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.
Lagrimas negras
Cesária Évora Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
aunque tú has muerto todas mis ilusiones,
en vez de maldecirte con justo encono
y en mis sueños te colmo,
y en mis sueños te colmo
de bendiciones.
Sufro la inmensa pena de tu exravío,
y lloro sin que sepas que el llanto mío
tiene lágrimas negras,
tiene lágrimas negras
como mi vida.
Que tu me quieres dejar,
yo no quiero sufrir
contigo me voy mi santa
aunque me cueste morir. (bis)
Un jardinero de amor, siembra una flor y se va.
Otro viene y la cultiva, ¿de cuál de los dos será?
Que tu me quieres dejar,
yo no quiero sufrir
contigo me voy mi santa
aunque me cueste morir.
Amada prenda querida, no puedo vivir sin verte, porque mi fin es quererte y amarte toda la vida.
Que tu me quieres dejar,
yo no quiero sufrir,
contigo me voy mi santa
aunque me cueste morir.
Yo te lo digo mi amor, te lo repito otra vez
contigo me voy mi santa porque contigo moriré.
Que tu me quieres dejar,
yo no quiero sufrir,
contigo me voy mi santa
aunque me cueste morir. (bis)
Yo te lo digo mi amor, que contigo morirè,
contigo me voy mi santa te lo repito otra vez.
Que tu me quieres dejar,
yo no quiero sufrir,
contigo me voy mi santa
aunque me cueste morir.
The lyrics to Césaria Évora's song "Lagrimas Negras" express the pain and heartache of a lover who has been abandoned and had their hopes and dreams shattered. Despite the hurt they feel, they choose to bless their former lover in their dreams and suffer silently with black tears. The song speaks to the complicated emotions involved in a relationship that has ended, and the lingering love that remains.
The song also touches on the theme of sacrifice for love. The singer declares that they will not suffer alone and will go with their "santa" (significant other) even if it means dying for their love. The metaphor of the love between two people being compared to the care of a garden also suggests that love requires cultivation and attention, and that it can be passed from one person to another.
Line by Line Meaning
Aunque tú me has echado en el abandono,
Even though you have left me alone,
aunque tú has muerto todas mis ilusiones,
even though you have killed all my hopes,
en vez de maldecirte con justo encono
instead of cursing you with justifiable anger
y en mis sueños te colmo,
in my dreams I bestow upon you,
y en mis sueños te colmo
in my dreams I bestow upon you
de bendiciones.
blessings.
Sufro la inmensa pena de tu exravío,
I suffer from the immense pain of your abandonment,
siento el dolor profundo de tu partida
I feel the deep pain of your departure
y lloro sin que sepas que el llanto mío
and I cry without you knowing
tiene lágrimas negras,
whose tears are black
tiene lágrimas negras
whose tears are black
como mi vida.
like my life.
Que tu me quieres dejar,
That you want to leave me,
yo no quiero sufrir
I don't want to suffer
contigo me voy mi santa
I will go with you, my saintly one
aunque me cueste morir.
even if it costs me my life.
Un jardinero de amor, siembra una flor y se va.
A gardener of love sows a flower, and departs
Otro viene y la cultiva, ¿de cuál de los dos será?
Another comes and cultivates it, which of the two will it belong to?
Amada prenda querida, no puedo vivir sin verte, porque mi fin es quererte y amarte toda la vida.
Beloved treasure, I cannot live without seeing you, because my purpose is to love and cherish you for life.
Yo te lo digo mi amor, te lo repito otra vez
I tell you my love, I repeat it to you once again
contigo me voy mi santa porque contigo moriré.
I will go with you, my saintly one, because with you I will die.
Lyrics © DistroKid, Unison Rights S.L., Peermusic Publishing
Written by: Miguel Matamoros
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@mariaevamarquez2185
Escucharte es un placer un regalo muy valioso querida CESARIA EVORA!!
@meninotimbuca176
Cesária e Compay, dois gênios da música. Eternamente em meu coração.
@nandatati
Um dúo de maestria! Viva Cesária! Viva Compay !😍
@annamaksimova8510
Cesaria Evora бесподобна,неподражаема,недосягаема!
@angelsaenzjimenez7451
Que mágico dúo! Espero, que en el cielo, sigan encantando con su voces.
@PIBE-tl5wy
Los chavó rucos también admiramos estas obras de arte !!!! Qué clase de voces !!!!! Mis respetos!!! La mejor versión de Lágrimas negras por mucho !!!!
@reginakato7374
Cesaria's voice more powerful and soft than the other singer!
@ivoneideribeiro3710
Viva Cuba e Cabo Verde. Abraços de Brasil
@anaespositomorales9985
qué lindos!!!
@ma71o
El ritmo y la melancolía juntos hacen una gran interpretación. Grandes artistas que ya no están mas entre nosotros :c