Official site (with long song extracts): www.carminho.net

In 200… Read Full Bio ↴Official site (with long song extracts): www.carminho.net

In 2009, Carminho sang "Fado". This was her fado, the one she owned since an early age, when she listened to her parents’ records, when she witnessed the gathering of fado singers in her own house and when, still a teenager, she began to sing in the Taverna do Embuçado. This "Fado" was the title of her first album, which was one of the most awaited albums in the new generation of fado singers: for those who had already heard Carminho, her talent was obvious, but they had to wait – until she finished her graduation, until she travelled the world, until she knew who she really was.

And her "Fado" became one of the most acclaimed albums in 2009. It went Platinum – an enviable outcome for a debut album. With "Fado", Portugal surrendered to Carminho’s voice and the doors of the world opened to her talent. It was considered best album 2011 by Songlines magazine, she had shows in European capital cities, in Womex 2011 (Copenhagen) and in the UNESCO headquarters, in Paris, within the scope of Fado as World Heritage candidate. Then came the invitation to participate in Pablo Alborán’s album, which became a phenomenon of popularity in both Portugal and Spain.
It was about time that “Fado” had a worthy successor. And it's just around the corner. On 5th March, Carminho reveals her "Alma" (Portuguese word for soul) with 15 new songs, an album again produced and directed by Diogo Clemente, again wisely combining cover versions and originals (in the special edition, the album has 17 songs and a DVD with Carminho live in concertin May 2011 at Lux Frágil, Lisbon.

The cover versions are less evident. Some not so well known songs by Amália ("Cabeça de Vento"), Maria Amélia Proença ("À Beira do Cais") or Fernanda Maria ("As Pedras da Minha Rua"), but also from Chico Buarque ("Meu Namorado", de "O Grande Circo Místico") or Vinicius de Moraes ("Saudades do Brasil em Portugal"). The original songs are by Diogo Clemente ("Bom Dia, Amor", about poet Fernando Pessoa), Mário Pacheco ("Talvez", lyrics by Vasco Graça Moura), and Vitorino ("Fado Adeus"). And there are also some new lyrics for traditional fado tunes – one of them, "Folha", written by Carminho herself, and another one, "Impressão Digital", a poem by António Gedeão.

And it is this mixture of past and present that allows us to unveil the future of Fado, in the unrivalled voice of Carminho. A voice which, in her second album, sustains all that Carminho sings in "Talvez": "I might not know who you are, but I know who I am”.

In 2017, she released a Tom Jobim covers album, titled "Carminho Canta Tom Jobim".

Official site (with long song extracts): www.carminho.net

Fado Adeus
Carminho Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

Quis a sorte que encontrasse os teus favores
Mas deixaste marca forte no meu peito.
Não desdenho dos teus passos,
Também não nego os abraços,
A doçura do olhar.
Quando dizias adeus
Tudo parava, escurecia.
Estou perdida, espelho meu.

Diz-me onde anda a minha alma já sem cor.
Onde estão os dias claros, tudo em flor?
Deixaste a guitarra muda,
A navalha está fechada
Sobre o lenço de cetim.
Tão negro que dói de olhar,
Noitinha mais devagar,
Tem cuidado, o amor tem fim.

Contrário à esperança eterna,
Mas eu sei que tu não voltas.
Disse-me este fado. Adeus.

Diz-me onde anda a minha alma já sem cor.
Onde estão os dias claros, tudo em flor?
Deixaste a guitarra muda,
A navalha está fechada
Sobre o lenço de cetim.
Tão negro que dói de olhar,
Noitinha mais devagar,
Tem cuidado, o amor tem fim.

Contrário à esperança eterna,

Mas eu sei que tu não voltas.
Disse-me este fado. Adeus.

Overall Meaning

"Quis a sorte que encontrasse os teus favores, mas deixaste marca forte no meu peito" - The singer begins by reminiscing about an earlier time when they were fortunate to experience the love of the person they are addressing in the song. However, despite the joy they once had, they are now left with a deep emotional scar.

"Não desdenho dos teus passos, também não nego os abraços, a doçura do olhar" - The singer acknowledges that they do not reject or despise the gestures of affection that the person has shown them in the past, and they still remember the sweetness of their gaze and embrace.

"Quando dizias adeus tudo parava, escurecia" - The singer describes the intense sadness and mourning they experienced when the person would say goodbye.

"Estou perdida, espelho meu" - The singer is lost without the person and feels as though a part of themselves is missing.

The chorus repeats the lines "Diz-me onde anda a minha alma já sem cor. Onde estão os dias claros, tudo em flor?" which roughly translates to "Tell me where my soul is without color. Where are the bright days, everything in bloom?" The singer is searching for answers about how to live on without the person who has left them, and how to find joy and hope in life once again.

The last verse expresses the singer's resignation to the fact that the person will not return to them, and that they must accept that their love story has come to an end.

Line by Line Meaning

Quis a sorte que encontrasse os teus favores
I was fortunate to have found favor in your eyes

Mas deixaste marca forte no meu peito.
But you left a strong mark on my heart

Não desdenho dos teus passos,
I do not turn away from your footsteps

Também não nego os abraços,
Nor do I reject your embrace

A doçura do olhar.
Your sweet gaze

Quando dizias adeus
When you said goodbye

Tudo parava, escurecia.
Everything stopped, turned dark

Estou perdida, espelho meu.
I am lost, my mirror

Diz-me onde anda a minha alma já sem cor.
Tell me where my soul wanders colorless

Onde estão os dias claros, tudo em flor?
Where are the bright days, everything in bloom?

Deixaste a guitarra muda,
You left the guitar silent