Cristina Branco was born in December, 1972, in Almeirim, Ribatejo, Portugal… Read Full Bio ↴Cristina Branco was born in December, 1972, in Almeirim, Ribatejo, Portugal, where she still lives. Her music is deeply rooted in tradition, yet essentially modern.

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.

Bomba Relógio
Cristina Branco Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

O teu amor quando palpita
verdade seja dita
põe rastilho no meu peito

trinta batidas num só beijo sem defeito.

Feito taque o tique
o teu amor rebenta o dique

feito tique o taque
o teu amor passa ao ataque

feito taque o tique
o teu amor rebenta o dique
feito tique o taque
eu à defesa ele ao ataque

e toca e foge e toca e foge
é uma bomba relógio

O teu amor quando palpita
verdade seja dita
faz-me atrasar os ponteiros
como a ostra esconde a pérola aos viveiros.

Feito taque o tique
a pérola solta-se a pique
feito tique o taque
faz no coração um baque

feito taque o tique
a pérola solta-se a pique
feito tique o taque
faz no corpo todo um baque

e toca e foge e toca e foge
é uma bomba relógio.

Overall Meaning

The lyrics of this song by Cristina Branco describe the intense feeling of being overwhelmed by love, comparing it to a ticking time bomb that can explode at any moment. The first verse talks about how the lover's heartbeat sets off a fuse in the singer's chest, leading up to the explosive moment of a single kiss. The following verses echo the ticking of a clock, with the lover's love breaking down walls and overcoming defenses. The chorus repeats the idea that this love is like a bomb, always ticking and ready to explode.

The second verse of the song adds another element to the metaphor, comparing the lover's love to a pearl hidden in an oyster. The ticking time bomb is no longer just a threat of destruction, but also a hint of treasure waiting to be found. The final lines of the song acknowledge the volatile nature of this love, with the repeated refrain of "toca e foge" (touch and run) suggesting that it is impossible to contain or control.

Overall, Bomba Relógio is a song that captures the intense and unpredictable nature of passionate love, using the metaphor of a ticking bomb to convey both the danger and the excitement of that feeling.

Line by Line Meaning

O teu amor quando palpita
When your love beats

verdade seja dita
truth be told

põe rastilho no meu peito
it puts a fuse in my chest

trinta batidas num só beijo sem defeito.
thirty beats in one flawless kiss.

Feito taque o tique
Like tick tock

o teu amor rebenta o dique
your love breaks the dam

feito tique o taque
like tick tock

o teu amor passa ao ataque
your love attacks

feito taque o tique
like tick tock

o teu amor rebenta o dique
your love breaks the dam

feito tique o taque
like tick tock