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
Sem Querer
Joana Amendoeira Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Fiz do mar a tempestade
Fiz das ondas a saudade
E da noite a solidão
Sem querer
Fiz do teu olhar um sonho
Neste fado que componho
Dedicado ao coração
Desbravei a madrugada
Rasguei caminhos de nada
Esqueci-me da vida inteira
Por querer
Fiz dum poema o meu grito
Desvendei o infinito
Mas sempre à minha maneira
Sem saber
Percorri todos os mares
Acreditei nos olhares
Que a noite guarda lá fora
Sem saber
Abandonei a tristeza
Sem perceber que a beleza
Da alegria também chora
The lyrics of the song "Sem Querer" by Joana Amendoeira speak of the unintentional effects of one's own actions. The first verse talks about how the singer turned the calm sea into a storm and made the waves a source of longing, leading to loneliness at night. The second verse speaks of how the singer made the person they are addressing a dream in their eyes and composed a fado dedicated to their heart. The third verse talks about how, by wanting things too much, the singer lost themselves in the night and forgot about their life. But in their desire to achieve their goals, they explored the dawn until they found a way, unlocking the mysteries of the infinite. And the final verse speaks of the singer's journey through life, how they believed in what was outside of themselves and how they left sadness behind without realizing the happiness and beauty of life could co-exist.
Overall, the song is a reflection on one's life and how things can happen accidentally, through wanting too much, or without knowing or fully understanding the consequences of one's actions. The singer seems to have had to learn things the hard way and is reflecting on what they have gone through. It is a profound and introspective song that leaves a lot for the listener to ponder.
Line by Line Meaning
Sem querer
Unintentionally
Fiz do mar a tempestade
I turned the sea into a storm
Fiz das ondas a saudade
I turned the waves into missing
E da noite a solidão
And the night into loneliness
Sem querer
Unintentionally
Fiz do teu olhar um sonho
I turned your gaze into a dream
Neste fado que componho
In this fado that I compose
Dedicado ao coração
Dedicated to the heart
Por querer
By wanting
Desbravei a madrugada
I braved the dawn
Rasguei caminhos de nada
I tore paths of nothingness
Esqueci-me da vida inteira
I forgot about my entire life
Por querer
By wanting
Fiz dum poema o meu grito
I turned a poem into my cry
Desvendei o infinito
I unveiled infinity
Mas sempre à minha maneira
But always in my own way
Sem saber
Unknowingly
Percorri todos os mares
I traveled all the seas
Acreditei nos olhares
I believed in gazes
Que a noite guarda lá fora
That the night guards outside
Sem saber
Unknowingly
Abandonei a tristeza
I abandoned the sadness
Sem perceber que a beleza
Without realizing that beauty
Da alegria também chora
Also cries with joy
Contributed by Kaitlyn W. Suggest a correction in the comments below.