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.
Flor Na Paul
Cesária Évora Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Valsá Bêbêl
Valsá Bêbêl
Bô mocidade 'm tá revivê
Valsá Bêbêl
Na nha memória bô tá vivê
Na lembrança de sê mocidade
Naquel one de 1915
Num casamente na Paúl
B'stide de renda lenço e tchapeu
Naquel salâo ta rodeá
Ta rodeá rapariga nova
Cheio de virtude
Um valsa pá nha vozinha
Na lembrança daquel romance
Qu'el vivê na sê primavera
Flor quel era na Paúl
Frescor dum note di sê ilha
Perfumade d'alecrim
E jasmim
Acolhê sê primeiro bejo
Valsá Bêbêl
Bô mocidade 'm tá revivê
Valsá Bêbêl
Na nha memória bô tá vivê
Valsá Bêbêl
Bô mocidade 'm tá revivê
Valsá Bêbêl
Na nha memória bô tá vivê
Um valsa pá nha vozinha
Na lembrança de sê mocidade
Naquel one de 1915
Num casamente na Paúl
B'stide de renda lenço e tchapeu
Naquel salâo ta rodeá
Ta rodeá rapariga nova
Cheio de virtude
Um valsa pá nha vozinha
Na lembrança daquel romance
Qu'el vivê na sê primavera
Flor quel era na Paúl
Frescor dum note di sê ilha
Perfumade d'alecrim
E jasmim
Acolhê sê primeiro bejo
Valsá Bêbêl
Bô mocidade 'm tá revivê
Valsá Bêbêl
Na nha memória bô tá vivê
Valsá Bêbêl
Bô mocidade 'm tá revivê
Valsá Bêbêl
Na nha memória bô tá vivê
Valsá Bêbêl
Bô mocidade 'm tá revivê
Valsá Bêbêl
Na nha memória bô tá vivê
Valsá Bêbêl
Bô mocidade 'm tá revivê
Valsá Bêbêl
Na nha memória bô tá vivê
Na nha memória bô tá vivê
Na nha memória bô tá vivê
Na nha memória bô tá vivê
Na nha memória bô tá vivê
Na nha memória bô tá vivê
Na nha memória bô tá vivê
Na nha memória bô tá vivê
Na nha memória bô tá vivê
Na nha memória bô tá vivê
Na nha memória bô tá vivê
Na nha memória bô tá vivê
Na nha memória bô tá vivê
Na nha memória bô tá vivê
Na nha memória bô tá vivê
Na nha memória bô tá vivê
Na nha memória bô tá vivê
Na nha memória bô tá vivê
Na nha memória bô tá vivê
Na nha memória bô tá vivê
Na nha memória bô tá vivê
The lyrics to Cesaria Evora's song "Flor Na Paul" are tied to a specific moment in time and place. The song is a nostalgic recollection of a wedding that took place in 1915 in the town of Paúl on Cape Verde, a former Portuguese colony off the coast of West Africa. The singer of the song is remembering the event as passed down to her by her grandmother. She describes a scene of elegance and tradition, where women wore lace and hats and young girls were filled with virtue. The song uses the imagery of the flowers (flor) that were present at the wedding, specifically the scent of rosemary and jasmine, which help to create a vivid picture of the event.
"Valsá Bêbêl" is the name of a dance that was performed at the wedding, and the singer notes that the memory of the dance lives on in her own memory. The repeated refrain of "Na nha memória bô tá vivê" reinforces the idea that the memories of this event are so powerful that they continue to live on in the lives of those who remember it. The song feels deeply personal, as though the singer is trying to hold onto this fleeting moment in time by singing about it. Overall, "Flor Na Paul" is a beautiful tribute to the lives and memories of those who came before.
Line by Line Meaning
Valsá Bêbêl
The song Valsá Bêbêl, which is about the memories of the past, is being played.
Valsá Bêbêl
The song Valsá Bêbêl is being played again, bringing back the memories of youth.
Valsá Bêbêl
The song Valsá Bêbêl reminds of the past and brings to mind the memories of youth.
Bô mocidade 'm tá revivê
The memories of one's youth are being relived through the song.
Valsá Bêbêl
The song is a waltz, the same one that Cesaria's grandmother danced to in her youth.
Na nha memória bô tá vivê
The memories of the past are still alive in Cesaria's mind.
Um valsa pá nha vozinha
The song is about Cesaria's grandmother and the waltz she danced to in her youth.
Na lembrança de sê mocidade
Cesaria remembers her grandmother's youth and the waltz she danced to.
Naquel one de 1915
The waltz was danced on a special occasion, in 1915, during a wedding in the town of Paul.
Num casamente na Paúl
The waltz was part of a wedding that took place in the town of Paul.
B'stide de renda lenço e tchapeu
At the wedding, people wore lace, hankerchiefs, and hats as accessories.
Naquel salâo ta rodeá
The people in the grand ballroom were dancing and enjoying the music.
Ta rodeá rapariga nova
The ballroom was full of young, virtuous girls who were dancing.
Cheio de virtude
The girls were full of virtues and were dancing with grace and elegance.
Na lembrança daquel romance
Cesaria is thinking of a romance that took place during her grandmother's youth.
Qu'el vivê na sê primavera
The romance took place during her grandmother's springtime, or youth.
Flor quel era na Paúl
The girl whom the romance was about was a beautiful flower in the town of Paul.
Frescor dum note di sê ilha
The fragrance in the air on her island was fresh and invigorating.
Perfumade d'alecrim
The scent in the air was that of rosemary.
E jasmim
The fragrance was also of jasmine.
Acolhê sê primeiro bejo
The scent of rosemary and jasmine accompanied the girl's first kiss.
Na lembrança de sê mocidade
Cesaria is remembering her grandmother's youth and the waltz she danced to.
Naquel one de 1915
The waltz was danced on a special occasion, in 1915, during a wedding in the town of Paul.
Num casamente na Paúl
The waltz was part of a wedding that took place in the town of Paul.
B'stide de renda lenço e tchapeu
At the wedding, people wore lace, hankerchiefs, and hats as accessories.
Naquel salâo ta rodeá
The people in the grand ballroom were dancing and enjoying the music.
Ta rodeá rapariga nova
The ballroom was full of young, virtuous girls who were dancing.
Cheio de virtude
The girls were full of virtues and were dancing with grace and elegance.
Na lembrança daquel romance
Cesaria is thinking of a romance that took place during her grandmother's youth.
Qu'el vivê na sê primavera
The romance took place during her grandmother's springtime, or youth.
Flor quel era na Paúl
The girl whom the romance was about was a beautiful flower in the town of Paul.
Frescor dum note di sê ilha
The fragrance in the air on her island was fresh and invigorating.
Perfumade d'alecrim
The scent in the air was that of rosemary.
E jasmim
The fragrance was also of jasmine.
Acolhê sê primeiro bejo
The scent of rosemary and jasmine accompanied the girl's first kiss.
Valsá Bêbêl
The memories of the past are being relived through the song Valsá Bêbêl.
Valsá Bêbêl
The song Valsá Bêbêl is being played again, bringing back the memories of youth.
Valsá Bêbêl
The song Valsá Bêbêl brings the memories of youth back to Cesaria's mind.
Valsá Bêbêl
The song Valsá Bêbêl reminds of the past and brings to mind the memories of youth.
Na nha memória bô tá vivê
The memories of the past are still alive in Cesaria's mind.
Na nha memória bô tá vivê
The memories of the past are still vivid in Cesaria's mind.
Na nha memória bô tá vivê
Cesaria remembers the past and its memories vividly.
Na nha memória bô tá vivê
The memories of the past are still alive and present in Cesaria's mind.
Na nha memória bô tá vivê
The memories of the past are still alive and present in Cesaria's mind.
Na nha memória bô tá vivê
Cesaria is still remembering the past and all its memories.
Na nha memória bô tá vivê
The memories of the past continue to be remembered by Cesaria.
Na nha memória bô tá vivê
The memories of the past are cherished and remembered by Cesaria.
Na nha memória bô tá vivê
The memories of the past are alive and well in Cesaria's mind.
Na nha memória bô tá vivê
Cesaria continues to remember the memories of the past in great detail.
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Ace Williams
Great artist. Love her work.