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.
Tiche
Cesária Évora Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Bô amor tchmam di meu
M'corta mar e céu
Pam bem vivê na bu peito
M' staba na terra longi
Bô amor tchmam di meu
M'corta mar e céu
Jam crê vivê na bu peito
Oh Tiche bô é nha sina
Dxam ser bô eleito
Junta nha vida na bô vida
Ness sô distino
Esse amor qu'm' tem pa bô
E um mistério di deus
Maior qui mar e céu
Esse nha amor é pa bô sô.
Esse amor qu'm' tem pa bô
E um mistério di deus
Maior qui mar e céu
Esse nha amor é pa bô sô.
Jam crê vivê na bu peito
Oh Tiche bô é nha sina
Dxam ser bô eleito
Junta nha vida na bô vida
Ness sô distino
Jam crê vivê na bu peito
Oh Tiche bô é nha sina
Dxam ser bô eleito
Junta nha vida na bô vida
Ness sô distino
Jam crê vivê na bu peito
Oh Tiche bô é nha sina
Dxam ser bô eleito
Junta nha vida na bô vida
Ness sô distino
The lyrics to Cesária Évora's song "Tiche" convey a deep and unshakable love felt by the singer towards their significant other, who they refer to as Tiche. The opening lines suggest that the singer is physically far away from Tiche, with "terra longi" likely referring to a distant land. However, despite this separation, the singer feels as though Tiche's love is always with them, "na bu peito," or in their heart. The next lines, "M'corta mar e céu," suggest that this love is so powerful that it could cut apart even the vastness of the sea and sky.
The chorus repeats the singer's desire to live within Tiche's heart and for Tiche to become a part of their life. They refer to Tiche as "bô," which likely means "you" or "yours" in Cape Verdean Creole. The final lines of the chorus, "ness sô distino," seem to suggest that the singer feels as though their fate is intertwined with Tiche's, and they are resigned to this destiny.
The rest of the lyrics continue to express the singer's love, referring to it as a mystery of God and greater than even the sea and sky. The repetition of the chorus drives home the singer's desire to be close to Tiche and highlights the importance of their love.
Line by Line Meaning
M' staba na terra longi
I was on distant land
Bô amor tchmam di meu
Your love called for me
M'corta mar e céu
I cut through sea and sky
Pam bem vivê na bu peito
To live well in your heart
Jam crê vivê na bu peito
I want to live in your heart
Oh Tiche bô é nha sina
Oh Tiche, you are my destiny
Dxam ser bô eleito
Let me be your chosen one
Junta nha vida na bô vida
Join my life with yours
Ness sô distino
In this fate of ours
Esse amor qu'm' tem pa bô
This love I have for you
E um mistério di deus
Is a mystery of God
Maior qui mar e céu
Greater than sea and sky
Esse nha amor é pa bô sô.
This love of mine is only for you
Contributed by Katherine J. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
Regina Kato
que voz mais linda! um anjo cantando!
Regina Kato
sweet and profound voice that goes into the depths of our soul! gives me goosebumps!
Regina Kato
voz aveludada e penetrante na alma e coracao ❤me da arreios!
Regina Kato
an angel singing with the angels ❤
Antonio Carvalho
Sublime
Douglas Lorenzon
voz de anjo
Regina Kato
agora está cantando com os anjos no céu ❤eles se apaixonaram por ela ❤
Hipnos Hipnos Hipnos
hermoso!!
Regina Kato
Sublime❤
Mordechai Weinberger
Fantastica!!Eterna!TiAmoCosiTanto!!!!