He was the son of Lucília do Carmo (one of the greatest fadistas of the 20th century) and Alfredo de Almeida, (bookseller and later entrepreneur in the hotel business). His parents were also the owners of the famous Lisbon restaurant "O Faia". One might say that Carlos do Carmo was raised in an artistic atmosphere. His parents' house in the old part of the city, Bairro Alto, was a place where intelectuals and artists gathered, some of the more prominent figures of Lisbon society at that time. He studied the hotel business in Switzerland. In 1964, Carlos do Carmo began one of the most solid careers in the artistic panorama of Portugal...
When he returned to Lisbon from Switzerland he entered the hotel business with his parents, and took the reigns of "Casa de Fado" which they had founded, using all of the ideas and techniques that he learned in Switzerland. After the death of his father, Carlos do Carmo became the owner, and thanks to his merits and good luck, made "Casa de Fado" the best in Lisbon. But music was ever present in him, and he recorded one of his mother's songs, "Loucura", at the request of Mário Simões almost on a lark. The success of this experience was so great that the destiny of Carlos do Carmo could not possibly be delayed a minute more. The opportunity to record his first album came quickly, and in 1964 he recorded " Estranha Forma de Vida". His way of singing was different, his personal style unmistakable, he was the one that fado was waiting for to carry on the tradition, and there was a certainty that a new star had been born. From that moment on, success was part of his life, each and every fado that he sang, every album he recorded, every performance he gave, corresponded with yet another hit. All of his albums up to the present day have been cherished and the sales of his television performances are now part of fado history, recognized for their high quality, and for the inovative spirit that each one transmits. "Por morrer uma andorinha", "Duas lágrimas de orvalho", "Bairro Alto", "Gaivota",
"Canoas do Tejo", "Os Putos", "Lisboa Menina e Moça" e "Estrela da Tarde", are some of the biggest hits of his career. Because of a desire to maintain a purely artistic career for such a long time, his artistic references include quite diverse artists as Frank Sinatra, Jaques Brel, Elis Regina and José Afonso. The international circulation of his work was driven, as he always likes to affirm, "By those Portuguese who leave my country in search of a better life, and who have passed my works in to the hands of entrepreneurs and cultural agents of the various countries where they reside".
He has sung on 5 continents, his performances at the "Olympia" in paris, the opera houses of Frankfurt and Wiesbaden, the Canecão in Rio de Janeiro, the "Savoy" in Helsinki, the Auditório Nacional in madrid, the Teatro da Rainha in Haia, the theater of Saint Petersburgh, the "Place des Arts" in Montreal, the Tivoli in Copenhagen, and the Memorial da América latina in São Paulo are some of the finest moments of his career. His performances throughout Portugal at the Mosteiro dos
Jerónimos, the Fundação Gulbenkian, the Coliseu dos Recreios, the Casino do Estoril,
and at the Centro Cultural de Belém make a difference in the cultural level of the country.
The number of honours and awards he has received to this day are innumerable, from being named an honorary citizen of the city of Rio De Janeiro, member of the honor of Claustro Ibero-Americano das Artes, to the diploma accorded him by the senate of Rhode Island in the U.S. for his contribution to the propagation of Portuguese music, to the golden globe. He also figures as a pioneer in the new Portuguese discography, due to his album "Um Homem no País", the first cd to be edited by an artist in Portugal.
Carlos do Carmo knows the importance of family life, he's been married since 1964 having 3 children, as fruit of this union, one daughter and 2 sons, who maintain a close relationship with him. It's not always easy to juggle life as a family man with the life of a world traveling artist. He persues the realization of this dream, because he considers the union of family to be important. He considers himself the first link in a chain of individual connections. He values being with friends, and enjoys making new friends, maintaining an high level of quality in his artistic life.
Carlos do Carmo is an artist who has certainly already attained some of his goals, aiming for a public who holds him in high esteem, great respect, apreciating in him not only his qualities as a musician, but also those of an artist interested in the evolution of the music of his homeland, and who believes in the evolution of man as a creature who can embrace the whole world in it's diversity.
Balada Para Uma Velhinha
Carlos do Carmo Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Está tão só com a sombrinha
Que é o seu pano de fundo.
Num banco de jardim uma velhinha
Está sozinha, não há coisa
Mais triste neste mundo.
E apenas faz ternura, não faz pena,
Não faz dó,
Já coseu alpergatas e
Bandeiras verdadeiras.
Amargou a pobreza até ao fundo.
Dos ossos fez as mesas e as cadeiras,
As maneiras
Que a fazem estar sentada sobre o mundo.
Neste jardim ela
À trepadeira das canseiras
Das rugas onde o tempo
É mais profundo.
Num banco de jardim uma velhinha
Nunca mais estará sozinha,
O futuro está com ela,
E abrindo ao sol o negro da
Sombrinha poidinha,
O sol vem namorá-la da janela.
Se essa velhinha fosse
A mãe que eu quero,
A mãe que eu tinha,
Não havia no mundo outra mais bela.
Num banco de jardim uma velhinha
Faz desenhos nas pedrinhas
Que, afinal, são como eu.
Sabe que as dores que tem também são minhas,
São moinhas do filho a desbravar que Deus lhe deu.
E, em volta do seu banco, os
Malmequeres e as andorinhas
Provam que a minha mãe nunca morreu.
The lyrics of Carlos do Carmo's song Balada Para Uma Velhinha depicts an elderly woman sitting alone on a park bench with her umbrella, which is her only company. The poetic language in the lyrics paints a picture of a sad, lonely woman who has lived a hard life. However, there is also a sense of tenderness and compassion towards her in the words of the song. The lyrics suggest that despite her hardships, she still maintains a sense of freshness and grace on her face, and the artist implies that he wishes this woman were his beautiful mother.
The second stanza of the song reveals that the woman has endured a life of hardship and poverty, having made tables and chairs out of bones and sewed shoes and flags. The artist also describes the wrinkles on her face as being deep with the passage of time. Despite this, the woman still finds ways to enjoy the simple things in life such as drawing on rocks, and the flowers and birds that surround her give her comfort. The song ends on a hopeful note, with the sunshine coming through the umbrella casting light on the aging woman and the world around her.
Line by Line Meaning
Num banco de jardim uma velhinha
A lonely old lady sits on a garden bench
Está tão só com a sombrinha
She is so alone with just her umbrella to keep her company
Que é o seu pano de fundo.
Which serves as her background.
Que é o seu pano de fundo.
Which serves as her background.
Está sozinha, não há coisa
She is alone, there's nothing
Mais triste neste mundo.
More sad in this world.
E apenas faz ternura, não faz pena,
She inspires tenderness, not pity,
Não faz dó,
No misery,
Pois tem no rosto um resto de frescura.
For she still has traces of freshness in her face.
Já coseu alpergatas e
She's already sewn espadrilles and
Bandeiras verdadeiras.
Real flags.
Amargou a pobreza até ao fundo.
She suffered poverty to the core.
Dos ossos fez as mesas e as cadeiras,
She made tables and chairs from bones,
As maneiras
The ways
Que a fazem estar sentada sobre o mundo.
That make her sit on top of the world.
Neste jardim ela
In this garden she
À trepadeira das canseiras
To the vine of tiredness
Das rugas onde o tempo
From the wrinkles where time
É mais profundo.
Is deeper.
Num banco de jardim uma velhinha
On a garden bench an old lady
Nunca mais estará sozinha,
Will never be alone again
O futuro está com ela,
The future is with her,
E abrindo ao sol o negro da
And as she opens the black of her
Sombrinha poidinha,
Umbrella with care,
O sol vem namorá-la da janela.
The sun comes to romance her from the window.
Se essa velhinha fosse
If that old lady were
A mãe que eu quero,
The mother I want,
A mãe que eu tinha,
The mother I had,
Não havia no mundo outra mais bela.
There would be no one more beautiful in the world.
Num banco de jardim uma velhinha
On a garden bench an old lady
Faz desenhos nas pedrinhas
Draws on small stones
Que, afinal, são como eu.
Which, after all, are like me.
Sabe que as dores que tem também são minhas,
She knows that the pains she has are also mine,
São moinhas do filho a desbravar que Deus lhe deu.
They are pains of the son that God gave her to overcome.
E, em volta do seu banco, os
And around her bench, the
Malmequeres e as andorinhas
Daisies and swallows
Provam que a minha mãe nunca morreu.
Prove that my mother never died.
Contributed by Stella I. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
jose alberto Ramos Loureiro
Belíssimo poema. Muito bem cantado pela grande voz do fado.
Manuel Carneiro
Sempre que ouço esta belissima canção, tão terna, recordo a minha avó, mulher grande e, quase sempre, fico com lágrimas que as saudades me trazem aos olhos.
Alice Lemos
Adoro !!! Muito linda!
landa samuel
Adoro...adoro..letra lind e a voz nem ha igual.
Frank Ferreira
Como este poema, musica e voz dizem tanto...
carlos branco branco
Sem palavras...
Xoan Xesto
Fermosura
Saturn Allister
Hi i like matty and jenna beast moments, and i ned watch again this videos pls. I love you and i love your videos
jose alberto Ramos Loureiro
Imortal,