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.
Isolada
Cesária Évora Lyrics
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Qui ta vivê fichada
Isolada num gaiola
Cor di prata
Ele tem pa companhia
Hote e luz di dia
Ele é nhas fins di sofrimento
'M ta conchê um mulata
Qui ta vivê fichada
Isolada num gaiola
Cor di prata
Ele tem pa companhia
Note e luz di dia
Ele é nhas fins di sofrimento
Ma tormento
Dja'me pedi nosso senhor
Pa'l dà-me um asa em flor
Quê pâ-me voà
Tê quel mulatinha
Pà-me bà tira'l di sê dor
Pà-me bà fazêl'l nha rainha
Sê liberdade
E nha felecidade
Dja'me pedi nosso senhor
Pa'l dà-me um asa em flor
Quê pâ-me voà
Tê quel mulatinha
Pà-me bà tira'l di sê dor
Pà-me bà fazêl'l nha rainha
Sê liberdade
E nha felecidade
...
Dja'me pedi nosso senhor
Pa'l dà-me um asa em flor
Quê pâ-me voà
Tê quel mulatinha
Pà-me bà tira'l di sê dor
Pà-me bà fazêl'l nha rainha
Sê liberdade
E nha felecidade
Dja'me pedi nosso senhor
Pa'l dà-me um asa em flor
Quê pâ-me voà
Tê quel mulatinha
Pà-me bà tira'l di sê dor
Pà-me bà fazêl'l nha rainha
Sê liberdade
E nha felecidade
The song "Isolada" by Cesária Évora talks about a mulatto woman who lives alone, isolated in a silver cage. The singer longs to give her wings so that she can be free and happy. The woman is suffering, and the singer feels her pain and torment. He pleads with the Lord to give him the power to help her, to give her the freedom and happiness that she deserves.
The lyrics suggest that the woman is trapped in a cage of society's expectations and prejudices. She is isolated because of her mixed-race heritage, and she has no opportunity to escape. The singer longs to give her the power to break free and soar like a bird. He pleads with the Lord to help him give her this freedom.
The song is a powerful call to break down the barriers of prejudice and to treat all people with compassion and understanding. The singer's desire to help the mulatto woman is a message of hope and a reminder that we all have the power to make a difference in the world.
Line by Line Meaning
M ta conchê um mulata Qui ta vivê fichada Isolada num gaiola Cor di prata
I know a mulatto woman Who lives locked up Isolated in a cage With a silver color
Ele tem pa companhia Hote e luz di dia Ele é nhas fins di sofrimento Ma tormento
She has for company Hot and daylight He is the end of my suffering But also a torment
Dja'me pedi nosso senhor Pa'l dà-me um asa em flor Quê pâ-me voà Tê quel mulatinha Pà-me bà tira'l di sê dor Pà-me bà fazêl'l nha rainha Sê liberdade E nha felecidade
I ask our Lord To give me a flower wing So I can fly To that mulatto girl To take her out of her pain To make her my queen Her freedom And my happiness
Dja'me pedi nosso senhor Pa'l dà-me um asa em flor Quê pâ-me voà Tê quel mulatinha Pà-me bà tira'l di sê dor Pà-me bà fazêl'l nha rainha Sê liberdade E nha felecidade
I ask our Lord To give me a flower wing So I can fly To that mulatto girl To take her out of her pain To make her my queen Her freedom And my happiness
...
The remaining lyrics are not provided, and thus cannot be explained.
Contributed by Michael P. Suggest a correction in the comments below.