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.
Uma Outra Noite
Cristina Branco Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Não quero lembrar de nada.
Coração, no fundo da cor vermelha
Do teu sangue
Dorme, e esquece o sorriso, os lábios acesos
O rosto da mágoa
Quero outra vida, outra ferida
Com uma batida para dançar
A voz perdida e dissolvida quero-a no sangue
Ou no fim do mar.
Quero outros olhos, outros cabelos,
Uma outra sombra,
Quero outra noite no fim do dia
The lyrics to Cristina Branco's song Uma Outra Noite are about moving on from a love that has died. The singer states that she does not want to sing about the love that has died, nor does she want to remember anything about it. The heart is described as being deep red and the singer wants it to sleep and forget the smile, the glowing lips, and the face of sorrow. She is tired of the pain and wants to move on to a different life with a new wound, but one that has a beat for dancing. She desires a voice that is lost and dissolved in the blood or at the end of the sea. She wants new eyes, new hair, and a different shadow. The singer desires another night at the end of the day.
The lyrics suggest that the singer is seeking a fresh start, that she has already let go of the past, and that she now wants to move forward with her life. She is expressing her desire for new experiences, and she wants to forget everything connected to her past relationship. The final line of the chorus, "Quero outra noite no fim do dia" translates to "I want another night at the end of the day," suggests that the singer is looking forward to a new chapter in her life, symbolized by a new night.
Line by Line Meaning
Não quero cantar o amor que morreu
I don't want to sing about the love that's dead
Não quero lembrar de nada.
I don't want to remember anything
Coração, no fundo da cor vermelha
Heart, at the bottom of the red color
Do teu sangue
Of your blood
Dorme, e esquece o sorriso, os lábios acesos
Sleep, and forget the smile, the glowing lips
O rosto da mágoa
The face of sorrow
Quero outra vida, outra ferida
I want another life, another wound
Com uma batida para dançar
With a beat to dance
A voz perdida e dissolvida quero-a no sangue
The lost and dissolved voice, I want it in the blood
Ou no fim do mar.
Or at the end of the sea
Quero outros olhos, outros cabelos,
I want other eyes, other hairs,
Uma outra sombra,
Another shadow,
Quero outra noite no fim do dia
I want another night at the end of the day
Contributed by Ethan B. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
netherworldman
By all means one of her best songs, even if I can't understand all of the lyrics. I saw the show in my hometown of Leeuwarden (Holland) last spring, she was brilliant! (And the musicians too). Thanks for posting, Ecletismo!