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
Na Mesma Rua
Joana Amendoeira Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Num punhado saberás
Tanta quanta água ao vento
Num minuto se desfaz
Dança de roda quebrada
Por mãos molhadas de choro
Pode mesmo não ser nada
Quanta estrada por pisar
Que anda daqui para ali
Não a posso atravessar
Por não estares ao pé de mim
Podes crer, eu vou guardar
O segredo de ser tua
Se algum dia me encontrar
Contigo, na mesma rua
The lyrics of Joana Amendoeira's song "Na Mesma Rua" convey a sense of nostalgia and longing for someone who is no longer physically present. The opening lines "Solta a areia, conta o tempo / Num punhado saberás / Tanta quanta água ao vento / Num minuto se desfaz" suggest the ephemeral nature of time and memory, as if the singer is grasping at fleeting memories of the person they miss. The line "Dança de roda quebrada / Por mãos molhadas de choro" evokes a sense of pain and sadness, as though the singer has been crying and remembering the lost connection with this person. The next line, "Pode mesmo não ser nada / Não saberes aonde eu moro" suggests that the singer may have lost touch with this person entirely, and that their memories and longing may be one-sided.
The final stanza of the song reveals the depth of the singer's feelings: "Quanta estrada por pisar / Que anda daqui para ali / Não a posso atravessar / Por não estares ao pé de mim / Podes crer, eu vou guardar / O segredo de ser tua / Se algum dia me encontrar / Contigo, na mesma rua." The singer reflects on the roads they have traveled and the distance between them and the person they miss. The line "Não a posso atravessar / Por não estares ao pé de mim" is particularly poignant, suggesting that the singer is unable to move forward without this person, even if they can't be physically present. The final lines reveal the singer's hope that they may one day encounter this person again, and that they will still hold the secret of their love for them.
Overall, "Na Mesma Rua" is a beautiful and bittersweet song that speaks to the universal experience of longing for someone who is no longer part of your life.
Line by Line Meaning
Solta a areia, conta o tempo
Let the sand run through your fingers, count the time
Num punhado saberás
In a handful you'll know
Tanta quanta água ao vento
As much as water in the wind
Num minuto se desfaz
It disappears in a minute
Dança de roda quebrada
Broken circle dance
Por mãos molhadas de choro
By hands wet with tears
Pode mesmo não ser nada
It may really be nothing
Não saberes aonde eu moro
You not knowing where I live
Quanta estrada por pisar
So many roads to walk
Que anda daqui para ali
Going from here to there
Não a posso atravessar
I cannot cross it
Por não estares ao pé de mim
Because you are not beside me
Podes crer, eu vou guardar
You can believe, I will keep
O segredo de ser tua
The secret of being yours
Se algum dia me encontrar
If someday I meet you
Contigo, na mesma rua
With you, on the same street
Contributed by Connor P. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
Diego Fernandes Gomes
Eu amo uma joaninha portuguesa.