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.
Vaga Lenta
Cesária Évora Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Bô ta voltà pa bô lugar
Bô ta tinà, bô ta notà
Qu'um vida é um doce ilusão
Qu'um dor é sempre um dor
Na bõs andança ness munde fora
Ca bô perdê na bonança
Guardà regresso na bô coraçao
Amor é sempre amor
Vaga lente d'sé correnteza
Na mansidão ta torna trazê
Bo ta manché, se bô sabé
Envolvido di sol e carinho
Vaga lente d'sé correnteza
Na mansidão ta torna trazê
Bo ta manché, se bô sabé
Envolvido di sol e carinho
...
Tud nha fé é qu'um dia
Bô ta voltà pa bô lugar
Bô ta tinà, bô ta notà
Qu'um vida é um doce ilusão
Qu'um dor é sempre um dor
Na bõs andança ness munde fora
Ca bô perdê na bonança
Ca esquecê quem bô amà
Guardà regresso na bô coraçao
Amor é sempre amor
Vaga lente d'sé correnteza
Na mansidão ta torna trazê
Bo ta manché, se bô sabé
Envolvido di sol e carinho
Vaga lente d'sé correnteza
Na mansidão ta torna trazê
Bo ta manché, se bô sabé
Envolvido di sol e carinho
Envolvido di sol e carinho
Envolvido di sol e carinho
Cesária Évora's song Vaga Lenta is a gentle, contemplative tune that explores the themes of love, loss, and hope. The song begins with the lyrics "Tud nha fé é qu'um dia/Bô ta voltà pa bô lugar," which roughly translates to "All my faith is that one day/You will return to your place." The singer expresses a yearning for a lost love to come back and notes that life is a sweet illusion, and pain is always pain. The second stanza speaks about the traveler's experiences in the outside world, without forgetting the love they left behind. The chorus describes how the gentle waves of the ocean will eventually bring them back to each other, enveloped in sunshine and tenderness.
The song's lyrics are poetic and poignant, with a melancholy undertone that suggests a bittersweet feeling of longing and resignation. Cesária Évora's soulful voice adds an emotional depth to the lyrics, making Vaga Lenta a beautiful lament for lost love. The song is a reminder that even when we are far away from what we love, there is always hope for the return of happiness.
Line by Line Meaning
Tud nha fé é qu'um dia
My entire faith is that one day
Bô ta voltà pa bô lugar
You'll return to your place
Bô ta tinà, bô ta notà
You'll realize, you'll notice
Qu'um vida é um doce ilusão
That life is a sweet illusion
Qu'um dor é sempre um dor
That pain is always pain
Na bõs andança ness munde fora
In your journey in this world outside
Ca bô perdê na bonança
Don't lose yourself in prosperity
Ca esquecê quem bô amà
Don't forget who you love
Guardà regresso na bô coraçao
Keep the return in your heart
Amor é sempre amor
Love is always love
Vaga lente d'sé correnteza
Slowly, the current flows
Na mansidão ta torna trazê
In the calm, it brings you back
Bo ta manché, se bô sabé
You'll feel it, if you know
Envolvido di sol e carinho
Wrapped in sun and love
Envolvido di sol e carinho
Wrapped in sun and love
Envolvido di sol e carinho
Wrapped in sun and love
Contributed by Lauren N. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
Hernán Antonio Núñez
Descansa en paz Cesaria, seguramente estarás allá en el cielo cantando entre los ángeles!
Catherine S.
esta cancao me provoca arrepio ate' hoje de tao bela que e'... descansa em paz Cesaria.
Agata Smeralda Petrognani
Tud nha fé é qu'um dia
Bô ta voltá pa bô lugar
Bô ta tinà, bô ta notá
Qu'um vida é um doce ilusão
Qu'um dor é sempre um dor
Na bõs andança ness munde fora
Ca bô perdê na bonança
Ca esquecê quem bô amá
Guardà regresso na bô coraçao
Amor é sempre amor
Vaga lente d'sé correnteza
Na mansidão ta torna trazê
Bo ta manché, se bô sabé
Envolvido di sol e carinho
helga nitaki
πολύ αισθαντικό κομμάτι! Και σπάνιο! Δεν το είχα εντοπίσει μέχρι τώρα στο you tube! Σας ευχαριστώ που το ανεβάσατε!
antoniskara
@VernonVince Thank you too!
antoniskara
@hernan230156 Seguro para que!