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.
Nós As Meninhas
Amália Rodrigues Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴
De Val de Prados candeas queimar
Nós, as meninhas, ponhemos de andar
Con nossas madres e elas enton
E elas enton e elas enton
Queimen candeas, por nós e por si
E nós meninhas e nós meninhas bailaremos i
Por nos veer e andaremos nós
Bailando ante eles, fremosas en cós
E nossas madres, pois que alá van
Pois que alá van, pois que alá van
Queimen candeias por nós e por si
E nós meninhas e nós meninhas bailaremos i
Nossos amigos irán por cousir
Como bailamos e podem veer
Bailar moças de bon parecer
E nossas madres pois lá queren ir
Lá queren ir, lá querem ir
Queimen candeas por nós e por si
E nós meninhas e nós meninhas bailaremos i
The lyrics of "Nós As Meninhas" by Amália Rodrigues paint a vivid picture of a traditional cultural celebration where young women and their mothers participate in a ritualistic dance, accompanied by the burning of candles. The opening lines suggest a religious or spiritual aspect to the gathering, as the mothers go to San Simon to burn candles while the young girls, as described, begin their procession. The repetition of phrases such as "queimen candeias" emphasizes the importance of this act, both for themselves and for others.
As the song progresses, it becomes clear that this event is not just a solemn affair but also a joyous occasion for the community. The inclusion of friends who come to witness the young women dancing adds a festive element to the scene. The imagery of the girls dancing in their beautiful attire, accompanied by their mothers, creates a sense of unity and tradition that transcends generations. The repeated reference to burning candles signifies a form of offering or prayer, indicating a spiritual connection to the dance and the ritual.
The lyrics also touch upon the social dynamics at play during this celebration. The mention of friends coming to see the young women dance hints at a sense of admiration and social interaction within the community. The beauty and grace of the girls are highlighted, implying a sense of pride and admiration from those around them. The mothers' presence and approval further emphasize the significance of this event, suggesting a passing down of traditions and cultural values from one generation to the next.
In the final verses, the focus shifts to the reactions of onlookers, particularly the young girls' friends who may be learning from or aspiring to join the dance. The mention of the mothers wanting to be part of the celebration underscores the intergenerational bond and the importance of preserving cultural practices. The repeated plea for candles to be burned for both themselves and others reinforces the communal nature of the ritual, where each participant's actions contribute to the collective experience of joy and unity. Overall, "Nós As Meninhas" captures a moment of tradition, celebration, and community that transcends individual roles and brings people together in a shared cultural expression.
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Rei Momo
Muito obrigado por ter-me dado a possibilidade de voltar às aulas de Lingua Portuguesa na Universidade de Milão: estavamos em 1990.
Um abraço de Caselle Landi (Itália)
Manuel Da Silva Lopes
Magnifica! THE VOICE! THE SOUL! THE BEST! Viva Amália