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)
Moura encantada
Ana Moura Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Que grande riqueza havia
Por uma moura guardada
Um dia alguém perguntou-me
Se a moura que há no meu nome
É essa moura encantada
Um dia alguém perguntou-me
É essa moura encantada
Não sei, só sei que me dou
E me esqueço de quem sou
Como num sono profundo
E nos sonhos que vou tendo
Eu adivinho e desvendo
Todos os sonhos do mundo
E nos sonhos que vou tendo
Eu adivinho e desvendo
Todos os sonhos do mundo
A minha voz, de repente
É a voz de toda a gente
De tudo o que a vida tem
Quando a noite chega ao fim
Vou à procura de mim
E não encontro ninguém
Quando a noite chega ao fim
Vou à procura de mim
E não encontro ninguém
Não sei se é lenda ou se não
Se é encanto ou maldição
Que às vezes me pesa tanto
Sei que livre ou condenada
E sem pensar em mais nada
Eu fecho os olhos e canto
Serei talvez encantada
E sendo assim, tudo ou nada
Eu fecho os olhos e canto
The lyrics of Ana Moura’s song “Moura Encantada” talk about the legend of a great treasure guarded by a moura, a mythical figure from Portuguese folklore. The singer is asked if the moura in her name is the same moura from the legend, but she doesn't know, all she knows is that she gets lost in a deep sleep, forgetting who she is and having dreams where she can interpret and reveal the dreams of the world.
As the night comes to an end, the singer goes in search of herself but finds no one. She doesn't know if the legend is real or not, if it's an enchantment or a curse that sometimes weighs heavily upon her. However, whether free or condemned, she closes her eyes and sings. It seems to suggest that the singer herself embodies the legend of the moura, and that when she sings, she channels the voices and dreams of those around her, becoming one with the universe.
The song’s lyrics are full of metaphors and mythical allusions that lend it a sense of something larger than just the singer’s personal experience. It is an exploration of the power of music to connect us to others and to the mysteries of the universe.
Line by Line Meaning
É lenda na Mouraria
It is a legend in Mouraria
Que grande riqueza havia
There was a great treasure
Por uma moura guardada
Guarded by a moura
Um dia alguém perguntou-me
One day someone asked me
Se a moura que há no meu nome
If the moura in my name
É essa moura encantada
Is that enchanted moura
Não sei, só sei que me dou
I don't know, but I know that I give myself
E me esqueço de quem sou
And forget who I am
Como num sono profundo
Like in a deep sleep
E nos sonhos que vou tendo
And in the dreams I have
Eu adivinho e desvendo
I guess and unravel
Todos os sonhos do mundo
All the dreams of the world
A minha voz, de repente
My voice, suddenly
É a voz de toda a gente
Is everyone's voice
De tudo o que a vida tem
Of everything that life has
Quando a noite chega ao fim
When the night comes to an end
Vou à procura de mim
I go in search of myself
E não encontro ninguém
And I don't find anyone
Não sei se é lenda ou se não
I don't know if it's a legend or not
Se é encanto ou maldição
If it's enchantment or a curse
Que às vezes me pesa tanto
That sometimes weighs on me so much
Sei que livre ou condenada
I know that, free or condemned
E sem pensar em mais nada
And without thinking of anything else
Eu fecho os olhos e canto
I close my eyes and sing
Serei talvez encantada
Maybe I am enchanted
E sendo assim, tudo ou nada
And being so, everything or nothing
Eu fecho os olhos e canto
I close my eyes and sing
Writer(s): Alfredo Marceneiro, Fado Cravo, Manuela De Freitas, Manuela Freitas
Contributed by William V. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
jesus zufri perez
La voz de Portugal,sublime
Fado Pol
Uwielbiam JEJ AKSAMITNE FADO. W tych utworach jest tyle ciepła, nie mogę sie doczekać na koncert w Bielsku-Białej
w Polsce!
Ula
Sebastianandmusic
+Fado Pol Tydzień temu byłem w Lizbonie tylko na weekend, odwiedziłem PARREIRINHA DE ALFAMA, wspaniała restauracja no i fado na żywo. Coś pięknego. Fado na żywo niesie ze sobą o wiele więcej emocji, to nie to samo uczucie jak przy słuchaniu z płyty CD. Ula byłaś w Portugalii? Pozdr Sebastian
JKDP Pratt
Quando a noite chega ao fim vou a procura de mim e nao encontro ninguem -- nao se fazem musicas como esta mais. triste como o mundo mudou pra pior e a sensibilidade se foi...
Moisés Silva Figueiredo
Um CD magnifico. Letras, musicas, e uma voz divinal. Tudo perfeito. Um grande abraço de parabéns.
Martha Canavese
Maravilhosa! 🥰
Conceição Pinto
FANTÁSTICA, a música e a artista! <3
erniemajor
''It is legend, in the mouraria What great wealth there For a saved Moorish One day someone asked me If the Moorish that there is in my name It is this enchanted Moorish Do not know, I only know that I give And I forget of who I am As in a deep sleep And in the dreams that I'm going to I guess and turn away All the dreams of the world My voice, suddenly It's the voice of all the people Of all that life has When the night comes to an end I go looking for me And I do not find nobody No I know if it's a legend or not If it's a charm or a curse Sometimes it weighs so much I know it's free or doomed And without thinking about anything I close my eyes and sing I'll maybe be enchanted And being so everything and nothing I close my eyes and sing''
AdnnetGO
Aplausos para a diva Ana Moura!!!
Emma Rose
Amazing song...amazing artist! <3