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.
Mar De Canal
Cesária Évora Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Bo caranbolame nha casamento
Mar de canal bo é caranbolento
Bo caranbolame nha casamento
O mar oh mar cusé q'un fazeb
Un passa na bo
O mar oh mar cusé q'un fazeb
Un passa na bo
Bo respinga na min
Mar bendito dixame pidibe um favor
Levan mantenha
Pa gente di nha terra
Mar bendito dixame pidibe um favor
Levan mantenha
Pa gente di nha terra
O mar oh mar cusé q'un fazeb
Un passa na bo
Bo respinga na min
O mar oh mar cusé q'un fazeb
Un passa na bo
Bo respinga na min
...
O mar oh mar cusé q'un fazeb
Un passa na bo
Bo respinga na min
O mar oh mar cusé q'un fazeb
Un passa na bo
Bo respinga na min
O mar oh mar cusé q'un fazeb
Un passa na bo
Bo respinga na min
O mar oh mar cusé q'un fazeb
Un passa na bo
Bo respinga na min
The lyrics of Cesária Évora's "Mar De Canal" speak to the relationship between the individual and the sea, portraying the sea as both a source of life and a source of hardship. The opening lines "Mar de Canal bo é caranbolento, Bo caranbolame nha casamento" suggest that the sea is unpredictable and can be difficult to navigate, likening it to the unpredictability of marriage. The repetition of this phrase emphasizes the tumultuous nature of the sea and the singer's desire to make peace with it.
The following lines "O mar oh mar cusé q'un fazeb, Un passa na bo, Bo respinga na min" depict the singer's intimate connection to the sea - she asks the sea what it wants from her, as though questioning the role it plays in her life. The image of the sea passing over her and splashing her highlights the idea that the sea is ever-present and cannot be ignored. The final lines "Mar bendito dixame pidibe um favor, Levan mantenha, Pa gente di nha terra" ask the sea to do a favor for the singer and the people of her homeland by bringing them sustenance.
Overall, the song can be seen as a commentary on the relationship between man and nature and the ways in which nature can both provide and take away.
Line by Line Meaning
Mar de canal bo é caranbolento
The ocean between channels is unpredictable and dangerous.
Bo caranbolame nha casamento
It almost ruined my marriage.
O mar oh mar cusé q'un fazeb
Oh ocean, what are you doing?
Un passa na bo
You come towards me.
Bo respinga na min
And then hit me.
Mar bendito dixame pidibe um favor
Blessed sea, please grant me a favor.
Levan mantenha
Take care of and provide for the people of my land.
Pa gente di nha terra
For the people of my homeland.
Un passa na bo
You come towards me.
Bo respinga na min
And then hit me.
Contributed by Hailey J. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
@tue-hainguyen3632
MAR DE CANAL
Sea of the Channel
Sea of the channel you are tricky
You broke up my marriage
Oh sea, oh sea, what did I do to you?
I passed through you
You splashed me
Blessed sea let me ask you a favour
Send a greeting
To the people of my land
Oh sea, oh sea, what did I do to you?
I passed through you
You splashed me
@camilagomes6456
Letra :
Mar de canal bo é caranbolento
Bo caranbolame nha casamento
Mar de canal bo é caranbolento
Bo caranbolame nha casamento
O mar oh mar cusé q'un fazeb
Un passa na bo
Bo respinga na min
O mar oh mar cusé q'un fazeb
Un passa na bo
Bo respinga na min
Mar bendito dixame pidibe um favor
Levan mantenha
Pa gente di nha terra
Mar bendito dixame pidibe um favor
Levan mantenha
Pa gente di nha terra
O mar oh mar cusé q'un fazeb
Un passa na bo
Bo respinga na min
O mar oh mar cusé q'un fazeb
Un passa na bo
Bo respinga na min
O mar oh mar cusé q'un fazeb
Un passa na bo
Bo respinga na min
O mar oh mar cusé q'un fazeb
Un passa na bo
Bo respinga na min
O mar oh mar cusé q'un fazeb
Un passa na bo
Bo respinga na min
O mar oh mar cusé q'un fazeb
Un passa na bo
Bo respinga na min
@tue-hainguyen3632
MAR DE CANAL
Sea of the Channel
Sea of the channel you are tricky
You broke up my marriage
Oh sea, oh sea, what did I do to you?
I passed through you
You splashed me
Blessed sea let me ask you a favour
Send a greeting
To the people of my land
Oh sea, oh sea, what did I do to you?
I passed through you
You splashed me
@NAROALOVE
DIVINO ESCUCHARLO 🏆 2022
ESTA SOY YO,....❤️🎶👈
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 VIDA
LA GRATITUD BENDICIONES,.
@tue-hainguyen3632
MAR DE CANAL
Sea of the Channel
Sea of the channel you are tricky
You broke up my marriage
Oh sea, oh sea, what did I do to you?
I passed through you
You splashed me
Blessed sea let me ask you a favour
Send a greeting
To the people of my land
Oh sea, oh sea, what did I do to you?
I passed through you
You splashed me
@areolindobarbosa7709
MAR DE CANAL / SEA OF THE CHANNEL
Sea of the channel you are tricky
You broke up my marriage
Oh, sea, oh sea, what did I do to you?
I passed through you
You splashed me
Blessed sea let me ask you a favor
Send a greeting
To the people of my land
Oh, sea, oh sea, what did I do to you?
I passed through you
You splashed me
@tue-hainguyen3632
MAR DE CANAL
Sea of the Channel
Sea of the channel you are tricky
You broke up my marriage
Oh sea, oh sea, what did I do to you?
I passed through you
You splashed me
Blessed sea let me ask you a favour
Send a greeting
To the people of my land
Oh sea, oh sea, what did I do to you?
I passed through you
You splashed me
@alvarosilva1855
A voz inesquecível da Rainha de cabo verde Cesária Évora
@edwinbatista10
la voz mas bella y dulce que escucharon mis oidos.gran mujer y super cantante que descanse en paz .
@Frutosgs
Una de las mejores voces del mundo, gracias Cabo Verde, por dar al mundo tan buena voz y tan buenos musicos, que mornas mas elegantes, que manera de describir el dolor el amor y la alegria. Insuperable. desde Madrid con todo el cariño a Cabo Verde y Portugal, mi querida Lusitania
@gustavoevorasilva2462
Obrigado pela tua companhia ao longo das minhas longas horas de estudo!
@tue-hainguyen3632
MAR DE CANAL
Sea of the Channel
Sea of the channel you are tricky
You broke up my marriage
Oh sea, oh sea, what did I do to you?
I passed through you
You splashed me
Blessed sea let me ask you a favour
Send a greeting
To the people of my land
Oh sea, oh sea, what did I do to you?
I passed through you
You splashed me
@giorgimaisuradze9594
I love you Cesariaa❤️🔥❤️🔥❤️🔥❤️🔥greetings from 🇬🇪
@deego237
Mar bendito deixe-me pedir um favor.
Blessed sea let me ask a favor.
Mesmo sendo do Brasil consigo entender o sentido da letra, a voz de Cesaria é hipnotizante e relaxante.
@jola4292
Miss You Cesaria... miss You so much...
@Nelsonbboy86
Maiúscula ou a9
@rodrigocantillana8504
la diva de los pies descalzos nos cantará para la eternidad..desde chile un fraternal saludo