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)
Dream Of Fire
Ana Moura Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Where you used to lay your head
This cruel desire
Is all that's left here in my bed
If you knew how much I loved you
You'd never leave me
If you could feel my touch you would stay
And wake me from this dream
I dream of fire
In a place we both know so well
The sweet perspire
The secrets we would never tell
Please don't believe when I
Say that I never miss you
All that it means is that
I really wanna kiss you
I dream of fire
It's all that I've go left to warm my bed
My heart is tired
Filled with so many words left unsaid
Please don't believe when I
Say that I never miss you
All that it means is that
I really wanna kiss you
And awaken from this dream
The lyrics of Ana Moura's song Dream Of Fire express the longing and desire of a person for their lost love. The opening lines, "I dream of fire, where you used to lay your head, this cruel desire is all that's left here in my bed," indicate that the persona is consumed by a burning passion for someone who is no longer with them. The fire imagery symbolizes the intensity of their emotions and the heat of their desire.
The second stanza reveals that if the lost love knew how much the persona loved them, then they would have stayed with them. The persona's desire is so strong that they believe their touch alone would have been enough to keep their love from leaving. The chorus repeats the imagery of fire, indicating that it is a recurring dream or thought for the persona. They dream of a place where they were happy with their love, the sweet perspiration and secrets they shared. Even though the persona says that they never miss their love at times, it is only a defense mechanism as all they want is to kiss them again.
The third stanza expresses the hopelessness that the persona feels as the fire is all they have left to warm their bed. Their heart is tired, filled with words left unsaid, indicating that they had so much more to share with their love. The persona wants to wake up from this dream, to find their love and to be with them once again. The song overall portrays the desperation and ache of lost love, the desire to rekindle the flame of a once-perfect relationship.
Line by Line Meaning
I dream of fire
I yearn for the passion and intensity we once had
Where you used to lay your head
In the place where we were intimate and close
This cruel desire
This painful longing for you
Is all that's left here in my bed
After your departure, all that remains is emptiness and loneliness
If you knew how much I loved you
You don't comprehend the extent of my love for you
You'd never leave me
You'd think twice before departing
If you could feel my touch you would stay
My touch holds the power to make you want to remain with me
And wake me from this dream
And snap me out of this state of delusion
In a place we both know so well
In a location significant and familiar to both of us
The sweet perspire
The sensual sweat of our bodies intertwined
The secrets we would never tell
The unspoken, intimate aspects of our relationship
Please don't believe when I say that I never miss you
Please don't take my words at face value when I deny missing you
All that it means is that I really wanna kiss you
It merely translates to me yearning to be physically close to you
It's all that I've got left to warm my bed
Fire is the only entity capable of bringing warmth to my cold bed, and hence passion back into my life
My heart is tired
My heart is exhausted and drained from the impact of our separation
Filled with so many words left unsaid
Overflowing with unexpressed sentiments and emotions
And awaken from this dream
Breaking free from the realm of fantasy and accepting the reality of our intimacy's ending
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
Written by: Ana Moura
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind