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.
Tiempo Y Silencio
Cesária Évora Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Un jardín en el mar
Una alondra en tu pecho
Un volver a empezar
Un deseo de estrellas
Un latir de gorrión
Una isla en tu cama
Tiempo y silencio
Gritos y cantos
Cielos y besos
Voz y quebranto
Naceré en tu risa
Creceré en tu llanto
Viviré en tu espalda
Moriré en tus brazos
Tiempo y silencio
Gritos y cantos
Cielos y besos
Voz y quebranto
Una casa en el cielo
Un jardín en el mar
Una alondra en tu pecho
Un volver a empezar
Un deseo de estrellas
Un latir de gorrión
Una isla en tu cama
Una puesta de sol
Tiempo y silencio
Gritos y cantos
Cielos y besos
Voz y quebranto
Gritos y cantos
Cielos y besos
Voz y quebranto
Voz y quebranto
Voz y quebranto
Voz y quebranto
Voz y quebranto
Voz y quebranto
Voz y quebranto
Voz y quebranto
The lyrics of Cesária Évora's song Tiempo Y Silencio are a beautiful expression of love that transcends time and moments of sadness and joy. The first stanza paints a picture of an idyllic world where the lover has a house in the sky, a garden in the sea, and a bird on their chest, symbolizing the beauty and the freedom of the natural world. The stanza ends with a sense of hope and a new beginning, represented by the phrase "a volver a empezar," suggesting that this love is a cycle that keeps renewing itself.
The second stanza speaks to the depth and intensity of this love, portraying the passion and lost desires of the lovers. The desire for stars and the beating heart of a sparrow, suggest that the love is intense and powerful, fueling the emotions and desires of the couple. The idea of the island on the bed and the sunset is a continuation of the imagery of the first stanza, representing the tranquility and beauty that the couple find in the natural world.
The refrain, "Tiempo y Silencio," is repeated throughout the song, reinforcing the idea of the power of time and silence in the relationship. The idea of "Voz y Quebranto" (voice and heartbreak), shows the dichotomy of love, where happiness and sadness are two sides of the same coin. The final stanza brings an almost fatalistic view of love, where the singer is born from laughter, grows through tears, lives on the back of the beloved, and ultimately dies in their arms. The song is a beautiful and poetic tribute to the complexities and depth of love, a subject that has been the inspiration for countless artists, poets, and writers throughout the ages.
Line by Line Meaning
Una casa en el cielo
A heavenly home
Un jardín en el mar
A garden in the sea
Una alondra en tu pecho
A lark in your chest
Un volver a empezar
A new beginning
Un deseo de estrellas
A desire for stars
Un latir de gorrión
A sparrow's heartbeat
Una isla en tu cama
An island in your bed
Una puesta de sol
A sunset
Tiempo y silencio
Time and silence
Gritos y cantos
Screams and songs
Cielos y besos
Skies and kisses
Voz y quebranto
Voice and brokenness
Naceré en tu risa
I will be born in your laughter
Creceré en tu llanto
I will grow in your tears
Viviré en tu espalda
I will live on your back
Moriré en tus brazos
I will die in your arms
Contributed by Aaliyah I. Suggest a correction in the comments below.