Ana Moura has become a leading exponent of this poetic, deeply expressive idiom which personifies the Portuguese psyche as it explores such universal themes as lost love, separation, and longing.
As Ana explains, "It's very special because it's all about emotions and feelings. It needs no translation."
Ana was born in 1980, in Santarém, the bustling capital of the Ribatejo province in the center of Portugal's heartland on the Tejo River northeast of Lisbon.
The city of half a million souls is also one of Portugal's most historic cities -- an ideal place to develop an appreciation for fado. "I've been singing fado since I was little, because grew up listening to it at home," she recalls of her early home life. "My parents sang well, and at family gatherings, we all would sing."
Like young people everywhere, she soon developed an appreciation for other styles of music. The lure of singing fado, however, never waned. In her late teens, while sing pop and rock music with a local band, Ana always included at least one fado in each performance. Then, one night on a whim, about five years ago, she and some friends went to one of Lisbon's storied fado houses -- small performance venues where singers, guitarists and aficionados gather to worship the affecting style that's become Portugal's most important music export.
At the urging of her companions, she sang. "People liked me," she recalls of her first foray into a venerated bastion of the fado culture. Later that year, at a Christmas party that was attended by a lot of fadistas (fado singers) and guitarists, she sang again and, as fate would have it, noted fado vocalist Maria de Fe was in the audience and was duly impressed. "She asked me to sing at her fado house," Ana recalls of the fortuitous moment that launched her career.
"My life changed when I began going to the fado houses," Ana states today. "There's no microphone -- it's very intimate. New singers learn through a kind of apprenticeship, learning the intricacies of the style from the older, more established singers."
Before long, word of Ana's rich contralto, stunning looks and innate affinity for the demanding style spread, winning airtime on local television programs devoted to fado and rave reviews in Lisbon newspapers.
Ana has emerged as a leading voice of traditional fado just as the venerable idiom is enjoying a renaissance of popularity. "Today," she explains, "there's a new generation that sings lyrics related to our time. There are some older fado songs that we, the younger singers, cannot perform, because the lyrics are about a time and themes we don't identify with. We don't feel it, and fado is all about feelings. We must feel what we sing, and there are many older fados that don't belong to our generation. Younger singers use lyrics that speak of today, so young people have begun to get more interested in the music again."
As with jazz and country music in the U.S., tango in Argentina, samba in Brazil, fado sprang from the culture of working class people. And, as with the aforementioned examples, over the years the style evolved from humble origins to win broad appeal. Today, as Ana proudly proclaims, "In Portugal, fado is for everyone."
Like virtually every aspiring fadista, Ana drew early inspiration from the example of Amalia Rodrigues, the revered singer who most personified the style. "It was her soul and her voice," she comments of the late vocalist's singular imprint on the music. "She had everything in her. Some singers have a great voice by no soul, no intensity. Others have feeling but not a suitable voice. She had it all, and, she was a very good improviser."
Improvising is an under-appreciated part of the fado tradition. One technique, which Ana uses to great effect on the song "Lavava no rio lavava" (I Went to the River to Wash), is what the Portuguese term vocalisos -- the expression of words and effects through use of vocal trills. The practice is believed to have been absorbed over centuries of exposure to Spanish flamenco and Moorish styles.
A key track from her album exquisitely sums up the magnetic pull fado has exerted on Ana. "Sou do fado, sou fadista" (I belong to fado, I am a fadista) by her mentor and primary collaborator, guitarist Jorge Fernando, eloquently explains Ana's total surrender to the style:
"I know my soul has surrendered, taken my voice in hand, twisted in my chest and shown it to the world. And I have closed my eyes in a wistful longing to sing, to sing. And a voice sings to me softly, and a voice enchants me softly, I belong to fado, I belong to fado, I am a fadista."
Today, Ana Moura still thinks of how and where it all began, and of the importance of keeping those vital ties alive. "Before," she muses, "I used to sing in the fado house every day. Today, because of my concert schedule and travel, it's impossible. But, when time permits, I like to return. Sometimes I feel that I must go there. I need that."
(Adapted from a text by Cindy Byram)
Andorinhas
Ana Moura Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Em aldeias, vilas e cidades
As andorinhas é que são rainhas
A voar as linhas da liberdade
Eu quero tirar os pés do chão
Quero voar daqui pra fora
Ir embora de avião
Vou pôr a mala no porão
Saborear a primavera
Numa espera e na estação
Um dia disse uma andorinha
Filha, o mundo gira
Usa a brisa a teu favor
A vida diz mentiras
Mas o Sol avisa antes de se pôr
Eu quero tirar os pés do chão
Quero voar daqui pra fora
Ir embora de avião
E só voltar um dia
Vou pôr a mala no porão
Saborear a primavera
Numa espera e na estação
Já a minha mãe dizia
Solta as asas, volta as costas
Sê forte, avança pro mar
Sobe encostas, faz apostas
Na sorte e não no azar
In Ana Moura's song "Andorinhas," the lyrics portray the desire for freedom and flight from a mundane daily routine. The first verse establishes the singer's current state of existence, standing in long lines in towns and cities. However, the "queens" of the sky are the swallows, who fly freely along the lines of freedom. The singer longs to take to the sky and leave everything behind, even if only for a day.
In the second verse, the singer imagines putting their luggage in the hold of a plane and enjoying the springtime. A previous conversation with an unnamed character, perhaps the singer's mother or a metaphorical figure, advises the singer to use the wind to their advantage, as life can be deceptive but the sun will always set. The final verse echoes this sentiment, encouraging the listener to spread their wings, be fearless and take risks, to rely on their luck and to take on life head-on.
Overall, the song is about finding freedom, taking chances and daring to dream big. The lyrics invoke the image of a swallow, a bird that can travel thousands of miles, as a symbol of freedom and the ability to overcome any obstacle, however daunting.
Line by Line Meaning
Passo os meus dias em longas filas
I spend my days waiting in long lines
Em aldeias, vilas e cidades
In villages, towns, and cities
As andorinhas é que são rainhas
The swallows are the queens
A voar as linhas da liberdade
Flying the lines of freedom
Eu quero tirar os pés do chão
I want to lift my feet off the ground
Quero voar daqui pra fora
I want to fly away from here
Ir embora de avião
To leave by plane
E só voltar um dia
And only come back one day
Vou pôr a mala no porão
I'll put my suitcase in the hold
Saborear a primavera
To savor the spring
Numa espera e na estação
In a wait and at the station
Um dia disse uma andorinha
One day a swallow said
Filha, o mundo gira
Daughter, the world turns
Usa a brisa a teu favor
Use the breeze to your advantage
A vida diz mentiras
Life tells lies
Mas o Sol avisa antes de se pôr
But the sun warns before it sets
Já a minha mãe dizia
As my mother used to say
Solta as asas, volta as costas
Spread your wings, turn your back
Sê forte, avança pro mar
Be strong, move forward towards the sea
Sobe encostas, faz apostas
Climb hills, take risks
Na sorte e não no azar
On luck, not on misfortune
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
Written by: Ana Claudia Moura Pereira
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Luis Coelho
A guitarra portuguesa é dos instrumentos mais belos do mundo... ❤
Inês Cantinho
Uma pura verdade!
buzzzbanshee
sem margem de duvida !
Luzitanium
eu tenho uma, bem dificil de tocar.
Helena Antunes
@Jonnatas Gomes , mostre-nos por favor!!
Nuno Brito
É um dos videoclips mais bonitos da música portuguesa atual. A fotografia, as vestes, o enquadramento, a música, o cenário. É prazeroso de ver.
Muaath Abdallah
I'm from Palestine and I love your songs. Greetings to Portugal 🇵🇹🇵🇸
JOSE PINTO
Yeah howww
소피야 <3
Thank you <3
Greetings to Palestine
May you have a wonderful day 🙏
iSabugasSec
From the river to the sea, Palestine Will be free!!!