Her first contact with fados came as she listened to songs by Amália, at the age of 10. By the time she was 14 years old, she had become an increasingly popular fixture at local fado clubs and schools.
Her commitment to and contact with traditional Alentejo music has been a constant factor since her childhood. She created her own repertoire from fados by Amália and Nuno de Câmara Pereira and the lyrics of Rui Veloso, Vitorino and Resistência.
She then took part in a number of local fado competitions, and reached the finals of the Portuguese TV programme "Selecçao Nacional" as “the most beautiful and interesting voice of the Music Festival 95”. In 1997 she was invited to sing at a fado club in Lisbon, and on that occasion Carlos Zei introduced her to the famous Portuguese guitarist Mário Pacheco, with whom she later sang at many concerts (Macao, Japan, Italy etc.). She was subsequently invited to join the team of permanent artistes at "Clube de Fado", where she is a regular fixture.
Another important connection was her relationship with António Chaínho, who invited her to guest on a CD, " A guitarra e Outras Mulheres", with Marta Dias, Teresa Salgueiro (Madredeus) and Filipa Pais. This subsequently evolved into a European tour.
At Expo 98 she took part in "De Sol a Lua- Flamenco & Fado", a tour of Spain, Germany, Holland and Switzerland. In 1999 she accepted João Braga’s invitation to sing at a number of concerts, and this produced another CD, "Cem Anos de Fado".
The launch of the "Ana Sofía Varela" CD in 2002 marked the beginning of a new direction in her career: the public discovered “the fado they had been waiting for for so long”. This album arose from the "De Sol a Lua- Flamenco & Fado" tour, during which two of the composers, João Monge and João Gil, introduced her to Manuel Paulo Felgueiras de Alas dos Namorados, who produced the CD.
"I was given the chance to sing what I wanted to sing, all the songs I love to sing: classical fados, new songs, experimental songs influenced by flamenco … of course, everything I sing sounds like a fado, because that’s what I am – a fado singer."
Nor did she forsake her origins: "My childhood in Serpa gave me so much contact with music in Alentejo and Spanish music. João Monje is from the same area, and while we were working on the CD we would chat about local traditions, and I asked him to write a poem about all these things ("Ducados"). Manuel Paulo was then inspired by flamenco and Alentejo music for the musical arrangements with Pedro J'oia on flamenco guitar ... this became a homage to my musical and personal relationship with Serpa.”
On the poetry side, the great Vasco Graça Moura heard her singing "Las Letras do Fado Vulgar" live, and offered her a book of poems based on the fado. Mário Pacheco also features on two songs in the album.
She claims that "Ana Sofía Varela" is a dream come true, at the right time, with the right people. Songs about Love, Passion, Hope – these are the deepest emotions that anyone can ever feel ..."
Fado de Amor e Pecado
Ana Sofia Varela Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Os barcos que jazem aqui foram de outro lugar
Quem sabe, amor
Onde vai
Quem sabe
A dor que nos cai
O vento passa por nós e o resto é o mar
Tingi os lençóis com a raiva de amor e pecado
Olhai as mãos, meu amor
Olhai meus olhos, Senhor
Cantai guitarras, cantai a tristeza do fado
Fui carne de amor e ciúme
Fui vinho e loucura
Um cravo em botão,
Meu amor,
Preso à tua lapela
Chorei, amor, este fim
Sequei por dentro de mim
Deixei uma rosa vermelha à tua janela
Tracei o meu xaile no rosto
É de luto este fado
Lavei o teu sangue na chuva que leva a saudade
Olhai as mãos, meu amor
Olhai meus olhos, Senhor
Cantai guitarras, cantai a minha liberdade
Adeus amor que matei
O mar há-de encontrar ò nosso coração
Adeus amor que jurei
Minha rosa de fogo e paixão
The lyrics to Ana Sofia Varela's song "Fado de Amor e Pecado" tell a story of love and loss, regret and yearning. The first verse describes the departure of swallows and boats, and the uncertainty of where they may go or what pain they may be experiencing. The wind passes by and the remainder is left to the sea, as if the lamentations of love also become swallowed up by the vastness of the world. The second verse is more personal, as the singer admits to killing a red rose she wore on her collar and staining the sheets with the anger and passion of love and sin. The imagery of hands and eyes convey the depth of emotion and attention given to the details of their love affair. The final verse speaks of mourning, as the singer dons a shawl of mourning and washes away the memories of her love in the rain. She bids farewell to the love she killed and the rose of fire and passion that represented it, aware that the sea will carry their hearts away.
Line by Line Meaning
Parti andorinhas, parti longe do meu telhado
Swallows have flown away from my roof, and gone far away
Os barcos que jazem aqui foram de outro lugar
The boats lying here now came from somewhere else
Quem sabe, amor
Who knows, my love
Onde vai
Where it will go
Quem sabe
Who knows
A dor que nos cai
The pain that falls upon us
O vento passa por nós e o resto é o mar
The wind blows past us, and after that, there is only the sea
Matei a rosa vermelha que usava ao decote
I have killed the red rose that I wore at my chest
Tingi os lençóis com a raiva de amor e pecado
I dyed the sheets with the anger of love and sin
Olhai as mãos, meu amor
Look at my hands, my love
Olhai meus olhos, Senhor
Look into my eyes, Lord
Cantai guitarras, cantai a tristeza do fado
Guitars play, sing the sadness of fado
Fui carne de amor e ciúme
I was made of love and jealousy
Fui vinho e loucura
I was wine and madness
Um cravo em botão,
A closed carnation
Meu amor,
My love
Preso à tua lapela
Stuck to your lapel
Chorei, amor, este fim
I cried, my love, at this end
Sequei por dentro de mim
I dried up inside
Deixei uma rosa vermelha à tua janela
I left a red rose at your window
Tracei o meu xaile no rosto
I traced my shawl on my face
É de luto este fado
This fado is a lament
Lavei o teu sangue na chuva que leva a saudade
I washed your blood away in the rain that takes away nostalgia
Cantai guitarras, cantai a minha liberdade
Guitars play, sing my freedom
Adeus amor que matei
Goodbye my love, whom I killed
O mar há-de encontrar ò nosso coração
The sea will find our hearts
Adeus amor que jurei
Goodbye my love, whom I swore to
Minha rosa de fogo e paixão
My rose of fire and passion
Contributed by Kaitlyn C. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
Carlos Maza
Partid golondrinas,
Partid lejos de mi tejado
Los barcos que aquí quedan
Eran de otro lugar
Quién sabe, amor
Dónde va
Quién sabe
El dolor que nos toca
El viento pasa a nuestro lado
Y el resto es el mar
Maté la rosa roja
Que usaba en el escote
Teñí las sábanas
con rabia de amor y pecado
Mirad las manos, mi amor
Mirad mis ojos, Señor
Cantad guitarras,
cantad la tristeza del fado
Fui carne de amor y celos
Fui vino y locura
Un clavel en capullo,
Mi amor,
Prendido en tu solapa
Lloré, amor, este final
Seca por dentro de mí
Dejé una rosa roja
En tu ventana
Crucé mi chal por la cara
Es de luto este fado
Lavé tu sangre
En la lluvia que lleva la nostalgia
Mirad las manos,
Mi amor
Mirad mis ojos, Señor
Cantad guitarras,
cantad mi libertad
Adiós amor que maté
El mar ha de encontrar
Nuestro corazón
Adiós amor que juré
Mi rosa de fuego y pasión
Manuel Valério Gadêlha Da Silva
O Fado, mais vivo que nunca na voz maravilhosa de nossa grande fadista Ana Sofia Varela, apreciada por mim no Brasil!!!
Manuel Valério Gadêlha Da Silva
Belíssima apresentação de nossa bela Ana Sofia Varela, grato pela postagem!!!
José Martos
Una gran interpretación del fado. ¡Magnífico, Ana!
S. G.
No tengo las palabras... maravilla de arte portugués
Helder Alberto
que garra que sensibilidade que linda voz ,parabéns Ana .
gabriele Alves
Apesar de ser brasileira eu amo fado que música linda é essa meu Deus
Maria de Fátima Barbosa
A Ana está na lista das minhas Fadistas favoritas
jose raposo
Linda voz do fado que deixa apaixonado um amante do fado bravo ana
Joao Martins
Tive o privilégio de assistir ao vivo a este concerto....momento unico e magnifico....
Alejandro Mosquera Souto
Conhecim a Ana pelo filme Fados. Atopeina casualmente em Lisboa e na rúa cantoume um fado. Maravilhosa voz e pesoa.