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)
Sou Do Fado Sou Fadista
Ana Moura Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Tomou a voz nas mãos
Rodopiou no peito
E fez-se ouvir no ar
E eu fechei meus olhos
Tristes só por querer
Cantar, cantar
E uma voz me encanta assim baixinho
Sou do fado
Sou do fado
Eu sou fadista
Sou do fado
Sou do fado
Eu sou fadista
Sei que o ser se dá assim
Às margens onde o canto
Recolhe em seu regaço
As almas num só fado
E eu prendi-me à voz
Como a guitarra ao seu
Trinado, trinado
E uma voz me canta assim baixinho
E uma voz me encanta assim baixinho
Sou do fado
Sou do fado
Eu sou fadista
Sou do fado
Sou do fado
Eu sou fadista
Sou do fado
Sou do fado
Eu sou fadista
Sou do fado
Sou do fado
Eu sou fadista
Sou do fado
"Sou Do Fado Sou Fadista" is a powerful ballad about the singer's deep connection with fado, which is a style of traditional Portuguese music known for its mournful and melancholic themes. The lyrics begin with the singer acknowledging that her soul has found comfort in fado, as she has taken its voice into her hands, and let it spin through her chest, emanating through her voice in the air. The singer then closes her eyes, feeling the sadness within her taking hold as she yearns to sing more and more. The song continues with the singer describing the beauty and depth of fado, as it draws together the souls of those listening, bringing them together with one voice, just like the guitar that accompanies it.
The song is a powerful celebration of fado music and the fadista, or fado singer. It showcases the beauty and depth of fado music while at the same time paying homage to the tradition and history of the genre. The song is deeply personal and heartfelt, with the singer's emotions coming through in the lyrics and the passionate delivery. The music and lyrics work together to capture the mood and feeling of fado, making it a powerful and moving tribute to this unique and special style of music.
Line by Line Meaning
Sei que a alma se ajeitou
I know that my soul has found its place
Tomou a voz nas mãos
It took the voice into my hands
Rodopiou no peito
It twirled around in my chest
E fez-se ouvir no ar
And it made itself heard in the air
E eu fechei meus olhos
And I closed my eyes
Tristes só por querer
Sad only because I wanted to
Cantar, cantar
Sing, sing
E uma voz me canta assim baixinho
And a voice sings to me softly like this
E uma voz me encanta assim baixinho
And a voice enchants me softly like this
Sou do fado
I am from fado
Sou do fado
I am from fado
Eu sou fadista
I am a fado singer
Sei que o ser se dá assim
I know that being is given like this
Às margens onde o canto
On the shores where the singing
Recolhe em seu regaço
Gathers in its embrace
As almas num só fado
The souls in one fado
E eu prendi-me à voz
And I was caught by the voice
Como a guitarra ao seu
Like the guitar to its
Trinado, trinado
Trill, trill
Sou do fado
I am from fado
Sou do fado
I am from fado
Eu sou fadista
I am a fado singer
Sou do fado
I am from fado
Sou do fado
I am from fado
Eu sou fadista
I am a fado singer
Sou do fado
I am from fado
Sou do fado
I am from fado
Eu sou fadista
I am a fado singer
Sou do fado
I am from fado
Sou do fado
I am from fado
Writer(s): Jorge Fernando
Contributed by Kaelyn E. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
Gilberto De Melo
So romantic and takes you back to the old and bad-old days but yet survived, bravo Ana !
Armindo Silva
Fadista dos tempos modernos ´que interpreta o fado maravilhosamente , com a sua voz encantadora e sensual que dá prazer em ouvir. Adoro.
antónio andrade.sousa
uma voz,música e letra em combinação perfeita
Gris M
O Jorge Fernando é um poeta!
Ruth Dixon
a great version of a song by writer/producer jorge fernando. moura's is a natural fado voice that we should be hearing a lot more from.
Francisco Damasceno
Linda...linda voz ! Ouço aquí no brasil. Parabéns !
FlatlandMando
I heard this beautiful artist live in Vancouver at least 10 yr. ago. I sat with a Portuguese man & his wife. He was a hard- ass trades guy & he cried real tears listening to Ana Moura's Fado singing. Such is the beauty of hearing Portuguese soul music sung in an adopted country. The whole experience opened my eyes & I want to see Portugal...soon I hope!
Américo Pereira
Caro FlatlandMando que bonito comentário. Obrigado.
paulo Augusto coutinho
Coisa mais linda, essa geração que veio após Amália Rodrigues, representa brilhantemente a tradição do fado português... Adoro...
Maria Emilia Oliveira
Eu não gostava de fado, mas, depois que comecei a ouvir a Ana Moura, a sua voz bem timbrada, romântica e sensual, levou-me a ser sua fã. Para mim, a melhor de todas!!!