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)
Por Minha Conta
Ana Moura Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Mercê dum passo incerto
A culpa em mim se apronta
Ronda-me a alma por perto
Fiquei num olhar fundo
Perdido não sei onde
Só sei ceder-me ao mundo
A noite é fria
Nebulosa bruma
Que me seguia
A parte nenhuma
Tudo é vazio
Na mão fechada
Cerra-se o frio
Não deu por nada
Fiquei ao fim de tudo
Num tudo sem ter fim
E a voz dum grito mudo
Anseia saber de mim
Na swój rachunek byłam
Niepewnie w łaskę przechodzę
A jeśli we mnie wina
Okrąża blisko mą duszę
W spojrzeniu głębokim byłam
Straconym nie wiem gdzie
Wiem tylko, świat mi podał
Gdzie mogę ukryć się
A noc jest zimna
I ciemność mglista
Co idzie za mną
Chociaż nie cała
Puste jest wszystko
W pięści zamknięte
Kończy się zimno
W niebyt nie dało
I byłam aż do końca
We wszystkim tak bez celu
A głos z niemego krzyku
Coś o mnie pragnie wiedzieć
The lyrics of Ana Moura's song "Por Minha Conta" reflect the feelings of a person who is lost and uncertain about their path in life. The first stanza portrays the feeling of being alone and uncertain, as if the person is on their own and unsure of what to do next. The second stanza describes the feeling of being lost, not knowing where to turn, and feeling disconnected from the world. The person feels like they are ceding to the world, rather than following their own path.
The third stanza reflects the cold and lonely feeling of darkness, where nothing seems to make sense, and there is a sense of futility in life. The lyrics suggest that the person is trapped, unable to move forward, and unable to find meaning in their life. The final stanza emphasizes the feeling of being lost, feeling as though one's life is without purpose, and that there is a voice inside that is calling out for answers.
Overall, the lyrics of "Por Minha Conta" reflect feelings of uncertainty, loneliness, and a sense of being lost. The song describes the feeling of being adrift in life, and not knowing where to turn. However, the song also suggests that there is a voice inside that is calling out for answers, and that there is hope for finding one's way in life.
Line by Line Meaning
Fiquei por minha conta
I was left on my own
Mercê dum passo incerto
Thanks to an uncertain step
A culpa em mim se apronta
The guilt is preparing itself in me
Ronda-me a alma por perto
My soul is hovering nearby
Fiquei num olhar fundo
I was lost in a deep look
Perdido não sei onde
Lost, I don't know where
Só sei ceder-me ao mundo
I only know how to surrender myself to the world
Onde o meu ser se esconde
Where my being hides
A noite é fria
The night is cold
Nebulosa bruma
Nebulous mist
Que me seguia
That followed me
A parte nenhuma
To nowhere
Tudo é vazio
Everything is empty
Na mão fechada
In a closed fist
Cerra-se o frio
The cold closes in
Não deu por nada
Didn't notice anything
Fiquei ao fim de tudo
I was left at the end of everything
Num tudo sem ter fim
In an endless everything
E a voz dum grito mudo
And the voice of a silent scream
Anseia saber de mim
Longs to know about me
Contributed by Gabriel I. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
perdu saudade
I was on my own
As a result of an uncertain step
Blame me if you must
It has rounded out my soul
I looked back on it all
Lost I don't know where
But I know to yield myself to the world
Where my being is hidden
The night is cold
A foggy mist
That follows me
Nowhere
Everything is empty
In my closed hand
The cold is clenched in
It is not given for anything
I was after all
In all without end
And the voice of a silent scream
Yearns to know me
The night is cold
A foggy mist
That follows me
Nowhere
Everything is empty
In my closed hand
The cold is clenched in
It is not given for anything
I was on my own
Teresa S.Lázaro
¡¡¡Qué lastima que tan pocos españoles tengamos el placer de conocer,y por lo tanto amar, la lengua, la cultura, las costumbres, la música popular y la culta, la actual y la antigua, la comida, el aire y el color, la gente,"bendita gente", de PORTUGAL!!!¡¡¡Portugueses sois maravillosos!!!!¡¡Couragem neste tempo tan díficil económicamente!!!Sois un pueblo pequeño con un alma y un corazón inmenso, eso es lo importante.Felicidades.
Joa—— S——S
@Teresa S.Lázaro
Olá boa noite como está? Espero que tudo esteja bem e com sua família. Teresa S. Lázaro muito agradecido pela carta de referências a esse país com sua cultura costumes e povo que você tanto enaltece . Para mim foi uma agradável surpresa, agora já nem sei como agradecer e como passar a tratar você .Fiquei confuso sem saber sua nacionalidade mas tudo bem Quando você diz :- tem sua casa cheia de referências portuguesas então é mesmo portuguesa mas, se não é então fique sabendo que muitos dos nativos de países que conheço gostam muito desse país e seu povo exemplo todos de todos os americanos que falo amam esse país e alguns até foram para lá viver ,
Teresa S.Lázaro
@Joa—— S——S Aqui a tradução da minha carta pela amiga do fb. Maria Lourdes Ribeiro depois de mais de três anos http://pessoasenmadrid.blogspot.com/2017/02/madrilenos-en-lisboa-y-ii.html?m=1
As saudades juntam as pessoas. Muito obrigada!. Também eu quase abandonei o FB. e já agora não participo nas redes sociais. Tenho minha casa toda cheia de lembranças, livros e músicas portuguesas...na minha idade não precisso mais nada para alimentar o meu amor por Portugal. Que Deus nos ampare sim, pois neste tempo precissamos muito!. Cuide-se!.
Teresa S.Lázaro
@Joa—— S——S Não há problema: a publicação original foi no blog pessoas en Madrid; aqui o link http://pessoasenmadrid.blogspot.com/2013/07/madrilenos-en-lisboa.html?m=1
Joa—— S——S
@Teresa S.Lázaro Olá bom dia e obrigado
por tido tempo e gentileza de ler meu comentário. Sobre a sua carta não pude ter acesso a ela porque não tenho Facebook activo devido a ter muitas divergências com seu autor e como trata nossos dados pessoais. Desde aí meu lamento e minhas sinceras desculpas é tudo o que eu posso dizer neste momento e país onde me encontro a cerca de 10 000 Kilometros de você e do país e povo que tanto ama receba os meus sinceros parabéns e você (Teresa S.Lázaro ) e sua família sejam muito felizes para que possam por vocês e por mim visitar esse país que tanto ama . A meu respeito é assim:
_A senhora cantante (Ana Moura) tem sido através das suas canções meu apoio emocional e psicológico lhe digo do coração é a única que me faz sentir melhor do que já sou por ela e por você respeitosamente os meus agradecimentos e que Deus nos ampare .
Teresa S.Lázaro
@Joa—— S——S Muito obrigada pelo seu comentário!. Passados estes anos penso da mesma maneira... então ainda tínhamos esperança numa última viagem a Portugal que não foi possível mas o meu Amor por essa minha terra continua sempre comigo. Se serve leia faz favor esta Carta de Amor a Lisboa e Portugal todo que escrevi há mais dez anos, aqui traduzida ao português pela amiga do Facebook Maria Lourdes e no princípio publicada no blog Pessoas en Madrid. Boa saúde e beijinhos!.
https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=753422634814728&id=100004409943948
Alejandra Juarez
excepcional su voz, la manera en que conmueve al alma su canto ... es un placer escuchar a esta excelente cantante!!
Gershon Agostinho
Esse fado simplesmente descreve o meu estado de uma maneira inexplicavel, nao sou capaz de escutar uma vez sequer e nao chorar.
zaineb choukrani
Muchas gracias Rita por esta maravillosa cancion :* me gusta mucho Fado
Jay Bix
i hope to hear and more of this soulful talent here in the USA. she is so passionate and delicately intense. i am falling in love . . .