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)
Talvez Depois
Ana Moura Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Os beijos e o tédio de os não ter
Sem querer nós nops cegámos
Sem querermos ver
As roupas e os livros não os trouxe
Que se envelheçam cobertos de pó
Por querermos que assim fosse
Recuso a sombra, triste véu sobre minh'alma
Quero-me longe e sem temores fujo de mim
Esmorece o dia, cai a noite e não se acalma
O querer saber qual a razão de ver-me assim
Não sei ser razoável nem te espero
No tempo que pediste p'ra nós dois
Amar-te assim não quero
Talvez depois
Marcaste em mim a dúvida cinzenta
Do sentimento que te unia a mim
Sabê-lo não me alenta
Melhor o fim
Palavras, só palavras que como alento
Seduzem a minh'alma a querer-te tanto
Atrais-me o pensamento como um quebranto
Rzuciłam frazy o mnie wymieniane
Nie ma pocałunków ani nudy
Niechcący nam ślepniemy
Wiedzieć nie chcemy.
Ubrania i te książki bez tobołków
Tak postarzałe, że kurz okrył je
Chcemy by tak było
Zostawiasz same
Odrzucam cień, zasłonę smutną mojej duszy
Daleko, bez obawy o mnie, uciec chcę
Zanika dzień, zapada noc, nie uspokaja
Chcę poznać powód, czemu tak w ten sposób jest
Nie wiem, być rozsądną, ja nie czekam
W tym czasie, który dla nas uprosiłam
Kochać tak, to nie chcę
To może później
Znaczona we mnie szara jest niepewność
Z uczuciem, że ty do mnie dołączyłeś
Wiesz to, nie jest tchnienie
To lepszy kres
Słowa, tylko słowa na otuchę
Bardzo tak uwodzą moją duszę
Wyrywam myśli swoje, niby złamane
In Ana Moura's song "Talvez Depois," the singer reflects on a past relationship, acknowledging the phrases, kisses, and boredom they shared together but ultimately deciding to leave it behind. The singer explains she did not bring any clothes or books with her as she wants them to age and collect dust, effectively letting go of the past. As the singer distances herself, she refuses to allow herself to fall into sadness and fear, acknowledging the end of a relationship between her and her lover. She cannot be reasonable and wait for her lover to return, knowing that she does not want to love in that way again, at least not right now. The singer is left with mixed feelings, not fully understanding why she feels the way she does, but knows that continuing the relationship is not what she desires.
Line by Line Meaning
Deixei de mim as frases que trocámos
I have let go of the phrases we exchanged.
Os beijos e o tédio de os não ter
The non-existent kisses and the boredom that ensues.
Sem querer nós nops cegámos
Unexpectedly we blinded ourselves.
Sem querermos ver
Without us wanting to see.
As roupas e os livros não os trouxe
I did not bring the clothes and books.
Que se envelheçam cobertos de pó
Let them age covered in dust.
Por querermos que assim fosse
Because we wanted it that way.
Deixo-te só
I leave you alone.
Recuso a sombra, triste véu sobre minh'alma
I reject the shadow, the sad veil over my soul.
Quero-me longe e sem temores fujo de mim
I want to be far away and free of fears, I run away from myself.
Esmorece o dia, cai a noite e não se acalma
The day fades, night falls and it doesn't calm down.
O querer saber qual a razão de ver-me assim
The desire to know the reason for seeing myself this way.
Não sei ser razoável nem te espero
I don't know how to be reasonable, nor do I wait for you.
No tempo que pediste p'ra nós dois
In the time you asked for us two.
Amar-te assim não quero
I do not want to love you like this.
Talvez depois
Perhaps later.
Marcaste em mim a dúvida cinzenta
You have marked in me the gray doubt.
Do sentimento que te unia a mim
Of the feeling that united you to me.
Sabê-lo não me alenta
Knowing it does not encourage me.
Melhor o fim
Better the end.
Palavras, só palavras que como alento
Words, just words that serve as comfort.
Seduzem a minh'alma a querer-te tanto
They seduce my soul to want you so much.
Atrais-me o pensamento como um quebranto
You attract my thoughts like a pain.
Contributed by Leo O. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
Jose Sanchez rico
maravillosos fados portuguses... saudade tristeza del alma. campos eternos... ! ay ! Portugal.
Emanuel Santos
Great lyric.
Claudia Albescu
POATE MAI TÂRZIU
Mi-am păstrat doar cuvintele de despărțire
Săruturile și plictiseala de a nu le mai avea
Am orbit amândoi fără să ne dăm măcar seama
Sau poate că doar nu am vrut să vedem.
Hainele și cărțile nu le-am mai adus
Le-am lăsat să îmbătrânească și să se ascundă sub praf
Pentru că așa am vrut noi să fie
Te voi lăsa în pace.
Mă lupt cu această umbră care mi se așază pe suflet
Mă visez departe și neînfricată, departe de mine,
Dar, zi după zi, tristețea refuză să dea înapoi,
O, cât aș vrea să înțeleg de ce mă simt așa!
Nu știu cum să funcționez fără să sper la tine
Dar mi-ai cerut să iubesc pentru amândoi
Și nu mă simt capabilă de-o astfel de dragoste
Poate mai târziu.
M-ai aruncat în cea mai neagră îndoială
A existat măcar un sentiment care să te lege de mine?
De fapt și dacă ar fi existat, tot nu m-ar consola
Mai bine sfârșitul.
Mă lupt cu această umbră care mi se așază pe suflet
Mă visez departe și neînfricată, departe de mine,
Dar, zi după zi, tristețea refuză să dea înapoi,
O, cât aș vrea să înțeleg de ce mă simt așa!
Cuvintele, cuvintele pe care le spuneai de parcă respirai
Mi-au sedus sufletul și l-au făcut să tânjească la tine
Îmi atrăgeai gândurile de parcă m-ai fi vrăjit.
Mă lupt cu această umbră care mi se așază pe suflet
Mă visez departe și neînfricată, departe de mine,
Dar, zi după zi, tristețea refuză să dea înapoi,
O, cât aș vrea să înțeleg de ce mă simt așa!
aveceseva
para la noche que rico compas