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)
Leva-me Aos Fados
Ana Moura Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Como é costume
Bebe um café
Que eu desabafo o meu queixume
Na minha vida
Nada dá certo
Mais um amor
Que de findar me está tão perto
Leva-me aos fados
Onde eu sossego
As desventuras do amor a que me entrego
Leva-me aos fados
Que eu vou perder-me
Nas velhas quadras
Que parecem conhecer-me
Dá-me um conselho
Que o teu bom senso
É o aconchego de que há tempos não dispenso
Caí de novo, mas quero erguer-me
Olhar-me ao espelho e tentar reconhecer-me
Leva-me aos fados
Onde eu sossego
As desventuras do amor a que me entrego
Leva-me aos fados
Que eu vou perder-me
Nas velhas quadras
Que parecem conhecer-me
Leva-me aos fados
Onde eu sossego
As desventuras do amor a que me entrego
Leva-me aos fados
Que eu vou perder-me
Nas velhas quadras
Que parecem conhecer-me
The lyrics of "Leva-me Aos Fados" by Ana Moura, describe the pain and heartbreak that comes along with love. The singer is confiding in someone close to them, potentially a friend, about the struggles they have encountered in their love life. The first verse mentions how the friend is there for them, arriving on time as they always do, ready to listen while they have a cup of coffee. The singer then explains how nothing in their life seems to be going right, especially with yet another relationship coming to an end.
The chorus, which is repeated three times throughout the song, emphasizes the singer's desire to be taken to a Fado, which is a style of Portuguese music that is usually sung with heartfelt emotion. The Fado is the perfect place for the singer to go and find solace in their love troubles. They are hoping to escape their problems by listening to the old quadrants of the Fado, which seem to know them well, and allow them to finally find the peace they have been searching for.
The second verse highlights the singer's need for advice from their friend, as they have fallen again and are in desperate need of a way to pick themselves up. They are yearning for the friend's comforting wisdom, which they haven't had access to in a long time.
Overall, "Leva-me Aos Fados" is a deeply emotional song that illustrates the pain and heartache that can come with being in love. The singer is confiding in a close friend and finding comfort in the Fado, which allows them to escape their problems and seek solace in the deeply emotional music.
Line by Line Meaning
Chegaste a horas
You arrived on time
Como é costume
As is customary
Bebe um café
Have a coffee
Que eu desabafo o meu queixume
So I can share my complaints
Na minha vida
In my life
Nada dá certo
Nothing goes right
Mais um amor
Another love
Que de findar me está tão perto
That is so close to ending
Leva-me aos fados
Take me to the fado music
Onde eu sossego
Where I find peace
As desventuras do amor a que me entrego
The misfortunes of love that I surrender to
Que eu vou perder-me
So I can lose myself
Nas velhas quadras
In the old verses
Que parecem conhecer-me
That seem to know me
Dá-me um conselho
Give me some advice
Que o teu bom senso
Your good judgement
É o aconchego de que há tempos não dispenso
Is the comfort I haven't had in a while
Caí de novo, mas quero erguer-me
I fell once again, but I want to stand up
Olhar-me ao espelho e tentar reconhecer-me
Look in the mirror and try to recognize myself
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
Written by: Ana Moura
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Carolina Neumann
Sou brasileira e adoro o fado e toda a cultura portuguesa. Tive a oportunidade de passar 1 mês em Portugal viajando. Vocês, portugueses, sem duvida sao um povo maravilhoso. Ah, e a cozinha portuguesa e a melhor do mundo! =) A Ana Moura e muito talentosa…trouxe ares novos ao fado. Parabéns, Ana! Bravo!
Felícia Nagy
I'm Hungarian and I had the opportunity to visit Portugal last year. Fado music is amazingly emotional and really liked it. Love the culture, people, architecture, language and all portuguese things :) Awesome! I wish if I could go there again <3 Boa noite! :D
Anildon Joaquim Mota
Aqui do Brasil concordo contigo, Portugal maravilhoso!
Rodrigo Tavares
Sou portugues do Porto mais vivo desde dos 2 anos no Brasil...isso e fado isto e também Portugal!!!!viva Portugal!!!!
marcos bayona
Amo el Fado, música tan apasionada. saludos desde Mexico.
Tiago Concordia
Fantástica e peculiar a sua forma de cantar Fado!
maria de lourdes Sampaio
MARAVILHOSO! Sem dúvida a melhor fadista da nova geração. E o acompanhamento impecável! Maria de Lourdes Fadista (SP-Brasil)
Jorge Tuller
Sou brasileiro e apaixonado pelo Fado, precisamente Ana Moura
Neusa Fragoso
Ana Moura, junto com Carminho são duas caras novas que dão um certo charme ao fado, agora patrimônio imaterial da humanidade. Lindas e com raça. Apesar de brasileira aprecio imenso o fado . Parabéns Ana!
Luís Henrique Lacerda
Realmente bela voz esse estilo de musíca faz vermos a raiz latina portuguesa, emoção a flor da pele e bela interprete e mulher atraente.