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.
Tirioni
Dulce Pontes Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
La lhana pa los cobertores,
Que las pulgas (e)stan prenhadas,
Van a parir cardadoress.
Tirioni tioni tioni
Tirioni tioni tiono
Quin l'havi(e) d(e)aumentare?
Un burro d(e)un cardadore
Que la truxo pal'lhugare!
L'lhugar de Du(e)s Eigreijas
Te(n) una pidra bermelha
Donde se sentam los moçus
A peinar a la guedeilha.
L'lhugar de Du(e)s Eigreijas
Te(n) una pidra redonda
Donde se sentam los moús
Quando benam de la ronda
The lyrics of Dulce Pontes's song Tirioni are written in a form of Galician-Portuguese language called "Lingua Geral" or "Língua Franca Galega". The song is about a group of carders who gather together to card wool. They are laying out the blankets and preparing to card the wool. However, the carded wool has fleas, which are pregnant and about to give birth. The carders sing to the rhythm of their carding: "Cardai cardicas cardai, la lhana pa los cobertores, que las pulgas (e)stan prenhadas, van a parir cardadoress." ("Card, carders, card, the wool for the blankets, the fleas are pregnant, they will give birth to carders.").
The song mentions the "Tirioni" fashion, which is sarcastically referred to as a fashion that causes discomfort for those who wear it. The lyrics ask: "La moda d'l Tirioni, quin l'havi(e) d(e)aumentare? Un burro d(e)un cardadore que la truxo pal'lhugare!" ("Who would want to increase the Tirioni fashion? A donkey from a carder who carried it to the village!"). The song also describes the location where the carders gather, "L'lhugar de Du(e)s Eigreijas", which has two stones - one red and one round. Young men sit on the red stone to comb their hair, and on the round stone when they come back from wandering around.
Overall, Tirioni seems to be a humorous commentary on the life of Galician carders and the challenging work of wool carding, which is captured in the rhythm and lyrics of the song.
Line by Line Meaning
Cardai cardicas cardai
Brush, comb, brush
La lhana pa los cobertores,
The wool for the covers
Que las pulgas (e)stan prenhadas,
Where the pregnant fleas are
Van a parir cardadoress.
Going to give birth to carders
Tirioni tioni tioni
Tirioni tioni tioni
Tirioni tioni tiono
Tirioni tioni tiono
La moda d'l Tirioni
The fashion of the Tirioni
Quin l'havi(e) d(e)aumentare?
Who will increase it?
Un burro d(e)un cardadore
A donkey of a carder
Que la truxo pal'lhugare!
Who brought it to the field!
L'lhugar de Du(e)s Eigreijas
The place of Two Acorns
Te(n) una pidra bermelha
Has a red stone
Donde se sentam los moçus
Where the young men sit
A peinar a la guedeilha.
Combing the wool.
L'lhugar de Du(e)s Eigreijas
The place of Two Acorns
Te(n) una pidra redonda
Has a round stone
Donde se sentam los moús
Where the mice sit
Quando benam de la ronda
When they come from the round
Contributed by Jake Y. Suggest a correction in the comments below.