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.
Tu Tens De Me Acontecer
Cristina Branco Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Eu tenho de acontecer
Como o dia desvanece
Sem pressa de anoitecer
Que mafia se arredonda
Neste círculo profundo
Quem no mar desenha a onda
E o amor quem o conhece
Como em ti, sei conhecer
Porque a vida me acontece
Tu tens de me acontecer
In "Tu Tens De Me Acontecer," Cristina Branco sings about the inevitability of life and love. The first verse implies that one cannot control the events that happen in life, but rather they must happen and unfold on their own. The second verse refers to the idea of the interconnectedness of everything in the world. The use of the metaphor of the waves in the ocean emphasizes the vastness and the complexity of nature, and how everything is connected to each other in infinite number of ways.
The chorus brings it all together by stating that love is a crucial part of this complex and unpredictable world. The singer knows how to recognize it and has experienced it firsthand. The line "Tu tens de me acontecer" could be interpreted as "you have to happen to me" or "you have to love me" - either way, it suggests that love is not something that can be achieved or forced, but rather it simply happens in one's life.
Overall, "Tu Tens De Me Acontecer" is a beautiful and introspective song that reflects on the unpredictability of life and the importance of love in navigating through it.
Line by Line Meaning
Porque a vida me acontece
Life happens to me and I have to go along with it
Eu tenho de acontecer
And I have to keep happening to go on with life
Como o dia desvanece
As the day comes to an end
Sem pressa de anoitecer
Without hurry to see the night
Que mafia se arredonda
What organized group is forming
Neste círculo profundo
In this deep circle
Quem no mar desenha a onda
Who draws the wave in the sea
Quantas ondas fez o mundo
How many waves has the world created
E o amor quem o conhece
And who knows what love is
Como em ti, sei conhecer
I know because I see it in you
Porque a vida me acontece
Because life happens to me
Tu tens de me acontecer
And you have to happen to me
Contributed by Bentley P. Suggest a correction in the comments below.