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 ..."
Vivendo Sem Mim
Ana Sofia Varela Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Vivendo sem mim
Deixai-me que cante
Vou chorando assim
Vou entre sargaços
Estendo os meus braços
Pelos areais, ficaram meus passos
E dos meus cabelos
No meu coração, ficaram cansaços
Perdi meus abraços
Entre a solidão
Disseram-me estrelas
E desejei tê-las
Disseram-me céu
E o céu era meu
Disseram-me amor
Conheci a dor
Disseram-me irmão
E era traição
Disseram-me lua
E dormi na rua
Disseram-me Deus
Ai pecados meus
Menina, Menina
Flor de Primavera
Quem te deu a sina
Que tua já era
O meu coração
Na palma da mão
Deixei-o ficar
Caiu-me no chão
Caiu-me no chão
Deixei-o ficar
E sem coração
Não se pode amar
The lyrics of Ana Sofia Varela's song Vivendo Sem Mim portray a person who is experiencing the pain and turmoil of living without love. The first verse talks about the enduring pain of living without someone and uses a metaphor of being surrounded by rough waves (sargaços) and trying to reach out with open arms. The next few lines talk about losing oneself in the process of loving someone, represented here by the loss of the physical and emotional connection (passos, laços, abraços) and feeling tired and empty (cansaços) at the end. The last line emphasizes the loneliness that comes with being without love.
The second verse is more metaphorical, with the singer encountering different kinds of experiences that are meant to represent stages of life. However, in each encounter, the experiences turn out to be something else: the stars become objects of desire, the sky becomes a limitation, love becomes pain, brotherhood becomes betrayal, the moon becomes a cold place to sleep, and even God becomes a reminder of one's own sins. In this way, the singer suggests that the world is not as it seems, and that love is often elusive and disappointing.
The chorus repeats a phrase that seems to be addressed to someone specific, perhaps a young girl (Menina, Menina). The singer wonders who determined her destiny (sina), and laments the loss of her heart, which fell to the ground (Caiu-me no chão) and cannot love without it. The tone of the song is melancholy and introspective, but also suggests a certain acceptance of the pain of living without love.
Line by Line Meaning
Ai vida que dura
Life is tough
Vivendo sem mim
Living without me
Deixai-me que cante
Let me sing
Vou chorando assim
I cry like this
Vou entre sargaços
I go through rough times
Estendo os meus braços
I reach out my arms
Pelos areais, ficaram meus passos
My footsteps stayed in the sand
E dos meus cabelos
And from my hair
Caíram os laços
The ribbons fell off
No meu coração, ficaram cansaços
In my heart, fatigue remained
Perdi meus abraços
I lost my hugs
Entre a solidão
Amidst the loneliness
Disseram-me estrelas
They told me about stars
E desejei tê-las
And I wished to have them
Disseram-me céu
They told me about the sky
E o céu era meu
And the sky belonged to me
Disseram-me amor
They told me about love
Conheci a dor
I experienced the pain
Disseram-me irmão
They told me about brothers
E era traição
And it was betrayal
Disseram-me lua
They told me about the moon
E dormi na rua
And I slept on the street
Disseram-me Deus
They told me about God
Ai pecados meus
Oh, my sins
Menina, Menina
Girl, girl
Flor de Primavera
Spring flower
Quem te deu a sina
Who condemned you
Que tua já era
That you were already doomed
O meu coração
My heart
Na palma da mão
In the palm of the hand
Deixei-o ficar
I let it stay
Caiu-me no chão
It fell from my hands
E sem coração
And without a heart
Não se pode amar
One can't love
Contributed by Jasmine K. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
Marcelo Soledad
Maravilhosa ❤️ uma excelente pessoa, uma excelente Fadista ❤️
Cidália Aleixo
ANA SOFIA VARELA!! "" VIVENDO SEM MIM "" GRANDE VOZ DO FADO, LINDO FADO MUITO BEM CANTADO, BONS MÚSICOS, FELICIDADES!! ANSANTOS 1959!! MUITO OBRIGADA..🌹🎶
ansantos1959
Obrigado Cidália Aleixo. Eu é que tenho a agradecer o seu interesse e entusiasmo pelo Fado.