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)
a sós com a noite
Ana Moura Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Alongando-me a sombra sozinha
A saudade a bater
Uma dor que ao doer é só minha
Um desvio inquieto
Um olhar indiscreto na esquina
Um rapaz de blusão
Passa um velho a pedir
Incapaz de sorrir pelos passeios
Um travesti que quer
Assumir-se mulher sem receios
O alarme de um carro
Um cigarro apagado indulgente
Um cheiro inusitado
O semáforo fechado para a gente
Sobe o fado de tom
E o fadista que é bom improvisa
Estão em saldos sapatos
Desce o preço dos fatos de cor lisa
Um eléctrico cheio
Uma voz de permeio vai chover
Bate forte a saudade
Como é grande vontade de te ver
A luz que se arredonda
Alongando-me a sombra sozinha
A saudade a bater
Uma dor que ao doer é só minha
A luz que se arredonda
Alongando-me a sombra sozinha
A saudade a bater
Uma dor que ao doer é só minha
A saudade a bater
Uma dor que ao doer é só minha
The lyrics of "A Sós Com A Noite" by Ana Moura capture the loneliness and nostalgia one feels when walking alone at night. The imagery described within the song - such as the elongated shadows cast by the streetlights, a beggar unable to smile, and a transvestite unafraid to display their true self - contribute to the melancholic mood of the song.
The lyrics also touch on the fleeting and unpredictable moments that occur during a solitary walk - an unexpected scent or sound, a passing stranger, or an impromptu fado performance. These moments expose the depth of the singer's emotions as they contemplate their own personal pain and the desire to be with another person.
Overall, the song evokes a sense of isolation, longing, and the complicated emotions we experience when we find ourselves alone with our thoughts on a dark and quiet night.
Line by Line Meaning
A luz que se arredonda
The light that rounds up, illuminating my solitary shadow
Alongando-me a sombra sozinha
Stretching my lonely shadow
A saudade a bater
The yearning hitting me
Uma dor que ao doer é só minha
A pain that only belongs to me
Um desvio inquieto
An uneasy turn
Um olhar indiscreto na esquina
An indiscreet glance on the corner
Um rapaz de blusão
A boy in a bomber jacket
Arrastando pela mão a menina
Dragging the girl by the hand
Passa um velho a pedir
An old man begging passes by
Incapaz de sorrir pelos passeios
Incapable of smiling through the streets
Um travesti que quer
A transvestite who wants
Assumir-se mulher sem receios
To assume herself as a woman without fear
O alarme de um carro
The alarm of a car
Um cigarro apagado indulgente
An indulgent put out cigarette
Um cheiro inusitado
An unusual smell
O semáforo fechado para a gente
The traffic light closed to us
Sobe o fado de tom
The fado rises in tone
E o fadista que é bom improvisa
And the good fadista improvises
Estão em saldos sapatos
Shoes are on sale
Desce o preço dos fatos de cor lisa
The price of plain suits goes down
Um eléctrico cheio
A crowded tram
Uma voz de permeio vai chover
A voice in between, it's going to rain
Bate forte a saudade
The yearning beats hard
Como é grande vontade de te ver
How great the desire to see you
A luz que se arredonda
The light that rounds up, illuminating my solitary shadow
Alongando-me a sombra sozinha
Stretching my lonely shadow
A saudade a bater
The yearning hitting me
Uma dor que ao doer é só minha
A pain that only belongs to me
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
Written by: Jorge Fernando
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Danifmf1
Na minha humilde opinião, o conjunto formado pela união da letra,com a melodia, e a agradabilíssima voz, fazem desta a música mais bonita e profunda, interpretada pela Ana. Realmente, não há como cansar de ouvir.
Astridy Gurgel
Canção maravilhosa! Adoro!
jazzforrum
Eu não sei Português, mas acho que estes textos são lindos. Ana Moura canta maravilhosamente e é uma bela mulher. Saudações da Polónia Słuchaj Zapis fonetyczny
António Lopes
Absolutamente espectacular!!!! alguém sabe se ela ainda canta em algumas casas de Fado? provavelmente já só deve fazer concertos...
Pinhal Dias
Esta voz da valor ao Fado! Ana Moura satisfaz bastante. Abs! Pinhal Dias - Amora - Portugal
Rosemar Oliveira
...bate forte a saudade,como é grande a vontade de te ver...a saudade a bater, uma dor que ao doer é só minha...Emocionante ouvir. Você é MARAVILHOSA!! Um abraço.
Victor Avila
Muito bonito, forte e profundo!
denzo30
Ela canta com uma tristeza dentro da sua voz bela!!!
Mary E.
Hey senhor Jorge Fernando - essa introducao de viola nesta cancao - very Beautiful! E tambem a Ana, o Felipe e o Custodio. A great song and a perfect combination.
Stefan Nedelchev
Just fantastic song of Jorge Fernando! Terrific performance of Ana Moura! She is greates fadista and beautiful woman!! I am looking forward to hear her on 31 of October in Barbican Centre - London!