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 ..."

Sei que me Viste Passar
Ana Sofia Varela Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

Sei que me viste passar e disfarçaste
Eu fingi que passei sem dar por ti
Desviaste o olhar mas sei que olhaste
Porque me encandeei quqndo te vi

Sonhei dias a fio fazer-te adeus
Viraste os olhos à Lua para não dar azo
Se alguém disser que me viu juro por Deus

Que passei à tua rua só por acaso

Senti o teu olhar nas minhas costas
Sei o bem que me faz ao coração

Gosto de te cruzar, tu também gostas
E um dia não és capaz de fingir que não

Overall Meaning

The lyrics of the song "Sei que me viste passar" by Ana Sofia Varela describe a situation where two people who have a history together cross paths but try to avoid acknowledging each other's presence. The first verse talks about how both of them noticed each other but pretended not to. The singer (presumably one of the two people) knows that the other person saw them, but pretended not to. The second verse talks about how the singer dreamed of saying goodbye to the other person, but the other person avoided the situation by looking at the moon. The singer insists that if someone says they saw them, they did not go with the intent to see the other person.

The chorus talks about how the singer can feel the other person's gaze on their back and that it makes their heart happy. They both like crossing paths, but one day the other person won't be able to pretend not to see the singer anymore.

Overall, the song portrays the awkwardness and tension that can arise when two people who once had a close relationship run into each other. Despite trying to remain distant and unresponsive, both parties still have lingering feelings that they cannot ignore forever.

Line by Line Meaning

Sei que me viste passar e disfarçaste
I know you saw me passing by and pretended you didn't

Eu fingi que passei sem dar por ti
I pretended not to notice you either

Desviaste o olhar mas sei que olhaste
You looked away but I know you were looking

Porque me encandeei quqndo te vi
Because I was dazzled when I saw you

Sonhei dias a fio fazer-te adeus
I dreamed for days of saying goodbye to you

Viraste os olhos à Lua para não dar azo
You turned your eyes to the moon so as not to give any chance

Se alguém disser que me viu juro por Deus
If anyone says they saw me, I swear to God

Que passei à tua rua só por acaso
That I passed by your street just by chance

Senti o teu olhar nas minhas costas
I felt your gaze on my back

Sei o bem que me faz ao coração
I know how good it feels in my heart

Gosto de te cruzar, tu também gostas
I like to cross paths with you and you like it too