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.
Perseguida
Cesária Évora Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Tão q'ren-ia amorzinho tceu
Mi é perseguida de noite y dia
Mais são quê crêtcheu
Nha coracão é de meu
Nha crêtcheu
E quê tudo (mi)nha alegría
Um perseguicão sem hora de a liberdade
Nha vida é um romance sem fim
O Deús
Já q're mata-m' nha mocidade
Nha vida é um romance sem fim
O Deús
Já q're mata-m' nha mocidade
Bô tém sofride
A mím também tém sofride más quê d'eu
Nos vida é um romance tristo de amor
Hora que tão sofre
O 'ta morre de dor
Nos vida é um romance tristo de amor
Hora que tão sofre
O 'ta morre de dor
In Cesaria Evora's song "Perseguida," a woman laments her relentless pursuit by love. She sings of her desire for love, yet the love she seeks seems to be unattainable, leaving her feeling pursued day and night. The woman confesses that her heart belongs only to her creator, yet the pursuit continues. She sees life as a never-ending romance, where the pursuit of love is often accompanied by pain and suffering. The woman relates to her listeners that she is being chased by love, while at the same time, fearfully anticipating the loss of her youth and the end of the romantic pursuit.
The lyrics in "Perseguida" express the conflict and complexity of love. The woman desires love, yet she is afraid of it. Like many people, she is looking for love but is unsure of what to do when she finds it. The song highlights the emotional turmoil that can come with the pursuit of love, and how it can consume and take control of one's life. The lyrics are melancholic and heartfelt, yet also hopeful, showcasing the universal experiences of love, loss, and longing.
Line by Line Meaning
Nha ma quê creu
My mother raised me
Tão q'ren-ia amorzinho tceu
She wanted the best for me, a good life
Mi é perseguida de noite y dia
But I am pursued day and night
Mais são quê crêtcheu
It is not by humans
Nha coracão é de meu
I possess my own heart
Nha crêtcheu
I believe in myself
E quê tudo (mi)nha alegría
And that is my happiness
Oí..tont sofre
Oh, how I suffer
Um perseguicão sem hora de a liberdade
From a persecution that never allows me freedom
Nha vida é um romance sem fim
My life is an endless story
O Deús
Oh God
Já q're mata-m' nha mocidade
Wants to kill my youthfulness
Bô tém sofride
You have suffered
A mím também tém sofride más quê d'eu
But I have suffered more than you
Nos vida é um romance tristo de amor
Our lives are a sad love story
Hora que tão sofre
When one suffers
O 'ta morre de dor
It is death by pain
Nos vida é um romance tristo de amor
Our lives are a sad love story
Hora que tão sofre
When one suffers
O 'ta morre de dor
It is death by pain
Contributed by James O. Suggest a correction in the comments below.