In 1976, Fafá released her first LP, Tamba-Tajá. Her singing seduced even the demolishing critic of Brazilian music from Jornal do Brasil, the feared José Ramos Tinhorão, who poured over her praises, pointing her out as a singer destined to figure in the first team of the current generation of great Brazilian interpreters. The following album, Água (1977) confirmed all predictions: it reached about 100 thousand copies sold.
Although she never thought of becoming a professional singer, since she was 9 years old, Fafá de Belém was an attraction at parties promoted by her family or at friends' houses. In spite of being a little girl, she interpreted as a grown-up "Ouça", a hit by Maysa, or "Eu e a Brisa", by Johnny Half. She was a girl who, like her generation, loved the Beatles, was a fan of Roberto Carlos and the Jovem Guarda group, but was also fascinated by jazz, classical music, and got emotional listening to the great radio singers, like Cauby Peixoto, Angela Maria, Núbia Lafayette and Orlando Silva, "People with a dagger in their chests", who she likes to use as models to interpret.
"Today I see myself as a singer of the great loves, of the losses and reunions. If the music doesn't give me goose bumps, I won't record it. If I am not a character in the lyrics, I cannot interpret. I am a dramatist, a passionate person.", she usually affirms, between pleasant laughs, but from the bottom of her heart, the great interpreter of Nuvem de Lágrimas, the first country song to be played on FM's in Rio de Janeiro.
The wide range of her musical background is reflected in the selection of her repertoire. She recorded everything, without prejudice. Regional music, popular song pearls, such as "Que Queres Tu de Mim", by Evaldo Gouveia and Jair Amorim, or "Você Vai Gostar (Casinha Branca)" by Elpídio dos Santos. Rock, boleros, Caribbean rhythms, guarânias, afoxé, lambadas, sambas-canções, compositions by the great names of MPB, marcha-rancho, sertanejo, and many other rhythms. Not to mention the polemic presentation that the Muse of "Diretas Já" (a past popular political movement that had as its objective the resumption of direct elections for the office of President of the Republic in Brazil, during the Brazilian military dictatorship) gave to the National Anthem, contested by the courts and applauded by the audience.
It was from her decision to turn the tables and let her heart speak louder that Fafá touched deep into the Brazilian soul. With the determination that characterizes her, the years on the road, a strong intuition and the absolute success of songs handpicked by the singer herself at certain moments in her life, like "Bilhete", by Ivan Lins and Victor Martins, that made her break the silence of a year in 1982. Or "Memórias", by Leonardo, popular composer from Pernambuco, responsible for the sale of half a million copies (Platinum Disc) of the album Atrevida (1986), Fafá reached, then, the peak of her career, especially as a romantic singer.
An amazing trajectory, but nothing that surprises those who know her well and her apparent contradictions. It was not for nothing that she interpreted, with such emotion and propriety, the verses of one of the biggest hits of her career, "Dentro de Mim Mora Um Anjo", by Suely Costa and Cacaso: "Who sees me singing like this, doesn't know anything about me...". This is one of the greatest truths about Fafá de Belém, who knows exactly what she wants and what she is capable of.
"I have always done my own thing, lived my own life, fought hard and punched a lot on a knife's blade to get to where I am. It is the people who teach the artist what he has to sing, and not the artist who has to teach the people what they have to listen to.", often repeats Fafá.
Fafá became a national brand. A national brand of joy, with that sincerely loud laugh that can lift the spirits of anyone. A national trademark of health, the beautiful Brazilian woman who even baptized the lanterns of the old VW Beetle, another popular passion. A national symbol of freedom, the symbol of a political movement that moved millions of Brazilians with her interpretation of the national anthem.
This is Fafá de Belém. Or even better: Fafá do Mundo (Fafá of the World).
Emoriô
Fafá de Belém Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Ê-emoriô
Emoripaô
Ê-emoriô
Ê-emoriô
Emoripaô
Ê-emoriô
Emoripaô
Ê-emoriô
Ê-emoriô
Emoriô deve ser
Uma palavra nagô
Uma palavra de amor
Um paladar
Emoriô deve ser
Alguma coisa de lá
O Sol, a Lua, o céu
Pra Oxalá
Emoripaô
Ê-emoriô
Ê-emoriô
Emoripaô
Ê-emoriô
Ê-emoriô
Emoripaô
Ê-emoriô
Ê-emoriô
Emoripaô
Ê-emoriô
Ê-emoriô
Emoriô deve ser
Uma palavra nagô
Uma palavra de amor
Um paladar
Emoriô deve ser
Alguma coisa de lá
O Sol, a Lua, o céu
Pra Oxalá
Emoripaô
Ê-emoriô
Ê-emoriô
Emoripaô
Ê-emoriô
Ê-emoriô
Emoripaô
Ê-emoriô
Ê-emoriô
Emoripaô
Ê-emoriô . . .
The lyrics to Fafá de Belém's song Emoriô are quite simple and repetitive, but they convey a message of mystery and intrigue. The repeated phrase "Ê-emoriô" serves as a sort of chant, perhaps invoking some kind of spiritual presence or energy. The following lines suggest that "Emoriô" is a word from the Nagô language, which is spoken in West Africa and is a precursor to the Yoruba language. The word is described as having multiple meanings, including "a word of love" and "a flavor." The lyrics also suggest that "Emoriô" is perhaps something that belongs to or comes from "there," meaning Africa, and may be associated with the sun, moon, and sky.
The repetition of "Emoripaô" at the end of each verse adds to the mystical and rhythmic quality of the song, and may indicate that the singer is trying to tap into some kind of spiritual energy or connection. Overall, the lyrics to Emoriô are open to interpretation and leave much to the imagination, but one can sense the reverence and awe that the singer has for this word and the culture it represents.
Line by Line Meaning
Ê-emoriô
Repetitive chant or expression without specific meaning, possibly derived from Nagô culture.
Emoripaô
Repetitive chant or expression without specific meaning, possibly derived from Nagô culture.
Emoriô deve ser / Uma palavra nagô / Uma palavra de amor / Um paladar
Emoriô is probably a Nagô word that signifies love and a distinctive taste.
Emoriô deve ser / Alguma coisa de lá / O Sol, a Lua, o céu / Pra Oxalá
Emoriô may represent something from the Nagô culture, such as the Sun, the Moon, or the heavens, revered by Oxalá.
Contributed by Alex S. Suggest a correction in the comments below.