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.
Saudades de Júlia Mendes
Cristina Branco Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
O fado, esse malandro e vadio
Oh Júlia... olha que é tarde, toma cuidado
Leva o teu xaile traçado porque de noite faz frio
Oh Júlia... andas com a noite na alma
Tem calma, ainda te perdes p'ra aí
Oh Júlia... se estás no mundo vencida
Não queiras gostar da vida que ela não gosta de ti
Não chores coração, tu és um tonto sem razão
Viver só por viver não leva a nada
Aceita a decisão que os fados trazem ao nascer
Todos nós temos de viver de hora marcada
Se Deus me deu a voz, que hei-de eu fazer senão cantar
O fado e eu a sós queremos chorar
Eu fujo não sei bem de quê, do mundo ou de ninguém
Talvez de mim, quando oiço alguém dizer-me assim
The song "Saudades de Júlia Mendes" by Cristina Branco tells the story of a woman named Júlia who has given up her life for fado. Fado is described as a deceitful and lazy man, and the singer warns Júlia to be careful and wear a shawl because it gets cold at night. Júlia is described as carrying the night within her soul and being lost. The singer advises her not to try to like life because life does not like her.
The chorus expresses a sense of resignation and acceptance of fate, saying that living just for the sake of living leads nowhere and that we all have to live on a predetermined schedule. The singer mentions her own connection to fado and how she and fado want to cry together. She speaks of wanting to run away from something, whether it be the world or nobody in particular, perhaps even herself. The song evokes a feeling of melancholy and reflects on the sacrifices people make for art and the emotional toll that comes with that.
Line by Line Meaning
Oh Júlia... trocas a vida p'lo fado
Julia, you've traded your life for Fado
O fado, esse malandro e vadio
Fado, the rogue and vagabond
Oh Júlia... olha que é tarde, toma cuidado
Júlia, it's getting late, be careful
Leva o teu xaile traçado porque de noite faz frio
Take your shawl because it's cold at night
Oh Júlia... andas com a noite na alma
Júlia, you carry the night in your soul
Tem calma, ainda te perdes p'ra aí
Stay calm, you still have a chance to lose yourself
Oh Júlia... se estás no mundo vencida
Júlia, if you're defeated in this world
Não queiras gostar da vida que ela não gosta de ti
Don't try to like a life that doesn't like you
Não chores coração, tu és um tonto sem razão
Don't cry heart, you're a fool without reason
Viver só por viver não leva a nada
Living just for the sake of living leads to nothing
Aceita a decisão que os fados trazem ao nascer
Accept the fate that the Fados bring at birth
Todos nós temos de viver de hora marcada
We all have to live on a predetermined schedule
Se Deus me deu a voz, que hei-de eu fazer senão cantar
If God gave me a voice, what else can I do but sing
O fado e eu a sós queremos chorar
Fado and I alone want to cry
Eu fujo não sei bem de quê, do mundo ou de ninguém
I run away, I don't know from what, the world or nobody
Talvez de mim, quando oiço alguém dizer-me assim
Maybe from myself, when I hear someone say to me like this
Contributed by Ella D. Suggest a correction in the comments below.