Since her breakthrough, Mercury has become one of the best known Brazilian female singers, selling over 20 million albums worldwide. Daniela has a degree in dance from the Federal University of Bahia, having started her studies in this art since she was four years old, later becoming a teacher of jazz, modern and classical ballet, besides having specialized and performed in other genres, such as Afro Dance and contemporary dance. She began singing professionally at the age of fifteen, the same age at which she rode a trio elétrico for the first time, integrating her career as singer and dancer.
She released her eponymous album in 1991, followed by O Canto da Cidade in the following year, leveraging her career as a national artist and bringing the axé music genre to the forefront. Over the years, she released several albums, generating great hits like "Swing da Cor", "O Canto da Cidade", "À Primeira Vista", "Rapunzel", "Nobre Vagabundo", "Ilê Pérola Negra (O Canto do Negro)", "Mutante", "Maimbê Dandá", "Levada Brasileira", "Oyá Por Nós", among others. She recorded a DVD commemorating 25 years of Cirque du Soleil and was part of the Montreal International Jazz Festival. In addition, she participated in Alejandro Sanz's album and sang with Paul McCartney in Norway during the Nobel Peace Prize ceremony. Winner of a Latin Grammy for her album Balé Mulato - Ao Vivo, she also received six Brazilian Music Awards, an APCA award, three Multishow awards, and two VMB awards, for best music video and photography. On television she was a judge and mentor for the talent shows Popstars, Superstar, and The Voice Kids Portugal.
In 2013, Daniela released in partnership with her wife Malu Verçosa, whom she married in Portugal the same year, her first book, Daniela e Malu: Uma História de Amor.
Attentive to the Brazilian social reality and with a great desire to contribute to the preservation of our cultural matrices, Daniela created her Institute "Sol da Liberdade" in 2008. Today, in partnership with UNICEF and ESPN Brasil, the ISL carries out the Caravana da Música project. The Caravana da Música is an itinerant project that has been touring Brazil since 2007, visiting one city every month. The cities to be visited are indicated by UNICEF, according to the HDI (Human Development Index) and the IDI (Child Development Index). In each of the cities visited, the "Music Caravan" sets up a large infrastructure where it offers 3,000 children an unprecedented experience with dance, music, theater, instrument building, circus art, and several other artistic experiences. In addition to the children, the Music Caravan also offers training in Art Education for 250 public school teachers from each of the visited cities. The Music Caravan has already directly assisted more than 50 thousand children and 30 thousand teachers. Considering that each public school teacher trained by the Caravan becomes an Art Education multiplier, it is estimated that the Music Caravan has already indirectly reached more than half a million Brazilians. All the activities of the Music Caravan in the countryside of Brazil are recorded by the ESPN Brazil team, which broadcasts a monthly documentary about the project's activities. The documentary is shown in Brazil and in 157 other countries.
Besides presiding the Instituto Sol da Liberdade, Daniela is also UNICEF's National Goodwill Ambassador, a title she received in 1995, when she became the second Brazilian personality to receive such honor. She has also participated in several benefit shows in favor of children, among them the UNICEF/ Rede Globo's Criança Esperança and the AACD/SBT's Teleton. Part of the rights to her 1998 album Elétrica were donated to UNICEF. She is also an ambassador for the Ayrton Senna Institute. Daniela has also participated in other charitable projects, not directly linked to children. On October 7, 2003, she took part in the show Solidariedade Brasil-Noruega in favor of Fome Zero at the National Theater, in Brasilia. She is also connected to the NGO América Latina em Ação Solidária (ALAS), having participated in September 2007 in an advertising campaign promoting aid to the earthquake victims in Peru. In 2013 she was invited to participate in the UN global campaign, Free & Equal, along with Ricky Martin and other international artists.
Saudade
Daniela Mercury Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Me diz por andará
Saudade
É Bali, Paris, Porto Belo
Saudade
O mundo girando em mim
Me diz por onde andará
Saudade
Não corte curtinho seu cabelo
Saudade
Eu quero você assim
Boca com boca
Flor e flor
Eu vi nos seus olhos uma cor
Saudade...
Onde andará você
Me diz por onde andará
The lyrics to Daniela Mercury's song "Saudade" express a longing for a lost love. The singer wonders where the other person is and imagines them traveling to places like Bali, Paris, and Porto Belo. The feeling of saudade, or longing, consumes her, and she doesn't want the other person to change, begging them not to cut their hair short. The chorus repeats, emphasizing the depth of this feeling, and the singer remembers a moment of intimacy with the other person, seeing flowers and colors in their eyes.
The repetition of the question, "where are you?" underscores the singer's sense of loss and uncertainty. The dreamlike quality of the lyrics, with references to exotic locations and sensory details, suggests that the singer is searching for a sense of escape from their pain. However, the reference to the other person's appearance shows that the singer also wants to hold onto something tangible to remind them of what they've lost.
Overall, the lyrics to "Saudade" convey a sense of intense longing for a lost love, both in terms of physical distance and emotional connection. The singer imagines the other person traveling and experiencing the world, but can't shake the feeling of missing them. The sensory details and repetition of the chorus emphasize the strength of this feeling and the deep connection that has been lost.
Line by Line Meaning
Onde andará você
Where could you be?
Me diz por onde andará
Tell me where you might be
Saudade
The ache of longing
É Bali, Paris, Porto Belo
It's Bali, Paris, Porto Belo - places that remind me of you
Saudade
The ache of longing
O mundo girando em mim
The world is spinning around me
Não corte curtinho seu cabelo
Don't cut your hair short - I want you just the way you are
Saudade
The ache of longing
Eu quero você assim
I want you just the way you are
Boca com boca
Mouth to mouth
Flor e flor
Flower to flower
Eu vi nos seus olhos uma cor
I saw a color in your eyes
Saudade...
The ache of longing...
Onde andará você
Where could you be?
Me diz por onde andará
Tell me where you might be
Contributed by Samantha D. Suggest a correction in the comments below.