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.
Beijo de Longe
Cesária Évora Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Ilha di vento, di nha cretcheu
Bó som di longe ta fazême sonhá
Ta navegá na bô doçura
Ilhéu dos passos
Guarda di bô baía
Ta protégé
É bô amor, sonho d'um cretcheu
Qui t'animá ess' ilha Santa
Tem morabeza, Blue di manha
Tem sol na cada madrugada
Ilheu dos passos
Guarda di bo baía
Ta protégé
Quem cum crê mas tcheu
E sô pa d'zeb
Que nha coração
Ta f'ca ma bô
Bô quê nha crêtcheu
Bô quê nha crêtcheu
Bô quê nha crêtcheu
In the song "Beijo de Longe," Cesária Évora sings about longing for someone from afar. The lyrics describe the island of São Vicente, a place of wind and beauty that inspires dreams and longing. The singer expresses a deep love and affection for their partner, referring to them as the "sonho d'um cretcheu" or the dream of a young girl, which animates the island of Santa.
The song also mentions the Ilhéu dos Passos, a small islet near the island of São Vicente, which acts as a guardian of the bay and protects those who believe. The singer declares that their heart belongs to their lover and that they are their beloved, using the Cape Verdean Crioulo phrase "bô quê nha crêtcheu" to express their devotion.
Overall, the lyrics of "Beijo de Longe" paint a picturesque and romantic image of life on the islands of Cape Verde and the strength of long-distance love.
Line by Line Meaning
Dexam beijabe oh São Vicente
Let me kiss you from afar, oh Saint Vincent
Ilha di vento, di nha cretcheu
Island of wind, of my dear one
Bó som di longe ta fazême sonhá
Your distant sound makes me dream
Ta navegá na bô doçura
I navigate in your sweetness
Ilhéu dos passos
Islet of steps
Guarda di bô baía
Guardian of your bay
Ta protégé
Protects
Quem cum crê mas tcheu
Those who believe the most
É bô amor, sonho d'um cretcheu
It's your love, the dream of a dear one
Qui t'animá ess' ilha Santa
That enlivens this Saint island
Tem morabeza, Blue di manha
Has charm, morning blue
Tem sol na cada madrugada
Has sun in every dawn
E sô pa d'zeb
And only for this reason
Que nha coração
My heart
Ta f'ca ma bô
Remains with you
Bô quê nha crêtcheu
You are my sweetie
Bô quê nha crêtcheu
You are my sweetie
Bô quê nha crêtcheu
You are my sweetie
Contributed by Maya M. Suggest a correction in the comments below.