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)
Quem Vai Ao Fado
Ana Moura Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Quem vai ao fado
Leva no peito algo de estranho a latejar
Quem vai ao fado meu amor
Quem vai ao fado
Sente que a alma ganha asas quer voar
Sempre que entristeço e a nostalgia cai em mim
È um canto doce mavioso ou coisa assim
Logo a minha alma faz-se voz e quer cantar
Bálsamo bendito a esta terra quis Deus dar
Mais vale cantar do que chorar
Quem vai ao fado meu amor
Quem vai ao fado
Leva no peito algo de estranho a latejar
Quem vai ao fado meu amor
Quem vai ao fado
Sente que a alma ganha asas quer voar
Sempre que radioso o coração se agita em mim
Num impulso alegre a felicidade vem morar
Abandono a voz no Mouraria porque assim
Sei que o coração quer à guitarra forma dar
Bálsamo bendito a esta terra quis Deus dar
Mais vale cantar do que chorar
Quem vai ao fado meu amor
Quem vai ao fado
Leva no peito algo de estranho a latejar
Quem vai ao fado meu amor
Quem vai ao fado
Sente que a alma ganha asas quer voar
The lyrics of Ana Moura's song "Quem Vai Ao Fado" express the emotional and transcendent experience of listening to and singing fado, the traditional Portuguese music genre. The song begins with the singer asking who goes to fado and stating that those who do, carry something strange and pulsating in their hearts. The song suggests that fado is a way of expressing deep emotions, including sadness and nostalgia, as well as joy and happiness. The lyrics imply that fado has a healing power, that it can take the singer's soul on wings to fly, and that it is a divine gift to Portugal.
The lyrics present two contrasting moods - one of sadness and longing, which is associated with listening to fado in the neighborhood of Mouraria, and another of joy and celebration, which is associated with singing along to fado with a happy heart. Both moods are presented as valid experiences of fado, and both reflect the complex and nuanced emotions that this music can evoke. The song concludes with the statement that it is better to sing than to cry, suggesting that fado provides a cathartic outlet for deep emotions.
Line by Line Meaning
Quem vai ao fado meu amor
Those who go to fado, my love
Quem vai ao fado
Those who go to fado
Leva no peito algo de estranho a latejar
Carry something strange in their chest, pulsating
Sente que a alma ganha asas quer voar
Feel that the soul gains wings and wants to fly
Sempre que entristeço e a nostalgia cai em mim
Whenever sadness and nostalgia fall upon me
Ouço de tão longe estranha voz por mim chamar
I hear a strange voice calling me from afar
È um canto doce mavioso ou coisa assim
It's a sweet, melodious song or something like that
Logo a minha alma faz-se voz e quer cantar
Soon my soul becomes a voice and wants to sing
Bálsamo bendito a esta terra quis Deus dar
A blessed balm God wanted to give to this land
Mais vale cantar do que chorar
It's better to sing than to cry
Sempre que radioso o coração se agita em mim
Whenever my heart beats with joy inside me
Num impulso alegre a felicidade vem morar
Happiness comes to live in me with a joyful impulse
Abandono a voz no Mouraria porque assim
I leave my voice in Mouraria because
Sei que o coração quer à guitarra forma dar
I know my heart wants to give form to the guitar
Contributed by Ian N. Suggest a correction in the comments below.