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.
Povo Que Lavas No Rio
Amália Rodrigues Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Que talhas com o teu machado
As tábuas de meu caixão
Povo que lavas no rio
Que talhas com o teu machado
As tábuas do meu caixão
Quem compre o teu chão sagrado,
Mas a tua vida não
Pode haver quem te defenda,
Quem compre o teu chão sagrado,
Mas a tua vida não
Fui ter à mesa redonda,
Beber em malga que esconda
O beijo de mão em mão
Fui ter à mesa redonda,
Beber em malga que esconda
O beijo de mão em mão
Era o vinho que me deste
Água pura, fruto agreste
Mas a tua vida não
Aromas, de urze e de lama,
Dormi com eles na cama
Tive a mesma condição
Aromas, de urze e de lama,
Dormi com eles na cama
Tive a mesma condição
Povo, povo, eu te pertenço,
Deste-me alturas de incenso,
Mas a tua vida não
Povo que lavas no rio,
Que talhas com o teu machado
As tábuas de meu caixão
Povo que lavas no rio,
Que talhas com o teu machado
As tábuas de meu caixão
Pode haver quem te defenda,
Quem compre o teu chão sagrado
Mas a tua vida não
Pode haver quem te defenda,
Quem compre o teu chão sagrado
Mas a tua vida não
Amália Rodrigues's song "Povo Que Lavas No Rio" is a powerful and emotional exploration of social and economic injustice. The song speaks to the struggles of people who work hard and contribute to society but are ultimately powerless in the face of larger forces beyond their control. The lyrics speak to the laborers who work in the fields and rivers, who build and create but are ultimately exploited and undervalued by society.
The phrase "Povo que lavas no rio" translates to "People who wash in the river", which references the daily laborers who work in the river. The lyrics speak of these workers using their machetes to cut the boards for the singer's coffin. The lines "Pode haver quem te defenda, Quem compre o teu chão sagrado, Mas a tua vida não" translate to "There may be those who will defend you, who will buy your sacred land, but they cannot protect your life”. This speaks to the idea that those who have power and wealth may be able to protect land and property, but it does not ultimately protect one's life.
The song continues with the singer wandering and searching for solace, ultimately finding refuge in the communal drinking tradition. The lyrics "Era o vinho que me deste, Água pura, fruto agreste, Mas a tua vida não" translate to "It was the wine that you gave me, pure water, wild fruit, but it does not give me your life". This speaks to the idea that despite the generosity and communal traditions, the laborers still face a difficult reality.
Overall, "Povo Que Lavas No Rio" is a powerful and emotional song about the struggles of the working class, speaking to their exploitation and undervaluing in society. The song speaks to the idea that economic power does not necessarily protect one's life, and that despite communal traditions, there is still an undercurrent of struggle and hardship.
Line by Line Meaning
Povo que lavas no rio
Addressing the people who wash in the river
Que talhas com o teu machado
Who carve with your axe
As tábuas de meu caixão
The boards of my coffin
Pode haver quem te defenda,
There may be those who defend you,
Quem compre o teu chão sagrado,
Who buy your sacred land,
Mas a tua vida não
But not your life
Fui ter à mesa redonda,
I went to the round table,
Beber em malga que esconda
To drink from a cup that hides
O beijo de mão em mão
The kiss from hand to hand
Era o vinho que me deste
It was the wine you gave me
Água pura, fruto agreste
Pure water, wild fruit
Mas a tua vida não
But not your life
Aromas, de urze e de lama,
Scents of heather and mud,
Dormi com eles na cama
I slept with them in bed
Tive a mesma condição
I had the same condition
Povo, povo, eu te pertenço,
People, people, I belong to you,
Deste-me alturas de incenso,
You gave me lofty heights of incense,
Mas a tua vida não
But not your life
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
Written by: J. Campos, Pedro Homem De Mello
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Marina Sani
Povo que lavas no rio
Que talhas com o teu machado
As tábuas do meu caixão
Povo que lavas no rio
Que talhas com o teu machado
As tábuas do meu caixão
Pode haver quem te defenda
Quem compre o teu chão sagrado
Mas a tua vida não
Fui ter à mesa redonda
Beber em malga que esconda
O beijo de mão em mão
Fui ter à mesa redonda
Beber em malga que esconda
O beijo de mão em mão
Era o vinho que me deste
Água pura, fruto agreste
Mas a tua vida não
Aromas de urze e de lama
Dormi com eles na cama
Tive a mesma condição
Aromas de urze e de lama
Dormi com eles na cama
Tive a mesma condição
Povo, povo, eu te pertenço
Deste-me alturas de incenso
Mas a tua vida não
Povo que lavas no rio
Que talhas com o teu machado
As tábuas do meu caixão
Povo que lavas no rio
Que talhas com o teu machado
As tábuas do meu caixão
Pode haver quem te defenda
Quem compre o teu chão sagrado
Mas a tua vida não
kika Drums
Que voz sublime, grande Amália!
Marcelo Assis
Uma senhora de noventa e dois anos hoje me mostrou essa música.
Sou brasileiro, mas ela portuguesa. Que imigrou pra cá aos 18 anos com toda sua família.
Trabalho num bairro cheio de portugueses
LUSODEVIL
Orgulho em ser Português 🇵🇹❤️🇵🇹
Deolinda Vitorino
Deus, este fado cantado desta maneira podia ser o hino nacional dos portugueses ❤️
Marina Sani
Povo que lavas no rio
Que talhas com o teu machado
As tábuas do meu caixão
Povo que lavas no rio
Que talhas com o teu machado
As tábuas do meu caixão
Pode haver quem te defenda
Quem compre o teu chão sagrado
Mas a tua vida não
Fui ter à mesa redonda
Beber em malga que esconda
O beijo de mão em mão
Fui ter à mesa redonda
Beber em malga que esconda
O beijo de mão em mão
Era o vinho que me deste
Água pura, fruto agreste
Mas a tua vida não
Aromas de urze e de lama
Dormi com eles na cama
Tive a mesma condição
Aromas de urze e de lama
Dormi com eles na cama
Tive a mesma condição
Povo, povo, eu te pertenço
Deste-me alturas de incenso
Mas a tua vida não
Povo que lavas no rio
Que talhas com o teu machado
As tábuas do meu caixão
Povo que lavas no rio
Que talhas com o teu machado
As tábuas do meu caixão
Pode haver quem te defenda
Quem compre o teu chão sagrado
Mas a tua vida não
Pucca EB
Une grande diva, une voix magnifique, ensorceleuse et sans pareille. Repose en paix, Amalia, tu as fait rêver une multitude de personnes qui t'avaient tant aimée !
Dulcinea Martins
Muito obrigada pela letra para a nossa apreciação é linda.
Dulcinea Martins
Cada pslavra dessa letra um peso.Quanta sabedoria nessa poesia.Bravo Bravo !!!!
rafael torres
Muchas gracias!!!
EDINALDO ABREU DA COSTA
Se não é o fado mais belo de todos os tempos?! É o que mais me.toca! Que letra!