The specialized critics loved the debut album on Ana Laíns – Sentidos. Revi… Read Full Bio ↴The specialized critics loved the debut album on Ana Laíns – Sentidos. Reviews in World Music (Spain), Songlines (UK) and Global Rhythm (USA) have paid tribute to the songs presented in Sentidos. Born in 1979, at Tomar – Portugal, Ana Laíns sings from early age. She first stepped on a stage aged 6. Soon after, she realizes that music is a very important part in her life. She lives all her childhood and teenage years in a very small village, near Constância. With 18 years old, Ana Laíns decides to move to Lisbon, the capital on Portugal, in order to pursuit her musical dream. This, at first sight, risky step soon pays of with the first conquests. During the first years of her career, Ana takes part as a singer in several projects, from jazz to bossa nova. Being a performer in these different styles, helped her to grow as an artist, and to lend a sui generis note to her path in Fado and traditional music. In 1996, Ana enters the first musical contests, and has been awarded several times, wining the 1999 Grande Noite do Fado. This special prize is also a revelation: according to Ana Laíns, is in Fado that she has found the best way to express and share her feelings with the audience. Later on, a tour by several countries follows. At age of 22, Ana has already performed in stages in France, USA, Luxembourg, Belgium and Germany. The first recording experiences took place six years ago, for “Songs about Lisbon”, just before the invitation to be part of Difference’s compilation “Divas do Fado Novo”. In 2005, Ana is featured at “Amália revisted”, a compilation where she gives “Povo que lavas no rio” a modern touch. “Sentidos”, the first album, is released in 2006, through the label Different World, and is also the debut of Diogo Clemente as a producer. At the studio, Ana had the precious collaboration of Diogo Clemente at the acoustic guitar (credited not only for the production, but also for the musical direction and arrangements), Fernando Araújo at bass guitar, Bernardo Couto at Portuguese guitar, Vicky at percussion, Ricardo Mota at cello and Ruben Alves at accordion, piano and melodica. “Sentidos” is a record full of true songs. A contemporary approach to Fado, where we can find more introspective themes with simple lullaby melodies, that take us back to our childhood imaginary. On the other side, we can find Fado references, on it’s most classical shape, as well as Portuguese traditional music influences. Ana Laíns lyricist choice was upon some of her side bed table companions, such as Florbela Espanca, Lídia Oliveira, António Ramos Rosa, among others. “Pouco tempo”, the first video and single from “Sentidos” was already requested for compilations. It’s featured at “Novo Fado” (worldwide distribution) and “Colors” (Greece, Cyprus, the Balkan Territory and Ukraine). Ana has presented “Sentidos”, the live show, in Greece, Portugal and Spain. Russia is already booked for November. Other countries are to be followed.

O fado que me traga
Ana Laíns Lyrics

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Desta luta constante
O futuro é meu alento
Numa roda gigante
Tão gigante que pára o tempo

Uma volta sem regresso
Até uma terra esquecida
E na minha sorte tropeço

Sózinha na madrugada perdida

O fado que me traga o que o tempo me levou
A saudade que me abra o caminho do que sou
O fado que me traga o que a saudade não deixou
O sentido das palavras que o tempo apagou

Uma lágrima no mar
Perdida na voz do silêncio
Aprisiona a ternura
E adormece o meu encanto

Quando me sinto nua
Não me quero ver mais ao espelho

O destino não me quer tua
Porque o amor morreu no desejo

Overall Meaning

In Ana Laíns's song "O fado que me traga", the singer is expressing her feelings of being lost and alone, longing for something that has been taken away by time. She talks about a constant struggle, but finds comfort in the future, which she sees as her hope. She compares her life to a giant Ferris wheel, a metaphor for how the passage of time can seem both endless and cyclical.

She sings about a journey without a return, to a forgotten land, where she stumbles upon her own destiny in the midst of a lost dawn. The lyrics are full of melancholy and longing, but there is also a sense of acceptance and resilience. She asks fado, a genre of Portuguese music that is often associated with sadness and longing, to bring back what time has taken away, to open the way to who and what she truly is, and to give meaning to the words that time has erased.

The last verse is particularly poignant, as the singer says that she feels like a tear lost in the ocean, trapped in the silence of her own emotions. She talks about the power of tenderness, which can lull her to sleep and make her forget her worries, but also the pain of being exposed and vulnerable, especially when love fades away and desire dies. Overall, the song is a powerful reflection on the human condition, the passing of time, and the enduring power of music to heal and transform.

Line by Line Meaning

Desta luta constante
From this constant struggle

O futuro é meu alento
The future is my solace

Numa roda gigante
In a giant wheel

Tão gigante que pára o tempo
So big it stops time

Uma volta sem regresso
A journey with no return

Até uma terra esquecida
To a forgotten land

E na minha sorte tropeço
And I stumble upon my fate

Sózinha na madrugada perdida
Alone in the lost dawn

O fado que me traga o que o tempo me levou
The fado that brings back what time took away

A saudade que me abra o caminho do que sou
The nostalgia that opens the path to who I am

O fado que me traga o que a saudade não deixou
The fado that brings back what nostalgia didn't leave