Deolinda is a project from Lisbon, Portugal, inspired by fado and its tradi… Read Full Bio ↴Deolinda is a project from Lisbon, Portugal, inspired by fado and its traditional roots in order to create original songs based on portuguese traditional and popular music.

It came to life in 2006, by the hands of 4 young musicians with diverse musical backgrounds and experiences (such as classical music, jazz, ethnical and traditional music), searching to recreate a sound rooted in popular music through the crossing of different musical languages and musical research serving as a base for the group's original compositions. Their first album - Canção ao Lado was released in 2008.

"...Her name is Deolinda and she is old enough to realize that life isnt as easy as it seems. Merrily unmarried, in love and out of love, born in Lisbon, she inhabits a ground floor apartment somewhere in the suburbs of the capital. She writes her own songs by peeking through the curtains of her window, drawing inspiration from the old gramophone records that once belonged to her grandmother and by the bizarre and strange life of her neighbours. She lives with 2 cats and a gold fish..."
Taken from the website:http://www.deolinda.com.pt/

Deolinda are: Ana Bacalhau (vocals), Zé Pedro Leitão (doublebass), Pedro da Silva Martins (classical guitar) and Luís José Martins (classical guitar).

Semáforo Da João XXI
Deolinda Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

Sentada no puff
Ela relia Proust
Ele fazia bluff no bridge
Ela ouvia Bach
Ele curtia The Clash
Entre os dois não havia clique

Ela fazia step

Ele comia num snack
Ela citava o Brecht
Ele, nicles
Ela vestia Dior
Ele, uns ténis Reebok
Entre os dois não havia clique

Ela ia ao Lux
E bebia uma flûte
E ele, de Super Bock
Num strip ela morava num loft
Ele orientava um spot
Entre os dois não havia clique

Mas um dia um querubim
Ceio a Terra e fez plim
Num sinal da João XXI e
Assim sem haver nenhum clique

Entre os dois houve carinhosamente
Entre os dois houve apaixonadamente

Entre os dois houve apenas e somente
Buumm!

Overall Meaning

The song Semáforo Da João XXI by Deolinda describes the story of two people who, despite having very different interests, backgrounds, and lifestyles, eventually fall in love. The first verse paints a picture of two individuals, the female character reading Proust while sitting on a puff and listening to Bach, and the male character playing bridge and enjoying The Clash. They don't seem to have anything in common, as there is no "clique" between them.

As the song progresses, we learn more about their differences. She practices step and wears Dior while he prefers snacks and Reebok shoes, and she quotes Brecht while he knows nothing about him. She goes to fancy places like Lux and drinks champagne, and he drinks Super Bock in a strip club. They seem to belong to completely different worlds, with no common ground between them.

However, one day something surprising happens. A cupid-like figure (a "querubim") appears at a traffic light on João XXI street, and love blossoms between the two characters. The song finishes with the explosion sound of the "Buumm!" of their love. Ultimately, the song suggests that despite having differences, love can still emerge between people in unexpected ways.

Line by Line Meaning

Sentada no puff
She was sitting on the puff chair

Ela relia Proust
She was reading Proust

Ele fazia bluff no bridge
He was bluffing at bridge

Ela ouvia Bach
She was listening to Bach

Ele curtia The Clash
He was enjoying The Clash

Entre os dois não havia clique
There was no click between them

Ela fazia step
She was doing step exercises

Ele comia num snack
He was eating a snack

Ela citava o Brecht
She was quoting Brecht

Ele, nicles
He was doing nothing

Ela vestia Dior
She was wearing Dior