She was known as the "Rainha do Fado" ("Queen of Fado") and was most influential in popularizing the fado worldwide. In fact, she was one of the most important figures in the genre’s development, and enjoyed a 40-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 fadista — or fado singer — should perform it, to the extent that she remains an unsurpassable model and an unending source of repertoire for all those who came afterwards. Rodrigues enjoyed an extensive international career between the 1950s and the 1970s, although in an era where such efforts were not as easily quantified as today. Other well-known international fado artists such as Madredeus, Dulce Pontes and Mariza have come close, however.
Raízes
Amalia Rodrigues Lyrics
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Saiam da vossa mudez
Venham dizer o que sei
Venham falar português
Sejam duras como a lei
E puras como a nudez.
Minha lágrima salgada
Foi lembrança naufragada
E para sempre perdida
Foi vaga despedaçada
Contra o cais da despedida.
Visitei tantos países
Conheci tanto luar
Nos olhos dos infelizes
E porque me hei-de gastar?
Vou ao fundo das raízes
E hei-de gastar-me a cantar.
The lyrics of the song "Raizes" by Amalia Rodrigues evoke a deep sense of longing for the past, and the need to connect with one's roots. The first verse makes a plea to the old stones that the singer has walked on to come alive and speak the language of the Portuguese people. The stones are likened to the law, that which is unwavering and unyielding, but also to purity and nakedness. The second verse is about the singer's salty tears falling on the fabric of life, lost and forever gone as an emblem of a shipwrecked memory. The tear is a symbol for a failing memory and the struggles of the modern world to hold onto the traditions and the past. The last verse speaks of the singer's travels and experiences, which have made her realize that there is no point in searching for happiness in the exotic or the foreign. The only way to find true contentment is to go to the roots, to sing for and about one's people, to reconnect with what makes one who they are.
Line by Line Meaning
Velhas pedras que pisei
Addressing the old stones she walked on, she requests them to come out of their silence and tell her what they know in Portuguese. She compares these stones to the law - hard and pure.
Minha lágrima salgada
She talks about her salty tears falling into the fabric of life. She compares it to a lost memory that has drowned and is now lost, shattered against the farewell pier.
Visitei tantos países
She talks about traveling to different countries and seeing so many things under the moonlight, through the eyes of the unfortunate. She wonders why she should waste her life doing so and decides to delve into the roots of her culture and spend her life singing.
Contributed by Sebastian A. Suggest a correction in the comments below.