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
Boa Nova
Joana Amendoeira Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Está, coitada, triste, prisioneira
Ansiosa da virada ao caminho
E trazer-nos um raminho de oliveira
E com ela a boa nova que nos traz
Uma trova, anunciar a paz
Voa pomba mansa traz a boa nova
Boa nova que traz em flor
A mais linda trova
De um divino amor!
No olhar das raparigas há cantigas
Que se escondem cheias de saudade
Trovas mil que muito em breve à luz da lua
Hão de vir trazer pra rua a suavidade
Essa nova melodia que nos traz
A alegria da canção da paz
The lyrics of Joana Amendoeira's song Boa Nova depict a scene where a gentle dove is kept captive and sad in a dovecote during a peaceful time. The bird is eager to turn back to the right path to bring us an olive branch, symbolizing a message of peace. The lyrics suggest that the dove carries a message of hope and love, announcing a new era of peace. The song invites the dove to fly and bring the "good news" of the joyous love song, which brings a melody of divine love that will soon fill the streets with sweetness.
The lyrics of this song are deeply rooted in symbolism and religious references. The dove has long been a symbol of purity, love, and peace in various religious traditions. In Christianity, the dove is associated with the Holy Spirit and is a symbol of the peace that comes after the flood of Noah. The olive branch, which the dove carries, is also a symbol of peace and victory in various traditions.
The song Boa Nova has several interpretations. It can be read as a commentary on the human condition, where we all strive for a path of peace and love. It can also be read as a political or social commentary, where the dove represents a hope for a peaceful society. The song ends by suggesting that the message of peace will soon be carried by the young and the innocent, represented by the girls' verses, bringing about a new era of peace.
Line by Line Meaning
No pombal a pomba mansa da bonança
In the dove-pen, the gentle dove of calmness
Está, coitada, triste, prisioneira
Is sadly, pitifully, trapped
Ansiosa da virada ao caminho
Anxiously awaiting a turn in fate
E trazer-nos um raminho de oliveira
And to bring us a branch of olive tree
E com ela a boa nova que nos traz
And with it the good news that it brings us
Uma trova, anunciar a paz
A ballad, announcing peace
Voa pomba mansa traz a boa nova
Fly gentle dove, bring the good news
A suave esperança do risonho amor
The gentle hope of happy love
Boa nova que traz em flor
Good news that brings in bloom
A mais linda trova
The most beautiful ballad
De um divino amor!
Of a divine love!
No olhar das raparigas há cantigas
In the eyes of the girls there are songs
Que se escondem cheias de saudade
That are hidden full of longing
Trovas mil que muito em breve à luz da lua
A thousand ballads that soon under the moonlight
Hão de vir trazer pra rua a suavidade
Will come to bring sweetness to the street
Essa nova melodia que nos traz
This new melody that brings us
A alegria da canção da paz
The joy of the song of peace
Contributed by Peyton W. Suggest a correction in the comments below.