Pontes started her career as a mainstream pop artist, but over the years she has evolved to become a world music singer. She blends traditional fado with contemporary styles and searches out new forms of musical expression. She introduced musical traditions of the Iberian Peninsula in her work, rediscovered many long forgotten popular tunes and found use for obsolete musical instruments. Her work is inspired and influenced not only by Iberian musical tradition, but also Arabic, African, Brazilian and Bulgarian sounds. She sings mostly in her native Portuguese, as well as Spanish, Galician, Mirandese, Italian, English, Arabic and Greek.
Dulce Pontes has collaborated with Cesária Évora, Caetano Veloso, Marisa Monte, Carlos Núñez, the Chieftains, Kepa Junkera, Eleftheria Arvanitaki, George Dalaras, Andrea Bocelli (O Mar e Tu, duet sung by Pontes in Portuguese and Bocelli in Neapolitan, for his 1999 album Sogno), and others. Her song "Canção do Mar" appeared on the soundtrack of Hollywood film Primal Fear. A 30-second piece of that same song serves as the theme to the NBC police drama Southland. Her album Focus is the fruit of a collaboration with Italian composer Ennio Morricone with whom she has also performed live.
In June 2006, Pontes prepared her double LP O Coração Tem Três Portas (The Heart Has Three Doors). It was recorded live without an audience in Convent of the Order of Christ in Tomar and St Mary Church in Óbidos. According to the artist, it is "her most personal and intimate album." It includes Portuguese folk music, mostly fado. "[1] It was released in December 2006.
In 2009, Pontes released Momentos, a double disc collection that includes songs from her 20 year career as well as several previously unreleased tracks.[2] Currently, she is working on an album of all new songs which is titled Nudez.
O Infante
Dulce Pontes Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Deus quis que a Terra fosse toda uma
Que o mar unisse, já não separasse
Sagrou-te e foste desvendando a espuma
E a orla branca foi
De ilha em continente
Clareou correndo até ao fim do mundo
Surgir redonda do azul profundo
Quem te sagrou, criou-te português
Do mar e nós em ti nos deu sinal
Cumpriu-se o mar e o império se desfez
Senhor, falta cumprir-se Portugal
E a orla branca foi
De ilha em continente
Clareou correndo até ao fim do mundo
E viu-se a terra inteira, de repente
Surgir redonda do azul profundo
The lyrics to Dulce Pontes's song "O Infante" are a beautiful tribute to the birth and growth of Portugal as a nation, and the role that the sea played in that process. The opening lines, "Deus quer, o homem sonha, a obra nasce" ("God wills it, man dreams it, the work is born"), are a powerful reminder that great things can be achieved when human ambition and divine providence combine. The next few lines describe God's desire for the world to be united, and the role that the ocean played in that process.
The song then turns to the birth of Portugal itself, with the lyrics "Quem te sagrou, criou-te português" ("Who crowned you, made you Portuguese"). This is a reference to the legend of Prince Henry the Navigator, who is said to have been "crowned" by God to become the patron of Portuguese exploration and discovery. The final lines, "Cumpriu-se o mar e o império se desfez, Senhor, falta cumprir-se Portugal" (“The sea was fulfilled and the empire dissolved, Lord, Portugal still needs to be accomplished”), are a call to action for Portugal to continue to strive for greatness and fulfill its potential.
Overall, "O Infante" is a stirring reminder of the power of human ambition and the role that Portugal played in shaping the world we know today.
Line by Line Meaning
Deus quer, o homem sonha, a obra nasce
Divine will and human desire combine to create great works of art and innovation.
Deus quis que a Terra fosse toda uma
God created the Earth to be unified and connected.
Que o mar unisse, já não separasse
The ocean should bring us together rather than divide us.
Sagrou-te e foste desvendando a espuma
The sea has crowned you as the Portuguese people, and you have explored its mysteries.
E a orla branca foi
And the white shore was
De ilha em continente
From island to continent
Clareou correndo até ao fim do mundo
It shone all the way to the end of the world
E viu-se a terra inteira, de repente
And suddenly the entire earth was revealed
Surgir redonda do azul profundo
Emerging round from the blue depths
Quem te sagrou, criou-te português
Who sanctified you, created you as Portuguese
Do mar e nós em ti nos deu sinal
From the sea and us, he gave a signal through you
Cumpriu-se o mar e o império se desfez
The ocean was crossed, and the empire fell apart
Senhor, falta cumprir-se Portugal
Lord, there is still work to be done for Portugal
Contributed by Eli L. Suggest a correction in the comments below.