Amendoeira was born in Santarém, Portugal in 1982, making her the youngest singer from Portugal performing fado around the world today. Her singing style is classic and traditional, yet her unique vocals bring a bright, new glow to fado.
In 1994, a young Amendoeira participated in the Lisbon Grand Fado Gala, where she received enthusiastic praise from the jury and the audience. In the following year, she won the “Female Interpreter Award” at the Oporto Gala. From that date on, she has been performing non-stop around Portugal and the world. Some of her favourite experiences include travelling to Budapest to perform in front of a remote Portuguese community, performing with fado legend Carlos do Carmo at the Radio Alpha Auditorium in Paris, and her first time in the Americas as a headliner at the Commemorations of the 500th Anniversary of the Discovery of Brazil.
Four years later her first album was released: 1998’s Olhos Garotos (Playful Eyes), thereby giving her the honour of being the youngest fado singer with a published CD. Her second CD followed shortly thereafter in 2000, when Aquela Rua (That Street) was released to outstanding reviews. This was also the year that Amendoeira began singing regularly at Clube de Fado (The Fado Club), one of most renowned fado houses in Lisbon.
Her growing international acclaim brought the fadista to more corners of the world, receiving invitations to sing in Japan, Moscow and Holland (at the prestigious Muziekcentrum Vredenburg). Meanwhile, back in her homeland of Portugal, Amendoeira was asked to take part in some of the top fado anthologies, such as Novas Vozes, Novos Fados (New Voices, New Fados) and Nova Biografia do Fado (Fado’s New Biography). She also contributed to the Moniz Pereira homage album, as well as the soundtrack to the TV series Jóia de África (African Jewel).
In 2003, her third CD, the self-titled Joana Amendoeira, received enthusiastic praise from fado devotees, reviewers and audiences alike. The album’s promotional tour sent Amendoeira once again through Europe, this time performing in Spain, France and Austria, to name a few. The tour also brought her to Canada for the first time, where she performed at Montreal’s Strictly Mundial.
Amendoeira achieved further success when she received the 2004 Revelation Award from Casa da Imprensa (The Portuguese Press Association). That same year she presented her first solo show at one of Lisbon’s oldest and most illustrious stages—The São Luiz Theatre. This performance would later be turned into her first live album, Ao Vivo Em Lisboa (Live in Lisbon), released in July 2005.
The complete biography and more info about this singer can be found on www.joanaamendoeira.com
Acordo Agora
Joana Amendoeira Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Almas que acendem todo o céu da nossa infãncia
Na claridade francamente embevecida
Veio a saudade dessa esperança desmedida
Acordo agora entre o sonho revelado
Nós os dois p’la vida fora a cumprir o nosso fado
Sinto contigo o amor que eu quero aprender
Larguei o medo, mais depressa o desespero
Do meu segredo a teimar que não te quero
Hoje caminho sem certeza ou ansiedade
Porque adivinho no amor, a eternidade
The lyrics of Joana Amendoeira's song "Acordo Agora" refer to memories and hope. The first stanza talks about eyes gazing out towards the sea, reminiscing about the past. The reference to "almas" or souls that light up the sky of their childhood suggests a feeling of nostalgia and longing for simpler times. The use of the word "francamente" (frankly) implies that the memories are clear and vivid. The stanza ends with the arrival of saudade, a feeling of deep longing for something or someone that is gone or out of reach.
In the second stanza, the lyrics shift to the present moment, where the singer wakes up from a dream and acknowledges the reality of living their fado (destiny) together with someone else. They express a desire to learn love with this person, and admit that it's an old longing that they cannot forget without them. The middle part of the stanza is a confession of letting go of fear and despair, as they accept their feelings for the other person. The last sentence hints at a newfound sense of calm and stability, as the singer walks towards the future without certainty, but with the belief that love holds eternity within it.
Overall, "Acordo Agora" is a song that explores the beauty and the pain of memories and hope, and how they intersect in the present moment. The lyrics capture the deeply emotional nature of the Portuguese saudade, and the longing for connection and meaning that it embodies.
Line by Line Meaning
Olhos que prendem sobre o mar, uma lembrança
Eyes fixed on the sea, a memory
Almas que acendem todo o céu da nossa infância
Soul that illuminates the entire sky of our childhood
Na claridade francamente embevecida
In the clear and openly delighted light
Veio a saudade dessa esperança desmedida
The nostalgia for this boundless hope came
Acordo agora entre o sonho revelado
I wake up now to the revealed dream
Nós os dois p’la vida fora a cumprir o nosso fado
The two of us fulfilling our destiny throughout life
Sinto contigo o amor que eu quero aprender
I feel with you the love that I want to learn
Num desejo tão antigo que sem ti posso esquecer
In such an old desire that I can forget without you
Larguei o medo, mais depressa o desespero
I let go of the fear, faster than desperation
Do meu segredo a teimar que não te quero
Of my secret that insists on not wanting you
Hoje caminho sem certeza ou ansiedade
Today I walk without certainty or anxiety
Porque adivinho no amor, a eternidade
Because I sense in love, eternity
Contributed by Madison S. Suggest a correction in the comments below.