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.
Zinha
Cesária Évora Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Dze'm porquê bô ta trublá
Bô ca cometê asnêra
Nem bô ca tava pa sementêra
Tud menininha tarde ò ced
Ta desgraçá e gozá sem mêd
Bô oiá bô pai bô infrontá
Bô ca cometê asnêra
Nem bô ca tava pa sementêra
Tud menininha tarde ò ced
Ta desgraçá e gozá sem mêd
Ó Zinha
Pará saluce bô infrentá
Ó Zinha
Bô ca robá bô ca matá
Semp na juventude
Êss problema ta contcê
Menininha di Nôss Senhor
Oi c'ma m crêb tcheu
Semp na juventude
Êss problema ta contcê
Menininha di Nôss Senhor
Oi c'ma m crêb tcheu
Bô oiá bô pai bô infrontá
Dze'm porquê bô ta trublá
Bô ca cometê asnêra
Nem bô ca tava pa sementêra
Tud menininha tarde ò ced
Ta desgraçá e gozá sem mêd
Bô oiá bô pai bô infrontá
Dze'm porquê bô ta trublá
Bô ca cometê asnêra
Nem bô ca tava pa sementêra
Tud menininha tarde ò ced
Ta desgraçá e gozá sem mêd
Ó Zinha
Pará saluce bô infrentá
Ó Zinha
Bô ca robá bô ca matá
Semp na juventude
Êss problema ta contcê
Menininha di Nôss Senhor
Oi c'ma m crêb tcheu
Semp na juventude
Êss problema ta contcê
Menininha di Nôss Senhor
Oi c'ma m crêb tcheu
...
Bô oiá bô pai bô infrontá
Dze'm porquê bô ta trublá
Bô ca cometê asnêra
Nem bô ca tava pa sementêra
Tud menininha tarde ò ced
Ta desgraçá e gozá sem mêd
Bô oiá bô pai bô infrontá
Dze'm porquê bô ta trublá
Bô ca cometê asnêra
Nem bô ca tava pa sementêra
Tud menininha tarde ò ced
Ta desgraçá e gozá sem mêd
Ó Zinha
Pará saluce bô infrentá
Ó Zinha
Bô ca robá bô ca matá
Semp na juventude
Êss problema ta contcê
Menininha di Nôss Senhor
Oi c'ma m crêb tcheu
Semp na juventude
Êss problema ta contcê
Menininha di Nôss Senhor
Oi c'ma m crêb tcheu
Semp na juventude
Êss problema ta contcê
Menininha di Nôss Senhor
Oi c'ma m crêb tcheu
Semp na juventude
Êss problema ta contcê
Menininha di Nôss Senhor
Oi c'ma m crêb tcheu
The lyrics of Cesaria Evora's song "Zinha" talk about the perils of youth and how it can lead to trouble if not managed properly. The singer advises a young girl named Zinha to face her problems rather than run away from them as she has seen others do. The phrase "Bô oiá bô pai bô infrontá" means "you look, you face it", which is repeated throughout the song as a constant reminder to Zinha.
The lyrics also mention that Zinha should not commit any foolishness, nor should she be idle. The singer notes that young people often stay out late into the night, causing trouble and giving into their vices without any sense of fear or caution. She then repeats the earlier advice to Zinha to confront her issues and not let them get the better of her.
Overall, the song "Zinha" is a cautionary tale about the dangers of youth and the importance of facing one's problems head-on. The advice given by the singer is universal and can apply to anyone, young or old, who is struggling with their own issues.
Line by Line Meaning
Bô oiá bô pai bô infrontá
You look at yourself and confront yourself
Dze'm porquê bô ta trublá
You tell me why you are troubled
Bô ca cometê asnêra
You don't commit foolishness
Nem bô ca tava pa sementêra
You weren't meant for farming
Tud menininha tarde ò ced
All the girls play late in the evening
Ta desgraçá e gozá sem mêd
They have fun without fear
Ó Zinha
Oh, dear
Pará saluce bô infrentá
Stop and face your challenges
Bô ca robá bô ca matá
You don't steal and you don't kill
Semp na juventude
Always in youth
Êss problema ta contcê
These problems happen
Menininha di Nôss Senhor
Girls of Our Lord
Oi c'ma m crêb tcheu
Oh, how I believe in them a lot
Contributed by Makayla K. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
@davidxxx8421
Mon plus grand respect à Mme Evora Cesaria pour ses inombrables chansons ,qui j'en suis certain continuerons à emouvoir d'autres generations.R.I.P Mme Evora C.
@reginakato7374
❤😢
@user-cy4vi4cc6v
❤
@user-xi6mh3rm5t
не видела раньше эту запись большое спасибо каждая запись каждое слово каждая нота голоса этой удивительной изумительно красивой певицы для меня подарок.
@reginakato7374
She’s a gift to all of us ❤ thank you Cesaria ❤
@user-xi6mh3rm5t
@@reginakato7374 And we consider her a motherfor all of us,no matter of the language and country.I I think of her with tenderness and love
@user-ye5yi8gr9n
Я была на 2 концертах Эворы. И каждый раз был аншлаг. И Октябрьский и зал консерватории. На простую женщину из маленькой, бедной страны пришло множество людей послушать песни на языке непонятном и неизвестно о чем. Люди стояли в проходах и безумно хлопали. А оркестр Эворы играли вживую, причем очень классно и профессионально. И это было потрясающе. У меня на кассеты записаны оба концерта этой изумительной певицы.
@tanyaleon3917
Не смотря на непонятный язык, мне кажется, было понятно что это о чём-то близким для всех людей!
@reginakato7374
Because she sang with her heart and soul ❤
@user-nj8hn7tx4u
Завидую Вам,повезло❤