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.
Zanguei-Me Com O Meu Amor
Dulce Pontes Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Não o vi em todo o dia
Zanguei-me com o meu amor
Não o vi em todo o dia
A noite cantei melhor
O fado da mouraria
A noite cantei melhor
O sopro de uma saudade
Vinhar beijar-me hora a hora
O sopro de uma saudade
Vinhar beijar-me hora a hora
Para ficar mais à vontade
Mandei a saudade embora
Para ficar mais à vontade
Mandei a saudade embora
Quando regressou ao minho
Ele que nem assobia
Quando regressou ao minho
Ele que nem assobia
Vinha a assobiar baixinho
O fado da mouraria
Vinha a assobiar baixinho
O fado da mouraria
Vinha assobiar baixinho
O fado da mouraria
The lyrics of Dulce Pontes's song "Zanguei-Me Com O Meu Amor" describe the emotional conflict of a woman who has been in a fight with her lover and has not seen him all day. The woman finds solace in singing fado, a traditional Portuguese mournful genre that is often about longing, love, and loss. She sings that her voice sounded better at night when she sang the fado of mouraria, a neighborhood in Lisbon known for its fado heritage.
The woman is haunted by the "sopro de uma saudade," a gust of longing that kisses her hour by hour. She sends this feeling away to be more comfortable, to ease the tensions that come from loneliness and the ache of missing someone. When her lover returns to the minho region, where he's from, she notes that he doesn't even whistle. However, as he approaches, he begins whistling quietly, and she realizes that he too has been singing the fado of mouraria, the same fado that has been echoing in her head since she last saw him.
Thus, the song taps into the common human emotions of conflict, distance, and the healing power of music. Fado is a genre that carries a lot of emotional weight in Portugal and is often heard in taverns, cafes, and even on the streets. The song suggests how fado can bring comfort to those who are struggling with love and separation. The song also highlights the role of communication in overcoming conflicts and misunderstandings in relationships and bringing lovers back together.
Line by Line Meaning
Zanguei-me com o meu amor
I had a disagreement with my love
Não o vi em todo o dia
I didn't see him all day
A noite cantei melhor
At night I sang better
O fado da mouraria
The song of Mouraria (a neighborhood in Lisbon known for its music)
O sopro de uma saudade
The breath of nostalgia
Vinhar beijar-me hora a hora
Came to kiss me hour by hour
Para ficar mais à vontade
To feel more comfortable
Mandei a saudade embora
I sent nostalgia away
Quando regressou ao minho
When he returned to Minho (a region in Portugal)
Ele que nem assobia
He who doesn't even whistle
Vinha a assobiar baixinho
Came whistling softly
O fado da mouraria
The song of Mouraria
Contributed by Joseph D. Suggest a correction in the comments below.