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).
Uma Ilha
Deolinda Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Do mar e as ondas
Do mar eu guardei
Pus na gaveta onde escondo
Coisas que não ouso
Mostrar a ninguém
Estoura com estrondo em mim
São ondas, muitas ondas
Tantas ondas a forçar
É um mar que tu nem sonhas
Só quem sonha, vê o mar
Já nem me embala o balanço
Do vento e o balanço
Do vento eu deixei
Junto à gaveta onde as ondas
Dispersam as coisas que eu nunca juntei
Tudo o que eu escondo de ti
Estoura com estrondo em mim
E o vento e as ondas
Com o vento a puxar
Vão crescendo, vão revoltas
Só quem sonha, vê o mar
Os nossos corpos deitados
Na cama molhados
E areia no chão
Vão embalados na ideia
Que a vida perfeita
Não tem salvação
E esta esperança em mim
Não é bonança em ti
E voltas, damos voltas
E mais voltas sem chegar
À gaveta que nos mostra
Uma ilha ao acordar
The song "Uma Ilha" by Deolinda is a beautiful and introspective piece about the weight of secrets and the power of dreams. The lyrics speak of waves and wind no longer being able to lull the singer to sleep, as she has internalized their essence and is haunted by their force. She keeps her secrets hidden away in a drawer, afraid to reveal them to anyone. However, these secrets can no longer be contained and they explode within her, manifesting as waves and wind. The singer suggests that only those who dream can truly see the sea, hinting that the internal struggles she faces are possibly linked to her unfulfilled dreams.
The chorus of the song reinforces the power of the sea and the wind, as they grow stronger and more violent, with the wind pulling the waves along. The idea of "Só quem sonha, vê o mar" (only those who dream, can see the sea) is repeated again, enforcing the idea that the singer's inability to dream is causing her to struggle with the overwhelming force of the sea and wind.
The final verse brings in a new image, that of bodies lying together in bed, with sand on the floor. This perfect moment is undercut by the realization that the singer believes that true happiness is unattainable. The last two lines suggest that the hope she feels inside is not shared by her partner and that they are caught in a cycle of going around without really advancing. The final image of the drawer revealing an island upon waking, implies that this struggle is part of a larger journey of self-discovery and healing.
Line by Line Meaning
Já não me embalam as ondas
The waves of the sea no longer rock me
Do mar e as ondas
I kept the waves of the sea
Do mar eu guardei
within the drawer where I hide things I dare not show anyone
Pus na gaveta onde escondo
I put it in the drawer where I hide things
Coisas que não ouso
things I dare not
Mostrar a ninguém
show anyone
Tudo o que eu escondo de ti
Everything I hide from you
Estoura com estrondo em mim
explodes with a bang inside me
São ondas, muitas ondas
They are waves, many waves
Tantas ondas a forçar
So many waves forcing
É um mar que tu nem sonhas
It's a sea that you can't even dream of
Só quem sonha, vê o mar
Only those who dream can see the sea
Já nem me embala o balanço
I am no longer rocked by the swing
Do vento e o balanço
of the wind and the swing
Do vento eu deixei
I left it to the wind
Junto à gaveta onde as ondas
Next to the drawer where the waves
Dispersam as coisas que eu nunca juntei
Scatter the things I never gathered
E o vento e as ondas
And the wind and the waves
Com o vento a puxar
with the wind pulling
Vão crescendo, vão revoltas
They grow, they become tumultuous
Só quem sonha, vê o mar
Only those who dream can see the sea
Os nossos corpos deitados
Our bodies lying down
Na cama molhados
wet in the bed
E areia no chão
and sand on the ground
Vão embalados na ideia
They are wrapped in the idea
Que a vida perfeita
That perfect life
Não tem salvação
does not have salvation
E esta esperança em mim
And this hope in me
Não é bonança em ti
Isn't peace in you
E voltas, damos voltas
And we turn, we keep turning
E mais voltas sem chegar
And more turns without getting there
À gaveta que nos mostra
To the drawer that shows us
Uma ilha ao acordar
An island when we wake up
Contributed by Stella G. Suggest a correction in the comments below.