Born on the 27th August 1941 in the port town of Mindelo, Cape Verde, on the island of São Vicente. Long known as the queen of the morna, a soulful genre (related to the Portuguese fado) sung in Creole-Portuguese, she mixed her sentimental folk tunes filled with longing and sadness with the acoustic sounds of guitar, cavaquinho, violin, accordion, and clarinet. Évora's Cape Verdean blues often spoke of the country's history of isolation and slave trade, as well as emigration; almost two-thirds of the million Cape Verdeans alive live abroad.
Évora's voice, a finely-tuned, melancholy instrument with a touch of hoarseness, highlighted her emotional phrasing by accenting a word or phrase. Even audiences who do not understand her language could be held spell-bound by the emotions evident in her performances.
In 2004 she won the Grammy Award for Best Contemporary World Music Album.
A heavy smoker for decades, Évora was diagnosed with heart problems in 2005. She suffered strokes in 2008 and in September 2011, when she announced she was retiring. She died at the age of seventy in São Vicente, Cape Verde on the 17th December 2011 from respiratory failure and hypertension. A Spanish newspaper reported that forty-eight hours before her death she was still receiving people in her home in Mindelo, popular for always having its doors open.
Ausencia
Cesária Évora Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
pa voa na esse distancia
si um gazela um fosse
pa corre sem nem um cansera
anton ja na bo seio
um tava ba manche
e nunca mas ausencia
ma so na pensamento
um ta viaja sem medo
nha liberdade um te'l
e so na nha sonho
na nha sonho mieforte
um tem bo protecao
um te so bo carinho
e bo sorriso
ai solidao to'me
sima sol sozim na ceu
so ta brilha ma ta cega
na se clarao
sem sabe pa onde lumia
pa onde bai
ai solidao e un sina...
cezaria evora&goran bregovic
if someone can translate the words...plssssss,I beg u!!
The lyrics of Cesária Évora's song "Ausencia" describe the longing for someone who is far away. The singer wishes they had wings to fly the distance and be reunited with their loved one. The metaphor of a gazelle is used to express the desire for freedom and energy to run towards their beloved without feeling tired. The singer is reminiscing about being in the arms of their loved one, and how their absence has become a source of pain. However, in their thoughts, they can still feel the protection and care of their lover, and in their dreams, they find solace.
Line by Line Meaning
si asa um tivesse
If I had wings
pa voa na esse distancia
To fly across this distance
si um gazela um fosse
If I were a gazelle
pa corre sem nem um cansera
To run without getting tired
anton ja na bo seio
In your embrace, Anthony
um tava ba manche
I would rest
e nunca mas ausencia
And never again experience absence
ta ser nos lema
That would be our motto
ma so na pensamento
But only in my thoughts
um ta viaja sem medo
I travel fearlessly
nha liberdade um te'l
With freedom on my side
e so na nha sonho
But only in my dreams
na nha sonho mieforte
In my strongest dream
um tem bo protecao
I have your protection
um te so bo carinho
I only have your love
e bo sorriso
And your smile
ai solidao to'me
Oh loneliness grips me
sima sol sozim na ceu
Like a sun alone in the sky
so ta brilha ma ta cega
Only shining but blinding
na se clarao
In its brightness
sem sabe pa onde lumia
Not knowing where to shine
pa onde bai
Where to go
ai solidao e un sina...
Oh loneliness is a curse...
Contributed by Jacob E. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
Maria R de Carvalho
Ausencia
Ausencia
Si asa um tivesse
Pa voa na esse distancia
Si um gazela um fosse
Pa corre sem nem um cansera
Anton ja na bo seio
Um tava ba manche
E nunca mas ausencia
Ta ser nos lema
Ma so na pensamento
Um ta viaja sem medo
Nha liberdade um te'l
E so na nha sonho
Na nha sonho mieforte
Um tem bo protecao
Um te so bo carinho
E bo sorriso
Ai solidao to'me
Sima sol sozim na ceu
So ta brilha ma ta cega
Na se clarao
Sem sabe pa onde lumia
Pa onde bai
Ai solidao e un sina...
Júlia Szecsei
Viejos recuerdos de mi corazon...R.I.P. Cesaria!
Alberto Morales
Esta cancion de verdad es tan chingona, como decimos en Mexico, cada que la oigo siento algo muy cabrón, es indescriptible
Runner McTurtle
Bregovic, Cesaria Evora and Kayah, they all will be eternal because of this beautiful song.
Heloisa Pereira da Silva
Conheci um pouco tarde, mas sem duvida esta voz esta imortalizada. Descance em paz
emanoela bria
O voce divină!
oleiros70
Bregovic & Cesária... Grandes!
Liberato Fernandes
Divina. Ponto final!
Liberato
Any Coty Asenjo Guerrero
Excelente, Celestial!!! Me encanta Bregovic & Cesarea, hermoooosos!! El comienzo de esta canción era la entrada de la novela chilena Romané, sino me equivoco, hace varios años atrás.
Bobby Shabangu
Beautifully done.
Mara Lima
linda demais!!!