António Zambujo was born in Beja, Alentejo (South of Portugal) in 1975. He … Read Full Bio ↴António Zambujo was born in Beja, Alentejo (South of Portugal) in 1975. He grew up listening to the traditional male chant called ‘Cante Alentejano’ that became one of his strongest influences. Around the age of 8, Zambujo started studying clarinet but soon he fell in love with Fado when listening to Amália Rodrigues, Alfredo Marceneiro, Maria Teresa de Noronha and João Ferreira Rosa. And it was singing, when he was 16 years old, that he won a regional Fado contest. His professional carreer started when Mário Pacheco, the renowned Portuguese guitarist and composer, invited him to sing in his Clube de Fado, in Lisbon. Not for a long time though… After an audition, António was chosen to take the role of Francisco da Cruz, Amalia’s first husband, in the blockbuster Musical ‘Amália’. He performed continuously during 4 years in Lisbon and after that he toured all around Portugal achieving enormous success. ‘It was a unique experience that taught me the stage «feeling» plus the strict working discipline of a theatre company’. In 2002 his first record ‘O mesmo Fado’ was released. Though you can find in it, as in all Zambujo’s records, some influences of ..Cante Alentejano’, the record achieved great recognition in the “Fado world’. Several songs were chosen to be part of major Fado anthologies and António Zambujo won the prestigious ‘Radio Nova FM’ prize for the ‘Best new Fado voice’ that was previously addressed to Mariza, Camané and Mafalda Arnauth. The 2004’s ‘Por meu cante’ gave us some clues about Zambujo’s future artistic path. His homeland influences were clearer, the merge between ‘Cante Alentejano’ and Fado was always present and, though it happened to be somehow controversial, no impeachment was called. António Zambujo won the Amália Rodrigues Foundation’s prize for the Best Fado Male Singer. 2007 is a significant year in Zambujo’s career. His third record ‘Outro sentido’ is a statement from a mature artist that has found his own particular way. Also the remarkable Lisbon’s festival closing concert and the duet with Luís Represas, a top pop singer, have shown that Zambujo and his music are really difficult to label.

Maré
António Zambujo Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

Uma canção chega assim
que canta o passarinho
numa noite qualquer
na dança da maré
descalça convida para um café

Uma canção chega assim
tão perto, pertinho

de fazer cafuné, apanhar fruta com o pé
repousar meu sonho no teu corpo
num abraço sideral

Uma canção chega ao fim
e desfaz-se no ar
só p'ra poder voar num sopro casual

um dia, uma tarde, num segundo
isso é coisa natural

Overall Meaning

António Zambujo's song Maré is a beautiful composition that tells of a song that arrives mysteriously just like a passing bird, on an ordinary night, in the dance of the tide. The song is so close to the singer that it invites him to have coffee barefoot. The lyrics further describe the song as something that would be delightful, like stroking someone's head or picking fruit with one's feet. It is also something that brings comfort, causing one to rest their dreams on someone's body, wrapped in a sidereal hug. Finally, the song ends suddenly and dissolves into the air, only to fly off in a casual breath, emphasizing the natural transience of all things.

This song has a very dreamy and surreal quality about it, and one can interpret it in many ways. Some people might see it as a representation of a serendipitous encounter, whereas some may see it as a metaphor for moments of inspiration - when an idea for a new project comes out of nowhere. The song's gentle melody and Zambujo's melancholic voice only add to the overall mysterious and otherworldly aura surrounding the lyrics.

Line by Line Meaning

Uma canção chega assim que canta o passarinho
A song arrives just like how a bird sings

numa noite qualquer na dança da maré
on any night, in the dance of the tide

descalça convida para um café
inviting barefoot to a coffee

Uma canção chega assim tão perto, pertinho
A song arrives so close, really close

de fazer cafuné, apanhar fruta com o pé
to caress, to pick fruits with the feet

repousar meu sonho no teu corpo
to rest my dream on your body

num abraço sideral
in a sidereal embrace

Uma canção chega ao fim
A song comes to an end

e desfaz-se no ar
and fades away in the air

só p'ra poder voar num sopro casual
just to be able to fly away on a casual breeze

um dia, uma tarde, num segundo
one day, one afternoon, in one second