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)
Se Acaso um Anjo Viesse
Ana Moura Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Anda a ver se me convence
Que só pode ser feliz
Quem a vida lhe pertence
Entreguei ao meu destino
Aquilo que não conheço
Um sorriso pequenino
Se acaso um anjo viesse
Baloiçar na minha cruz
Talvez ainda pudesse
Ficar aos pés de Jesus
Mas a fé não tem medida
Nem o fado uma razão
Toda a vida que é vivida
Dá mais vida ao coração
The lyrics of Ana Moura's song Se Acaso um Anjo Viesse talk about the idea of love that the singer never wanted. The lyrics discuss how love tries to convince the singer that only those who own their lives can truly be happy. The idea of ownership becomes critical as the singer conveys her struggle between having control over her own destiny and being a slave to her feelings. She gave her unknown fate a small smile and a tear on a handkerchief. She then turns to the idea of faith and talks about how an angel could come and take her pain away, giving her a chance to enter heaven.
The singer reckons that the idea of faith remains essential in our daily lives. Though it may not be measurable or proportional to the difficulties of life, it guides us through our struggles, helping us to give more meaning to our lives, especially in fado music. Fado is a traditional music genre that is common in Portugal and captures the struggles of every-day life. Fado traditionally talks about love, sorrow, and the idea of destiny harmoniously.
Se Acaso um Anjo Viesse is a fitting example of Fado music because it talks about love, faith, and life struggles. The lyrics of the song reveal the complex emotions of the singer as she grapples with the complexity of love and the reality of life. By talking about faith and a chance at redemption, the song offers a message of hope to the listener. It is a great example of how music can be used to inspire, console and educate.
Line by Line Meaning
O amor que nunca quis
The love that I never wanted
Anda a ver se me convence
Is still trying to persuade me
Que só pode ser feliz
That only those who own their lives can be happy
Quem a vida lhe pertence
Because happiness belongs only to those who possess their own lives
Entreguei ao meu destino
I have entrusted to my fate
Aquilo que não conheço
Something I do not know about
Um sorriso pequenino
A little smile
E uma lágrima num lenço
And a tear on a handkerchief
Se acaso um anjo viesse
If by chance an angel came
Baloiçar na minha cruz
To sway on my cross
Talvez ainda pudesse
Perhaps then
Ficar aos pés de Jesus
I could stay at the feet of Jesus
Mas a fé não tem medida
But faith has no measure
Nem o fado uma razão
And fate has no reason
Toda a vida que é vivida
All the life that is lived
Dá mais vida ao coração
Gives more life to the heart
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
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