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.
Nha Cancera Ka Tem Medida
Cesária Évora Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Nha cancera ka tem medida
Oh nha guente
Oh qu'afronta qu'm passa
Trinta ano di Sao Tomé
Leva'm familia
Dixa'm mi sô
Oh oi oi nhos leva'm ca nhôs dixa'm
Cabo verde é qu'é nha terra
'M qu'rê volta ma'm ca podê
C'atcha ninguem pa da'me di mon
The song Nha Cancera Ka Tem Medida by Cesária Évora is about the pain and suffering of a woman who has cancer, and the struggles she faces as a result. The opening line, "Oh nha guente, nha cancera ka tem medida" translates to "Oh my people, my cancer has no measure." The singer is expressing her frustration and despair at the fact that her illness cannot be quantified or easily treated. The repetition of "Oh nha guente" emphasizes the singer's sense of community and belonging to a larger group of people who share her experience.
The second line, "Oh qu'afronta qu'm passa," translates to "Oh the affront that I'm going through." This highlights the societal stigma that often comes with having cancer. The singer feels like a burden and a source of shame to those around her, adding to her already difficult journey.
The third and fourth lines, "Trinta ano di Sao Tomé, leva'm familia, dixa'm mi sô, cu nha tristeza e nha sodade," translate to "Thirty years in Sao Tomé, took my family away, left me alone, with my sadness and longing." This highlights the isolation that often comes with cancer, as well as the feelings of homesickness and longing for companionship.
Overall, Nha Cancera Ka Tem Medida is a poignant and emotional song that addresses the very real struggles that come with cancer diagnosis and treatment.
Line by Line Meaning
Oh nha guente
Oh my people
Nha cancera ka tem medida
My sorrow has no bounds
Oh nha guente
Oh my people
Oh qu'afronta qu'm passa
The humiliation I've endured
Trinta ano di Sao Tomé
Thirty years in Sao Tome
Leva'm familia
Taking away my family
Dixa'm mi sô
Leaving me alone
Cu nha tristeza e nha sodade
With my sadness and my longing
Oh oi oi nhos leva'm ca nhôs dixa'm
Oh please take me with you, don't leave me behind
Cabo verde é qu'é nha terra
Cape Verde is my land
'M qu'rê volta ma'm ca podê
I want to go back but I can't
C'atcha ninguem pa da'me di mon
No one can give me money
Contributed by Leo A. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
@reginakato7374
Que cantora incrível! Não há outra igual!
@reginakato7374
What an incredible singer, there’s no one like her!
@hectornunez2230
Demasiado hermosa la voz de cesaría evora ese sentimiento en cada estrofa, y la banda que siempre la acompaño increíble musicos del primer nivel , cabo verde como quisiera conocerte
@reginakato7374
Concordo!
Que dama de voz incrível! ❤️
@ngolinyirenda6421
One of the most beautiful and comforting songs ever, I play it on my bass almost daily !
@luxsend575
Beautiful. A gift from God. Hajtian artisr made a song with this beat. Thank you.
@thomethemistocles-madeira8488
A Dama dos pés descalços...
@sunrara7133
Che Sun Ra la illumini!!!
@adrianboureci6950
Superb! Minunat!
@andrestenorio1784
Preciosa Cesaria!