Ana Sofía Varela was born in Lisbon, although she grew up in the countrysid… Read Full Bio ↴Ana Sofía Varela was born in Lisbon, although she grew up in the countryside (Serpa, Alentejo), where she lived until a few years ago, when she returned to the capital.

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 ..."

Lua de Todos
Ana Sofia Varela Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

Quem vai esperar por mim um dia
quando as ribeiras são a foz
e o cavalo renuncia
Verses horas, verdes águas...
Ò Lua de todos nós

Quem vai levar este barquinho
a dar à praia derradeira

onde a noite faz o ninho
Verde névoa, verde véu...
Lança de ponta certeira

Quem leva o toiro que caiu
e lava a praça de manhã,
as papoilas pelo estio....
Verde espada, verde rosa,
Verde sangue de romã

Batem as cinco horas da tarde
Lua brava se eu puder
dou-te o peito à descoberta

Verde sonho, verdes asas...
O peito de uma mulher

Overall Meaning

The lyrics in "Lua de Todos" are about a sense of longing and wonder about who will be there for the singer in different moments of their life. The opening lines ask who will wait for them when the rivers meet the sea and the horse gives up, which can be interpreted as metaphorical representations of difficult and uncertain times in life. The mention of the moon, or "Ò Lua de todos nós," suggests that there is a sense of universality to these experiences and emotions.

The following lines ask who will take their boat to the final shore, where the night makes its nest, and who will wash the arena in the morning and pick the poppies in the summer. These verses speak to the cycle of life and death, and the passing of time, as the sights and smells described - the green mist, green veil, green sword, green rose, and the green blood of pomegranate - evoke a sense of nostalgia and longing for what has been lost.

Line by Line Meaning

Quem vai esperar por mim um dia
Who will wait for me one day

quando as ribeiras são a foz
when the streams are the mouth of the river

e o cavalo renuncia
and the horse renounces

Verses horas, verdes águas...
Verses hours, green waters...

Ò Lua de todos nós
Oh Moon of all of us

Quem vai levar este barquinho
Who will take this little boat

a dar à praia derradeira
to reach the ultimate beach

onde a noite faz o ninho
where the night nests

Verde névoa, verde véu...
Green mist, green veil...

Lança de ponta certeira
Aiming sharp spear

Quem leva o toiro que caiu
Who takes the fallen bull