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.
Desilusão Dum Amdjer
Cesária Évora Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Nasce feliz pa bo
Ma hoje sem piedade
Bo despadaca ess nha mundo
Quando sem do
Bo dixa nha alma n'agonia
Cu dor sem esperanca nem fe
D'familia e de tude quel povo
Es tch'ma 'me amdjer di rua
Qu'm tava sempre na rua
Ma 'm guenta tudo
C'forca d'sentimento
Pamode bo dixa 'me perde luta
Assim 'm ta pidi mar
Pa'i leva 'me pa 'me ca volta
Pa 'me ba vive isolada
Num mundo di treva
E ca lembra nh'amor pirdide
Oh Deus da nha alma um sossego
'M ca magoa ninguem
Pamode e mim qu'ta sofre
Ijda 'me oia realidade
Alivia ess nha dor
P'm ba vive um vida novo
Oh Deus da nha alma um sossego
'M ca magoa ninguem
Pamode e mim qu'ta sofre
Ijda 'me oia realidade
Alivia ess nha dor
Mim tambem 'm tem direito
Di ser feliz
Li na terra
These lyrics are from Cesária Évora's song Desilusão Dum Amdjer, which means "Disillusionment of a Woman" in Cape Verdean Creole. The song is about a woman who thought herself to be happy in love, but her world was shattered when her lover unmercifully ended their relationship. She is left in agony, with no hope or faith. The woman faces great humiliation from her family and community, who see her as a woman of the streets, always on the go. She faces these hardships with emotional strength, but she feels that she is losing the battle. She is left with only the option to pray for the sea to take her away to a world of darkness where she can forget her lost love.
Line by Line Meaning
Foi onte qui nha amor
Yesterday my love was born happy for you.
Nasce feliz pa bo
He was happy for you since he was born.
Ma hoje sem piedade
But today, without mercy,
Bo despadaca ess nha mundo
You shattered my world.
Quando sem do
You did not spare me even when I was helpless.
Bo dixa nha alma n'agonia
You left my soul in agony.
Cu dor sem esperanca nem fe
With pain, without hope or faith.
M'sofre grande afronta
I suffered a great affront.
D'familia e de tude quel povo
From my family and from all people.
Es tch'ma 'me amdjer di rua
They called me a street woman.
Qu'm tava sempre na rua
Although I was always on the street,
Ma 'm guenta tudo
I endured everything,
C'forca d'sentimento
With the strength of my emotions.
Pamode bo dixa 'me perde luta
Because you made me lose the fight.
Assim 'm ta pidi mar
So I ask the sea
Pa'i leva 'me pa 'me ca volta
To take me away, and never come back.
Pa 'me ba vive isolada
To go live in solitude,
Num mundo di treva
In a dark world,
E ca lembra nh'amor pirdide
And not remember the love I lost.
Oh Deus da nha alma um sossego
Oh God, give my soul some peace
'M ca magoa ninguem
And not hurt anyone,
Pamode e mim qu'ta sofre
Because I am suffering.
Ijda 'me oia realidade
Help me face reality,
Alivia ess nha dor
Ease my pain.
Mim tambem 'm tem direito
I also have the right
Di ser feliz
To be happy
Li na terra
Here on Earth.
Contributed by Anthony H. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
Esper the Bard
Oh Cesaria! Seu espirito assombra-nos ainda atraves de sua musica.
Isabella Bergo
Eu simplesmente amo essa música.
Martine Zeler
Cesaria: une voix magnifique accompagnée par une orchestration impeccable... Et les textes: quelle réalité de vie!!!