She grew up far from the fado houses of Lisbon and nothing suggested that she was predestined for the fado. Like almost all young Portuguese born after the revolution of 1974, she was interested in folk music, jazz, blues, bossa nova but not in fado. She regarded it as a genre for a different generation. This lasted until her 18th birthday, when her grandfather gave her the album Rara e Inédita by Amália Rodrigues. Suddenly, Cristina Branco discovered all the emotions that the genre could offer in the close connections that arose among voice, poetry and music. The amateur singer - then studying communication sciences and still full of her ambition to become a journalist - began to develop her vocal technique and to take her new vocation seriously.
After that, Cristina studied the poems from which major fado lyrics are taken.
Since then, Cristina has worked on her fado repertory, accompanied by Custódio Castelo on guitar and as composer.
Halfway through the nineties, other young musicians also found a new means of expression in the fado and this contributed to a surprising renaissance. Just as they did, Cristina Branco began to make clear choices in which respect for the tradition went hand in hand with the desire for renewal.
There can be no doubt that Cristina Branco is developing her own style from a number of primary components. She employs a traditional group (voice, Portuguese guitar, guitar and bass guitar) and offers us concurrently a light, warm and experienced voice; she mixes the traditional fado with themes and folk songs that are personal favourites and seems always to choose the words of the best Portuguese, or even Dutch poets with discretion.
Ausente
Cristina Branco Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Adeus oh minha gente
Vou fazer-me à dura estrada
Minh'alma ardentemente
Quer erguer-se e está prustrada
Longe está meu horizonte
Uma luz resta-me ao longe
Qual fogueira em alto monte
Adeus oh minha gente
A quem vejo arrependidos
As mãos que me negaram
Já me as deram como amigos
Mas dentro de mim arde
Um sossego abrasador
Do Alentejo em fim de tarde
Adeus oh minha gente
Venham ver-me à despedida
Nasci no lado errado
No lado errado da vida
Partindo fico ausente
Nem memória vou guardar
Ai! Adeus oh minha gente...
The song "Ausente" by Cristina Branco is a heartfelt farewell from the singer as she departs from her people and the place where her heart longs to be. In the first verse, she bids farewell to her people and embarks on a difficult road, while her soul longs to soar but feels confined. She expresses her pain and frustration in not being able to see her horizon, except for a distant light that shines like a beacon on a high mountain. The use of the metaphor - "Qual fogueira em alto monte" - (like a bonfire on the top of a mountain) depicts hope amid darkness.
In the second verse, she sees the hands that once rejected her, now reaching out to her as friends. Nonetheless, she still feels the burning passion within her, but this time, it is a peaceful one. She reminisces about the beauty of Alentejo, which brings her comfort in times of loneliness. Finally, she bids farewell to her people and invites them to see her off. She acknowledges that she was born on the wrong side of life, and this departure marks her as a person who will soon become a fading memory. The pain and the sense of loss embedded in the lyrics are palpable.
Overall, Ausente is a ballad that captures the essence of goodbye and the bittersweet emotions that come with departing from what one knew as home, and the uncertainty of what lies ahead.
Line by Line Meaning
Adeus oh minha gente
Farewell to my people
Vou fazer-me à dura estrada
I'm heading down the difficult road
Minh'alma ardentemente
My soul fervently
Quer erguer-se e está prustrada
Wants to rise but is frustrated
Longe está meu horizonte
My horizon is distant
Uma luz resta-me ao longe
Only a distant light remains
Qual fogueira em alto monte
Like a bonfire on a high mountain
A quem vejo arrependidos
To those I see repentant
As mãos que me negaram
The hands that denied me
Já me as deram como amigos
They now offer them as friends
Mas dentro de mim arde
But within me burns
Um sossego abrasador
A scorching peace
Do Alentejo em fim de tarde
Of the Alentejo in late afternoon
Venham ver-me à despedida
Come see me off
Nasci no lado errado
I was born on the wrong side
No lado errado da vida
On the wrong side of life
Partindo fico ausente
Leaving, I become absent
Nem memória vou guardar
Not even memories will I keep
Ai! Adeus oh minha gente...
Oh! Farewell to my people...
Contributed by Violet L. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
Susana Vaz
Música e voz que toca a alma...
Emma Rose
Her voice is like silk...an incredible and emotional singer...saw her 'live' twice and loved her!!
ARTbyBastiaanMol
one of the most beautiful songs Cristina ever sung in her career !!!!
Leila Marinho Lage
Assim, através desta música conheci Cristina Branco. A CANÇÃO MAIS EMOCIONANTE QUE EU JÁ OUVI. Sua interpretação me fez conhecer seu trabalho. Fabuloso.
Alondra Belmont
Hermoso, esta mujer tiene voz de diosa.
Carla Alhinho
Quem nao gosta deste trecho nao percebe nada de musica, para alem desta voz maravilhosa, que foi.uma oferta da mae divina.Deus te proteja Cristina
Susanita lugano
wonderful it makes me dream