday life, one should not lose sight of the beauty and significance of simple pleasures. It urges the listener to believe in the power and importance of the rose, which symbolizes hope, love, and the fleeting nature of time.
The second verse portrays another individual seeking financial stability. They are doing odd jobs and passing by banks, perhaps feeling a sense of inadequacy or longing for a more stable lifestyle. The lyrics suggest that even if they are just a street performer or circus artist, what truly matters is the rose. This implies that finding joy and fulfillment in their passion and talents is more important than societal expectations or material wealth.
The third verse touches upon a child who has been abandoned by their parents. The child feels lost and lonely, like a bird without light or the joy of spring. Wrapped in a white jacket, they feel the chill of a cold and unforgiving world. Despite their hardships, they still possess a pure and innocent heart, akin to the solemnity of Lent. Once again, the lyrics affirm that even in such desolate circumstances, the rose holds significance.
In conclusion, "L'Important C'est La Rose" by Amália Rodrigues conveys the message that amidst life's challenges and difficulties, it is crucial to find beauty and meaning in simple things. The metaphor of the rose represents hope, love, and the fleeting nature of time. The song encourages listeners to appreciate the significance of small pleasures and to understand that true happiness lies in finding joy and solace even in the harshest of circumstances.
Line by Line Meaning
Toi qui marches dans le vent
You, who walks in the wind
Seul dans la trop grande ville
Alone in the overly big city
Avec le cafard tranquille du passant
With the tranquil blues of the passerby
Toi qu'elle a laissé tomber
You, who she let go
Pour courir vers d'autres lunes
To chase after other moons
Pour courir d'autres fortunes l'important
To pursue other fortunes, that's what matters
L'important c'est la rose
What matters is the rose
L'important c'est la rose
What matters is the rose
L'important c'est la rose crois-moi
Believe me, what matters is the rose
Toi qui cherches quelque argent
You, who are looking for some money
Pour te boucler la semaine
To make it through the week
Dans la ville tu promènes ton ballant
In the city, you wander aimlessly
Cascadeur, soleil couchant
Stuntman, sunset
Tu passes devant les banques
You pass by the banks
Si tu n'es que saltimbanque l'important
If you are only a street performer, that's what matters
Toi, petit, que tes parents
You, little one, whom your parents
Ont laissé seul sur la terre
Left alone on this earth
Petit oiseau sans lumière, sans printemps
Little bird without light, without spring
Dans ta veste de drap blanc
In your white woolen jacket
Il fait froid comme en Bohême
It feels cold, like in Bohemia
T'as le coeur comme en carême et pourtant
Your heart feels like in Lent, yet
Toi pour qui, donnant donnant
You, for whom, giving and receiving
J'ai chanté ces quelques lignes
I sang these few lines
Comme pour te faire un signe en passant
As if to give you a sign while passing by
Dis à ton tour maintenant
Now, tell me in return
Que la vie n'a d'importance
That life only matters
Que par une fleur qui danse sur le temps
Through a flower that dances with time
REFRAIN
REFRAIN
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: GILBERT FRANCOIS LEOPOLD BECAUD, LOUIS JEAN MATHIEU AMADE
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind