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)
Fado Dançado
Ana Moura Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Viro o disco se o antigo me aborrece
Bato com o tamanco, mão na anca, e mexe
E diz que o fado não se dança, até parece
Saio desta roda se bem me apetece
Diz que o vira não mexe ainda se aborrece
Manca que manca, mão na anca e mexe ai não que não dança, até parece
O tamanco manda, a cabeça obedece
São dois para lá para cá outro tanto
A ver se o pranto não estanca, até parece
Sempre que o meu fado nesse teu tropece
Desenrolo a teia que o destino tece
Viro a minha vida toda do avesso
A ver se o fado não se dança, até parece
A Lua foi embora
Olha a aurora a despontar
Se o fado se canta e chora
Também se pode dançar
Se o fado se canta e chora
Também se pode dançar
E se alguma voz se insurge na quermesse
Fado assim não sei o que é que me parece
Paro logo e digo alto e para o baile
Até o xaile eu viro se me apetece
Sai da roda e roda a saia, sobe e desce
Vira o disco e diz que vira assim não mexe
Roda o xaile e baila enquanto o baile deixa
E vê se o fado não mexe, ai não não mexe
A culpa foi embora
Saudade bem pode esperar
Se o fado se canta e chora
Também se pode dançar
Se o fado se canta e chora
Também se pode dançar
Também se pode dançar
In "Fado Dançado", Ana Moura sings about the act of dancing fado, which is usually performed as a somber, mournful song that reflects upon the struggles of life. The first verse talks about the freedom and empowerment that comes with dancing - the singer twirls around in her skirt and changes the music if she gets bored, asserting her agency and control. The second verse talks about how even if tears fall, the beat of the tamanco (a type of clog worn in traditional Portuguese dance) can keep the music flowing and help the head follow suit. The chorus further emphasizes the potential for joy in the midst of sorrow, with the line "if fado can be sung and cried, it can also be danced."
The third verse takes on the idea of social norms and expectations, as the singer challenges anyone who says fado can't be danced and refuses to conform to their narrow definitions. She demands that the dancing and the music keep going until they're ready to stop, defying any limitations imposed on them. The final chorus brings it all full circle, with the idea that "saudade" (the melancholy that often pervades fado) can wait, because for now they're focused on the joy of dancing together.
Overall, "Fado Dançado" celebrates the beauty of dancing fado and defying conventions, offering a sense of hope and release amidst the pain of everyday living.
Line by Line Meaning
Rodo a saia sempre bem que me apetece
I spin my skirt whenever I want to
Viro o disco se o antigo me aborrece
I change the record if the old one bores me
Bato com o tamanco, mão na anca, e mexe
I hit my shoe, put my hand on my hip, and move
E diz que o fado não se dança, até parece
And they say fado cannot be danced, as if it were impossible
Saio desta roda se bem me apetece
I leave this circle if I feel like it
Diz que o vira não mexe ainda se aborrece
They say that the vira is not moving yet it gets annoyed
Manca que manca, mão na anca e mexe ai não que não dança, até parece
Limping, my hand on my hip, and moving, oh no, it's as if it cannot be danced
E se alguma lágrima me aparece
And if a tear appears on my face
O tamanco manda, a cabeça obedece
My shoe commands, and my head obeys
São dois para lá para cá outro tanto
It takes two steps forward and two steps back
A ver se o pranto não estanca, até parece
To see if the tears will stop, as if it were possible
Sempre que o meu fado nesse teu tropece
Whenever my fate clashes with yours
Desenrolo a teia que o destino tece
I unroll the web that fate spins
Viro a minha vida toda do avesso
I turn my whole life inside out
A ver se o fado não se dança, até parece
To see if fado cannot be danced, as if it were impossible
A Lua foi embora Olha a aurora a despontar
The moon has gone away, look, dawn is breaking
Se o fado se canta e chora Também se pode dançar
If fado is sung and cried, it can also be danced
E se alguma voz se insurge na quermesse
And if a voice challenges me at the festivities
Fado assim não sei o que é que me parece
I don't know what to make of fado like that
Paro logo e digo alto e para o baile
I stop immediately and declare out loud to keep dancing
Até o xaile eu viro se me apetece
I even turn my shawl if I feel like it
Sai da roda e roda a saia, sobe e desce
I leave the circle and spin my skirt, up and down
Vira o disco e diz que vira assim não mexe
I change the record and say that this vira is not moving
Roda o xaile e baila enquanto o baile deixa
I spin my shawl and dance as long as the dance allows me
E vê se o fado não mexe, ai não não mexe
And see if fado does not move, oh no, it does move
A culpa foi embora Saudade bem pode esperar
The fault has gone, longing can wait
Também se pode dançar
It can also be danced
Se o fado se canta e chora Também se pode dançar Também se pode dançar
If fado is sung and cried, it can also be danced, it can also be danced
Writer(s): Miguel Araujo, Miguel Araújo Jorge
Contributed by Addison P. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
O Fado por Ana Maria
Portugal e a Língua Portuguesa são realmente algo muito especial.
Não há como não amar este País.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WqZjp3twbd0
Ape X
Musica LINDA e que voz! :) fantastico
preis205
Canção fabulosa do Miguel Araújo.
Ana Cardoso
Gosto do Fado Dançado !
Paulo Oliveira
5 estrelas!!
Paula Coixão
MUITO BOMMMMMMMMMMM
Lopes itiandro
Som mt agradável de se ouvir!
TheTeciful
D+