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.
Lua Nha Testemunha
Cesária Évora Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
nha kretxeu
Nen bô ka t'imajiâ,
o k'lonj di bó m ten sofridu.
.
Perguntâ
lua na séu
lua nha kompanhêra
Lua vagabunda di ispasu
ki ta konxê tud d'nha vida,
nha disventura,
El ê k' ta konta-bu
nha kretxeu
tud k'um ten sofridu
na ausênsia
y na distânsia.
.
Mundu, bô ten roladu ku mi
num jogu di kabra-séga,
sempri ta persigi-m,
Pa kada volta ki mundu da
el ta traze-m un dor
pa m txiga más pa Déuz
Mundu, bô ten roladu ku mi
num jogu di kabra-séga,
sempri ta persigi-m,
Pa kada volta ki mundu da
el ta traze-m un dor
pa m txiga más pa Déuz
Bô ka ta pensâ
nha kretxeu
Nen bô ka t'imajiâ,
o k'lonj di bó m ten sofridu.
.
Perguntâ
lua na séu
lua nha kompanhêra
di solidão.
Lua vagabunda di ispasu
ki ta konxê tud d'nha vida,
nha disventura,
El ê k' ta konta-bu
nha kretxeu
tud k'um ten sofridu
na ausênsia
y na distânsia.
.
Mundu, bô ten roladu ku mi
num jogu di kabra-séga,
sempri ta persigi-m,
Pa kada volta ki mundu da
el ta traze-m un dor
pa m txiga más pa Déuz
Mundu, bô ten roladu ku mi
num jogu di kabra-séga,
sempri ta persigi-m,
Pa kada volta ki mundu da
el ta traze-m un dor
pa m txiga más pa Déuz
In "Lua Nha Testemunha", Cesária Évora sings about the pain of separation and the companionship she finds in the moon, who witnesses her struggles and loneliness. She asks the moon, her only companion in solitude, to tell the story of her suffering and longing to her lover who is far away. The lyrics suggest that she feels lost and isolated, and the world is a merciless force that keeps bringing her pain. She compares her life to a game of "kabra-séga," a traditional Cape Verdean gambling game, where luck is always against her, and every turn of the world brings new suffering.
Line by Line Meaning
Bô ka ta pensâ nha kretxeu
Don't think about my suffering
Nen bô ka t'imajiâ, o k'lonj di bó m ten sofridu.
Nor can you imagine how long I have suffered.
Perguntâ lua na séu
Ask the moon in the sky
lua nha kompanhêra di solidão.
My companion in loneliness.
Lua vagabunda di ispasu
Vagabond moon of space
ki ta konxê tud d'nha vida, nha disventura,
Who knows all of my life, my misfortune
El ê k' ta konta-bu nha kretxeu
It is telling my suffering
tud k'um ten sofridu na ausênsia y na distânsia.
All that I suffer in absence and distance.
Mundu, bô ten roladu ku mi num jogu di kabra-séga,
World, you have rolled with me in a game of luck,
sempri ta persigi-m,
always pursuing me,
Pa kada volta ki mundu da el ta traze-m un dor pa m txiga más pa Déuz
For every time the world gives me pain, it brings me closer to God.
Bô ka ta pensâ nha kretxeu
Don't think about my suffering
Nen bô ka t'imajiâ, o k'lonj di bó m ten sofridu.
Nor can you imagine how long I have suffered.
Perguntâ lua na séu
Ask the moon in the sky
lua nha kompanhêra di solidão.
My companion in loneliness.
Lua vagabunda di ispasu
Vagabond moon of space
ki ta konxê tud d'nha vida, nha disventura,
Who knows all of my life, my misfortune
El ê k' ta konta-bu nha kretxeu
It is telling my suffering
tud k'um ten sofridu na ausênsia y na distânsia.
All that I suffer in absence and distance.
Mundu, bô ten roladu ku mi num jogu di kabra-séga,
World, you have rolled with me in a game of luck,
sempri ta persigi-m,
always pursuing me,
Pa kada volta ki mundu da el ta traze-m un dor pa m txiga más pa Déuz
For every time the world gives me pain, it brings me closer to God.
Contributed by Madelyn E. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
NAROA LOVE 1111
DIVINO ESCUCHARLO 🏆 2022❤️👈
LA VIDA, ES UN PLACER
LA VEJEZ, ES UN PRIVILEGIO
LA SABIDURIA, SE APRENDE
EL EXITO, SE LUCHA
LA HUMILDAD, SE NACE
EL AMOR, SE SIENTE
EL RESPECTO, SE GANA
EL ODIO, TE ENFERMA
EL DESEO, TE FORTALECE
EL CASTIGO, TE HUMILLA
LA ALEGRIA, TE REJUVENECE
LA FELICIDAD, TE AMAS
LAS BENDICIONES, TE PROTEGEN
LA GRATITUD, SON BENDICIONES
Alfredo Arcila
Cesaria: la voz de Africa. El sentimiento, la solidaridad, la fraternidad. Cesaria, allá, donde hoy estás, cantas y haces cantar. No has muerto. Vives, vibras en cada acorde, en cada verso, en cada canción que te sirvieron para hacer solazar a quienes tuvieronla dicha de conocerte personalmente o a través de tu dulce y maravillosa voz.!!!!
Antonio Paulo
Uma tristeza toma conta do meu coração em saber que ela não estar mais entre nós!! Artista completa♥️😢
David B
La Ternura y profundidad de Cesaría, estas cosas justifican estar Vivo, bendita tu memoria en tu voz Cesaría Evora
Antonio Bezerra
Maravilha ouvir uma morna com Cesária, um piano e um violino que só existe em Cabo Verde. Legal, encantador, gostoso demais.
Neka_Ivi
Amazing song! Thank God for creating such a talent, we're lucky to have you Cesaria!!!!
Dora Ivanova
Дълбок поклон ! Светът загуби много:-(( Бог да прости и мир на душата й. Сезария ще живее с наследството, което ни остави. R.I.P
Emilia Meliana
Ela cantava muito. E a orquestra era belíssima.🌻❤🌻❤🌻❤🌻
Charlie Arturaola
Uma CaboVerdiana para O Mundo! a musica d'ella nao va a parar!! O mundo chora! Hoje!! ate logo! Senhora Cesaria Evora!
Rajkowski10
Cesaria, a Deus, para sempre
Marcius JV
Em vez de críticas políticas sem sentido, vamos apreciar a voz maravilhosa desta cantora, que não é argentina, nem brasileira nem caboverdiana e, sim, universal!