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
Fado de um Amor que Ficou
Joana Amendoeira Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Quando te via chegar
Com a camisa engomada
Bem sei que procuravas o jeito
Que eu tenho de abrir o peito
Quando não querias mais nada
Trazias uma flor na lapela
Quando te ouvia chamar
Trazias a lua no teu sorriso
Trazias aquilo que era preciso
Para te deixar entrar
Quem sabe as juras que nós fizemos
A estrela que prometemos
Um ao outro noite fora
Quem sabe porque cegou essa estrela
Se não voltámos a vê-la
Quem sabe de nós agora
Eu guardo no fundo do coração
Que o amor é só perdão
E um sonho em duas metades
Eu guardo tudo o que deixaste em mim
Desde sempre até ao fim
E às vezes guardo saudades.
The lyrics of "Fado de um Amor que Ficou" by Joana Amendoeira speak of a love that has been left behind. The singer remembers the moments when her lover used to come to her. She knew he was looking for her and her openness to him. She also remembers the effort he used to put in to dress up and bring flowers to her, which she used to wait for eagerly. His smile used to light up her face and make her heart beat faster. They made promises to each other and vowed to stay together forever, but something went wrong, and they lost sight of their star, which they promised to each other that they would never lose.
The song speaks of the pain of lost love and the longing to hold on to the memories. The singer knows that love is all about forgiveness but also knows that it's tough to forget the love when it's all around her. She holds on to the love that she once shared, knowing that it's something that can never be taken away from her. The song is a perfect Fado, with a melody that goes straight to the heart, expressing the bittersweet emotions of love and loss. It is a tribute to an unforgettable love that left a mark on the singer's heart.
Line by Line Meaning
Bem sei que tinha os olhos no mar
I know my eyes were fixed on the sea
Quando te via chegar
Whenever I saw you coming
Com a camisa engomada
With your shirt all crisp and clean
Bem sei que procuravas o jeito
I know you were trying to find a way
Que eu tenho de abrir o peito
To get me to open up
Quando não querias mais nada
When you didn't want anything else
Trazias uma flor na lapela
You wore a flower on your lapel
E eu espreitava à janela
And I watched from the window
Quando te ouvia chamar
Whenever I heard you call
Trazias a lua no teu sorriso
You carried the moon in your smile
Trazias aquilo que era preciso
You brought what was needed
Para te deixar entrar
To let you in
Quem sabe as juras que nós fizemos
Who knows the promises we made
A estrela que prometemos
The star we promised
Um ao outro noite fora
To each other all through the night
Quem sabe porque cegou essa estrela
Who knows why that star faded away
Se não voltámos a vê-la
If we never saw it again
Quem sabe de nós agora
Who knows about us now
Eu guardo no fundo do coração
I keep deep in my heart
Que o amor é só perdão
That love is nothing but forgiveness
E um sonho em duas metades
And a dream split in two
Eu guardo tudo o que deixaste em mim
I keep everything you left behind in me
Desde sempre até ao fim
From the beginning until the end
E às vezes guardo saudades.
And sometimes I keep the longing.
Contributed by Addison J. Suggest a correction in the comments below.