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)
Venho Falar dos Meus Medos
Ana Moura Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
imensa escuridão
Venho falar dos meus medos
São vossos os meus segredos, que eu partilho em confissão
Senhora há tanto tempo
Que me assaltam tantas dúvidas
Não posso viver assim
queimar dentro de mim
Será senhora o destino
Que me estava reservado desde o meu primeiro dia
Que faço ao meu coração
Sofrendo de solidão, na dor que não me alivia.
In Ana Moura's song "Venho Falar dos Meus Medos," the singer addresses a "senhora," whom we can assume is a religious figure, likely the Virgin Mary. The singer expresses their fear and uncertainty, hoping to find their way out of "immense darkness" and confessing their secrets and fears to the senhora. They have been plagued by doubts and cannot continue living with such uncertainty; they fear that their destiny was decided for them at birth and struggle with loneliness and pain that does not go away.
The song seems to be an expression of the human experience of grappling with questions of faith, meaning, and identity. While the singer speaks to a religious figure, the questions they ask and fears they express are universal. Many people struggle with the fear that their destiny is pre-determined or that they are alone in their pain. The song offers a space for acknowledging these struggles and seeking comfort and meaning in them.
In terms of musical context, "Venho Falar dos Meus Medos" is a fado song, a genre of Portuguese music that is known for its melancholic and emotional tone. Ana Moura is a successful contemporary fado artist who has been praised for her powerful voice and emotionally charged performances. The song's melody builds slowly and steadily, mirroring the singer's journey from confusion and fear to a sense of hope and catharsis.
Line by Line Meaning
Senhora eu tenho fé, de encontrar a minha luz nessa imensa escuridão
Madam, I hold strong belief in finding my way through this great darkness
Venho falar dos meus medos
I come to speak of my fears
São vossos os meus segredos, que eu partilho em confissão
My secrets are yours, as I confess to you
Senhora há tanto tempo
Madam, it has been such a long time
Que me assaltam tantas dúvidas
That so many doubts assail me
Não posso viver assim
I cannot go on like this
Um turbilhão de incertezas, parecem velas acesas a queimar dentro de mim
A whirlwind of uncertainties, seem like burning candles within me
Será senhora o destino
Could it be, madam, fate
Que me estava reservado desde o meu primeiro dia
That was reserved for me since my first day
Que faço ao meu coração
What do I do with my heart
Sofrendo de solidão, na dor que não me alivia.
Suffering from loneliness, in pain that doesn't ease.
Contributed by Adam L. Suggest a correction in the comments below.