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.
Jardim Prometido
Cesária Évora Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Num jardim florido, rebera ta corré
Vale de Paúl é prova de fertilidade
Quande nuvem fecunda ta derrá-me sê amor
Agua ta caí esperança ta brotá
Naquês tempo d'otrora quande mundo era mundo
Maça di ouro bô tchom tava dá
Hoje transformá num historia sabe d'uvi
Ma nôs vontade e esperança é maior
Quel jardim na nôs sonho ca morrê
Força de perseverança ainda ta cultiva'l
Cabo Verde é verde na nôs coraçon
Nôs terra ta vertejá d'nôs mon cheio d'amor
Sempre nô espera pèss dia grande
Onde cada fidjo ta tem sê parte d'virdim
Nô crê vivê num terra d'amizade
Ta desenvolvê na meio d'felicidade
Num jardim prometido ta flori cheio di paz
The lyrics of Cesária Évora's song "Jardim Prometido" speak of a promised garden that represents hope and perseverance. The green of the garden symbolizes the singer's love, while the valley of Paul is a proof of fertility. The rain brings with it love and hope, as represented by the water that nourishes the land. The song also touches upon a time when the world was a much simpler place and people were content with the golden apples that fell from the trees. However, now it is a story that is only heard, and the hope and perseverance of the people of Cape Verde reigns supreme. The greenery of the island is ingrained in the hearts of the people, and it is a land that overflows with love.
Line by Line Meaning
Ess verde di bô nome ja nos espera'l tcheu
The lush greenery that bears your name has been waiting for us for a long time
Num jardim florido, rebera ta corré
In a flowery garden, rivers run
Vale de Paúl é prova de fertilidade
The valley of Paúl is proof of fertility
Quande nuvem fecunda ta derrá-me sê amor
When the pregnant cloud pours out its love upon me
Agua ta caí esperança ta brotá
As the water falls, hope springs forth
Naquês tempo d'otrora quande mundo era mundo
In those times of yore, when the world was the world
Maça di ouro bô tchom tava dá
The golden apple that you used to give
Tchuva zanga e quel era de bonança
Rainy days were times of prosperity
Hoje transformá num historia sabe d'uvi
Today it has become a story that we have heard
Ma nôs vontade e esperança é maior
But our will and hope are greater
Quel jardim na nôs sonho ca morrê
That garden in our dreams will never die
Força de perseverança ainda ta cultiva'l
The strength of perseverance still cultivates it
Cabo Verde é verde na nôs coraçon
Cape Verde is green in our hearts
Nôs terra ta vertejá d'nôs mon cheio d'amor
Our land overflows with our hearts full of love
Sempre nô espera pèss dia grande
We always hope for a great day
Onde cada fidjo ta tem sê parte d'virdim
Where each child has their part in the greenery
Nô crê vivê num terra d'amizade
We believe in living in a land of friendship
Ta desenvolvê na meio d'felicidade
Developing amidst happiness
Num jardim prometido ta flori cheio di paz
In a promised garden, flowers bloom full of peace
Contributed by Sadie R. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
@Inna98398
Где-то есть город тихий, как сон
Пылью текучей по грудь занесен
В медленной речке вода как стекло
Где-то есть город в котором тепло
Наше далёкое детство там прошло
Ночью из дома я поспешу
В кассе вокзала билет попрошу
Может впервые за тысячу лет
Дайте до детства плацкартный билет
Тихо кассирша ответит: "Билетов нет"
Билетов нет
Ну что, дружище, как ей возразить
Дорогу в детство где ещё спросить
А может просто только иногда
Лишь в памяти своей приходим мы туда
В городе этом сказки живут
Шалые ветры с собою зовут
Там нас порою сводили с ума
Сосны до неба, до солнца дома
Там по сугробам неслышно шла зима
Дальняя песня в нашей судьбе
Ласковый город- спасибо тебе
Мы не приедем, напрасно не жди
Есть на планете другие пути
Мы повзрослели, поверь нам, и прости.
@zytaandrzejczak5292
Przepiękne klimaty! To jest bajka! Takich utworów w takim wykonaniu można słuchać i słuchać. Miód dla ucha. Cudownie! To jest relaks.Jak tylko mam chwilę to słucham i moge sie skupić nad tym co robię. Jest przecudowna. Zapominam o wszystkich kłopotach. Odpoczywam. Brawo Cesaria ! Jesteś wielka!!!
@judgedpainter
Cesária Évora, que o seu descanso eterno no Jardim Prometido seja sempre em paz. Obrigado por confortar nossos pobres corações com a sua música de luz, paz e esperança!
@Tatyana-go4xv
хочется слушать бесконечно, потрясающая
@eurybrito6203
Cesaria Evora é sempre um prazer ouvi-la lindo demais ❤❤❤
@erbon1
Estive em Cabo Verde entre 1973 e 1976 na construção do Cais da Cidade da Praia. Aprendi a gostar das Mornas e Coladeras e principalmente desta Senhora e de Bana. Por circunstancias da vida não mais voltei a Cabo Verde, mas aprendi a gostar da gente e dos cantares criolos. Parabens vós sois maravilhosos. Obrigado.
@bereza15
Прощай, любимая Цезария! Твой волшебный голос, песни в твоем исполнении будут всегда с нами! Вы королева Фада навсегда!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
@marybadu2746
All her songs are pure art! This one gives me chills everytime I listen to it!
@fhiodor
O mundo não será o mesmo sem você Cesária...
@AnaClara-or7eb
What A Talent I Bow My Head Before This Great Lady...
@holmeswalther
A rainha descalça foi dormir. Descansa Cesaria, nós nunca vamos te esquecer.