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.
Travessa De Peixeira
Cesária Évora Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Oh cumpade! Num colde d'pêxe
Qu'ês quebrá-me, qu'ês rebentá-me
Qu'ês volta-me pa frontera
Na Travessa De Peixeira
Oh cumpade! Num colde d'pêxe
Qu'ês quebrá-me, qu'ês rebentá-me
Já-me ca pude pá Soncente
Espiá nhas gente oh qu'afronta
'M ca sabê c'zê qu'ês ta d'zê
D'nha poco juize na Lisboa
Já-me ca pude pá Soncente
Espiá nhas gente oh qu'afronta
'M ca sabê c'zê qu'ês ta d'zê
D'nha poco juize na Lisboa
Tcheu d'ês criola na Lisboa
Ês ca tem sentimente
Ês ca tem escrúpulo nem compaixao
Pa invadí inocente
Tcheu d'ês criola na Lisboa
Ês ca tem sentimente
Ês ca tem escrúpulo nem compaixao
Pa invadí inocente
Já-me ca pude pá Soncente
Espiá nhas gente oh qu'afronta
'M ca sabê c'zê qu'ês ta d'zê
D'nha poco juize na Lisboa
Já-me ca pude pá Soncente
Espiá nhas gente oh qu'afronta
'M ca sabê c'zê qu'ês ta d'zê
D'nha poco juize na Lisboa
...
Na Travessa De Peixeira
Oh cumpade! Num colde d'pêxe
Qu'ês quebrá-me, qu'ês rebentá-me
Qu'ês volta-me pa frontera
Na Travessa De Peixeira
Oh cumpade! Num colde d'pêxe
Qu'ês quebrá-me, qu'ês rebentá-me
Qu'ês volta-me pa frontera
Já-me ca pude pá Soncente
Espiá nhas gente oh qu'afronta
'M ca sabê c'zê qu'ês ta d'zê
D'nha poco juize na Lisboa
Já-me ca pude pá Soncente
Espiá nhas gente oh qu'afronta
'M ca sabê c'zê qu'ês ta d'zê
D'nha poco juize na Lisboa
Tcheu d'ês criola na Lisboa
Ês ca tem sentimente
Ês ca tem escrúpulo nem compaixao
Pa invadí inocente
Tcheu d'ês criola na Lisboa
Ês ca tem sentimente
Ês ca tem escrúpulo nem compaixao
Pa invadí inocente
Já-me ca pude pá Soncente
Espiá nhas gente oh qu'afronta
'M ca sabê c'zê qu'ês ta d'zê
D'nha poco juize na Lisboa
Já-me ca pude pá Soncente
Espiá nhas gente oh qu'afronta
'M ca sabê c'zê qu'ês ta d'zê
D'nha poco juize na Lisboa
'M ca sabê c'zê qu'ês ta d'zê
D'nha poco juize na Lisboa
'M ca sabê c'zê qu'ês ta d'zê
D'nha poco juize na Lisboa
'M ca sabê c'zê qu'ês ta d'zê
D'nha poco juize na Lisboa
'M ca sabê c'zê qu'ês ta d'zê
D'nha poco juize na Lisboa
Na Lisboa...
Na Lisboa...
Na Lisboa...
Na Lisboa...
Na Lisboa...
Na Lisboa...
The lyrics of Cesaria Evora's song "Travessa De Peixeira" speak of a difficult situation in which the singer finds herself. She is in Peixeira Alley, where she is facing a problem with some fish, and she wants to be returned to the border. The repetition of these lines highlights the urgency of her request. The second part of the song shifts to the singer's inability to go to Soncente, presumably her home or a place she longs for, because of the people there who she describes as being confrontational. She alludes to a Lisbon judge who has a negative view of her community. The last lines repeat the sentiments that the "criola" in Lisbon don't have any feelings, scruples or compassion to invade innocent people.
The song seems to capture the experience of an immigrant or a member of a marginalized community who is experiencing hardship and struggles to find a sense of belonging. The lyrics suggest that the singer is seeking refuge in a place where she can be safe and have a sense of security. The song reflects the pain and struggle of those who have been cast out or have been rendered homeless, which mirrors the life story of Cesaria Evora, who grew up under difficult circumstances and later became an immigrant and eventually a world-renowned artist.
Line by Line Meaning
Na Travessa De Peixeira
In Peixeira Alley
Oh cumpade! Num colde d'pêxe
Oh friend! In the midst of fish
Qu'ês quebrá-me, qu'ês rebentá-me
Breaking me, bursting me
Qu'ês volta-me pa frontera
Turning me towards the border
Já-me ca pude pá Soncente
I could no longer go to São Vicente
Espiá nhas gente oh qu'afronta
Watching my people how they suffer
'M ca sabê c'zê qu'ês ta d'zê
I don't know what they're saying
D'nha poco juize na Lisboa
From a little judge in Lisbon
Tcheu d'ês criola na Lisboa
Few of these Creole women in Lisbon
Ês ca tem sentimente
They have no feelings
Ês ca tem escrúpulo nem compaixao
They have no scruples nor compassion
Pa invadí inocente
To invade the innocent
'M ca sabê c'zê qu'ês ta d'zê
I don't know what they're saying
Na Lisboa...
In Lisbon...
Contributed by Caden E. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
Lovaniaina Eva RAMINO
A wonderful song, Our international accordionist Régis Gizavo has passed away on Jul 18th, 2017, a big loss of a great pride of a whole Nation, Madagascar! May his soul remains in peace ❤ 😔
abla bedoui
Im in love with this song !
titou m
Me too :)
breizhou56850
3 commentaires pour evora et gizavo !! On devine où va le monde