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.
Serenata
Cristina Branco Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Pregúntale si no busco para quererte, la soledad
Pregúntale al manso río si el llanto mío lo ve correr
Pregúntale a todo el mundo si no es profundo mi padecer
Nunca te olvides que yo te quiero
Y que me muero de amor por ti
A nadie quieras en esta tierra
In Cristina Branco's song Serenata, the lyrics describe the deep longing and love that the singer has for their partner. The first verse asks the stars if they have witnessed the singer's tears shed in the night, and if the singer seeks only solitude in loving their partner. The second verse asks the gentle river if it sees the tears of the singer flow and asks everyone if they understand the depth of the singer's pain. The chorus reaffirms the singer's love, stating that they will love their partner and die for them, urging their partner to not love anyone else but them.
The lyrics in Serenata are powerful in their simplicity, conveying a deep sense of love and vulnerability. The use of nature as a way to express these emotions gives the lyrics a timeless and universal quality. The imagery of tears, solitude, and pain that the singer uses are relatable to anyone who has ever experienced a deep and intense love. The overarching message of the song is clear: love is not always easy and can cause great pain, but it is worth it when someone is truly cherished.
Line by Line Meaning
Pregúntale a las estrellas si por las noches me ven llorar
Ask the stars if they see me cry at night
Pregúntale si no busco para quererte, la soledad
Ask if I don't seek solitude to love you
Pregúntale al manso río si el llanto mío lo ve correr
Ask the gentle river if it sees my tears run
Pregúntale a todo el mundo si no es profundo mi padecer
Ask everyone if my suffering isn't deep
Nunca te olvides que yo te quiero
Never forget that I love you
Y que me muero de amor por ti
And that I'm dying of love for you
A nadie quieras en esta tierra
Don't love anyone else on this earth
A nadie quieras en esta tierra tan solo a mi
Don't love anyone else on this earth, only me
Contributed by Natalie A. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
kuyzat
Translation for all 4 songs:
#1 Tive um coração, perdi-o (I had a heart, I lost it)
I had a heart, I lost it
Oh, I wish I could find it (x2)
Stuck at the bottom of the river
Or drowned at sea (x2)
I wish I could leave,
leave and never return (x2)
The Death that seduces me
Can come pick me up now (x2)
I had a heart, I lost it
Oh, I wish I could find it (x2)
Stuck in the river's silt
Or drowned at sea (x2)
#2 Trago fado nos sentidos (I carry fado in my senses)
I bring fados (fates) in my senses
Sadness in my heart
I bring my lost dreams
In nights of solitude
I bring verses, I bring sounds
Of a great symphony
Played in every tone
Of sadness and joy
(pause)
I bring bitterness in spades
Clarity and dismay
I bring my eyes dry
Weeping since childhood
I bring moonlit nights
I bring flowered plains
I bring the sky and the sea
I bring even bigger pain
(pause)
I bring bitterness in spades
Clarity and dismay
I bring my eyes dry
Weeping since childhood
I bring moonlit nights
I bring flowered plains
I bring the sky and the sea
I bring even bigger pain
#3 Água e Mel (Water and Honey)
Between the branches of pine
I saw the moonlight of January
While there was still sunlight
And in a beach seashell
I heard the fainting voice
of a secret nightingale (x2)
With water and honey!
I ate bread with water and honey
And in a windowsill
I kissed a stranger
I have a rose, I have a rose and a carnation
In a little pot my mother gave me
I walked the main road
And the king's woods
Chasing a blue bird
Deep within my eyes I carry
The road of Santiago
And the Southern Cross (x2)
I opened my eyes
I opened my eyes to the daylight
I listened to the melody that rises from the dust to the heavens
From the new wine, if I tasted the new wine,
If I loved and honoured the people, oh God, why am I so lonely!? (x2)
#4 Tudo isto é fado (All this is Fado)
You asked me the other day,
If I knew what Fado is.
I told you I didn't know,
And so, you looked surprised.
I didn't know what to say,
So, I lied.
I told you I didn't know,
But I'm going to tell you now.
If you want to be my master,
And keep me by you side forever,
Don't just speak to me about love
Tell me about Fado as well
Fado which is also my punishment
Born to chain me
Fado is everything I say
Plus, everything I don't know how to say
Beaten souls
Lost nights
Bizarre shadows
At the Mouraria (a neighbourhood in Lisbon)
A scoundrel is singing
Guitars are crying
Love and jealousy
Ashes and fire
Pain and sin
All this exists
All this is sad
All this is Fado
(With no microphone)
All this exists
All this is sad
All this is Fado
EDIT: spelling corrections
To all the English speakers, I hope this gives you a better understanding of the powerful emotions at play. I can't really do justice to them but you will get a little closer. The rest is up to you. I truly wish you a happy journey. Love from Portugal.
portuscale pt
Almas vencidas
Noites perdidas
Sombras bizarras
Na Mouraria
Canta um rufia
Choram guitarras
Amor ciúme
Cinzas e lume
Dor e pecado
Tudo isto existe
Tudo isto é triste
Tudo isto é fado
Letra: Frederico Carvalho
Música: Aníbal Nazaré
portuscale pt
Tive um coração, perdi-o
Ai quem me o dera encontrar
Preso no fundo do rio
Ou afogado no mar
Quem me dera ir embora
Ir embora e não voltar
Que a morte que me namora
Já me pode vir buscar
Letra: Amália Rodrigues
Música: José Fontes Rocha
Robert
Grandisima artista con una voz maravillosa acompañada de músicos excepcionales. Gracias por estos momentos inolvidables.
Rosemeri Alves
Conheci faz pouco tempo essa Sra. de tantoooooooo TALENTO......Fantastica...sou FÃ...
😍
Flavio Barbara
Mais uma maravilhosa filha de Portugal! Mais uma fadista que me apaixono! Linda mulher. Linda Voz . Lindos fados. Transborda talento e elegância.
Maria Fernanda Moço
Divinal!
Basilli singer
Linda canção. A música portuguesa é demais.
Jessica Costa
Quando a fadista canta o ultimo refrão a peito cheio, com o microfone atrás das costas, é arrebatador.... Não consegui evitar as lágrimas. Cristina, obrigado por esta interpretação.
Marzyciel Sulivan
Cada vez mais apaixonado pelos fados Portugueses...
Que voz linda que interpretação maravilhosa...
Tania Albuquerque
Amo o fado demais e tão penetrante na alma qdo interpretado por Cristina Branco. Ela uma da alma do fado.
Enero Mayi
Cristina, eres fantástica.
La primera canción que escuché en portugués fue sete pedaços de vento cantada por ti y por eso adoro la música portuguesa.
MAIA🕊️🕊️
😍Aiii que me dera cantar Amor, semear fado no mundo🙏Deus ainda vai crer, aiii enquanto eu falar poder te cantar o fado🌹