Jorge Palma's solo career started with the release of the single The Nine Billion Names of God with lyrics in the English language. After that he spent some time improving his writing skills in Portuguese with the famous poet José Carlos Ary dos Santos. His first LP, named Com Uma Viagem Na Palma da Mão was released in 1975.
Early life and career:
Palma learned to play piano at the same time he learned to read when he was six. When he was 8, he performed his first piano audition at the Portuguese National Conservatory.
In 1963, at 13, Palma finished second in a musical contest in Majorca, Spain. At the same time he continued his studies, first in the Camões high school and then in Abrantes. The next year, 1964, marked a turning point in Palma's musical style, after leaving his classical influences he started to play rock'n'roll and taught himself to play guitar.
In 1969 he joined the hard rock band Sindikato while he continued his studies at the Faculty of Sciences of the University of Lisbon. Joining the band gave him the opportunity to play in the 1st edition of the Vilar de Mouros Festival, in 1971. In that same year, aided by some friends, like Rão Kyao, João Maló, Rui Cardoso and Vítor Mamede he started to write lyrics and composing songs. He ended up recording, with Sindikato, releasing a single and an album of covers.
The solo Career
First albums
Jorge Palma's solo career started with the release of the single The Nine Billion Names of God with English lyrics. After that he spent some time improving his writing skills in Portuguese with the famous poet José Carlos Ary dos Santos. His first LP, named Com Uma Viagem na Palma da Mão was released in 1975.
In 1977, he released his second album, Té Já, album that made him play abroad, in Spain and Brazil. Palma spent the following years, 1978 and 1979, in France, mainly in Paris, where he performed in several bars, playing songs of some major names of the musical panorama, such as Bob Dylan, Leonard Cohen, Paul Simon, Crosby, Stills & Nash and others. After returning to Portugal, in 1979, Palma recorded and released his 3rd album, named Qualquer Coisa Pá Música, followed by live concerts alone or with the group O Bando.
In the early 1980s, he travelled to Paris, only returning in 1982 in order to finish the record of his 4th album, Acto Contínuo, the album that was first meant to be a live album, but due to some difficulties, was recorded in studio. In 1983, when Palma was about to restart his musical studies, which he would finish in 1986, his first son, Vicente Palma, was born. In the next year, Palma recorded his 5th album, Asas e Penas, where he included a song dedicated to Vicente, named Castor (Beaver). In that same year he performed in Portugal, France and Italy, sometimes playing in the streets.
In 1985, Palma released one of the most acclaimed albums of his career, named O Lado Errado da Noite, the album included the single Deixa-me Rir, which became a huge success. The album received several musical awards and many music critics called it "the right side of Jorge Palma" (the album name is translated from Portuguese as "the wrong side of the night"). After releasing the album, Palma went on a major tour of Portugal, including the islands of Azores and Madeira. In 1986 Palma finished his piano course and recorded the seventh album, Quarto Minguante, which was marked by the recording company's wanting him to change his style, which he refused.
Recent years
After releasing his eighth album, Bairro do Amor, in 1989, Palma started a long period without releasing an album of originals, but continued his piano studies, finishing the Superior Course of Piano in the Portuguese National Conservatory in the next year. This last album was considered by many critics and newspapers among the best Portuguese albums of the century. The album was recorded by Polygram, unlike the previous, as Palma had finished his contract with EMI after their refusal to release his latest album. In 1991, a compilation record titled Só was issued, which revisited old songs with only vocals and piano. After the release of this album, Palma formed the Palma's Gang, with members of the bands Xutos & Pontapés and Rádio Macau, which released a live album in 1993, titled Palma's Gang - Ao Vivo no Johnny Guitar. In that same year, Palma participated in an album of the punk band Censurados. The next two years, Palma performed in several stages from north to south Portugal, alone or with Palma's Gang, some of them broadcast by the RTP. Meanwhile, his second son, Francisco Palma, was born.
In 1996, Palma accepted an invitation to join a new project, named Rio Grande, a band that included other famous Portuguese musicians, Tim (Xutos & Pontapés), João Gil (Ala dos Namorados), Rui Veloso and Vitorino. The first album of the band was inspired in the Portuguese traditional music and became a major success in that year. In 1997, along with several concerts, Palma participated in several musical projects, such as Todo Este Céu with Né Ladeiras or Voz e guitarras, an acoustic album with several other artists. Also in 1997, the Rio Grande released their second album, a live album recorded in a major concert in Lisbon. In this album was present an un released song by Palma, Quem És Tu De Novo
In 1998, Palma performed in several major concerts, for university students in Lisbon and Oporto, and also in the World's Fair Expo '98 in Lisbon.
Discography
Originals
1975 - Com Uma Viagem Na Palma da Mão
1977 - 'Té Já
1979 - Qualquer Coisa Pá Música
1982 - Acto Contínuo
1984 - Asas e Penas
1985 - Lado Errado da Noite
1986 - Quarto Minguante
1989 - Bairro do Amor
2001 - Jorge Palma
2004 - Norte
Compilations
1991 - Só
1993 - Palma's Gang - Ao Vivo no Johnny Guitar
1996 - Deixa-me Rir
1998 - Jorge Palma: O Melhor dos Melhores
2000 - Dá-me Lume: O Melhor de Jorge Palma
2000 - Clássicos da Renascença: Jorge Palma
2002 - No Tempo dos Assassinos
2004 - Estrela do Mar
2004 - A Arte e a Música de Jorge Palma
Singles
1971 - The Nine Billion Names Of God
1973 - A Última Canção
1975 - Pecado Capital
1976 - Viagem
Albums with other artists
* 2001 - O Melhor de dois: Sérgio Godinho + Jorge Palma (with Sérgio Godinho)
Fatima
Jorge Palma Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Se é que não estou em erro
Habitávamos o mesmo prédio e eu achei-te apenas atraente
Nessa altura as coisas íam mal entre a minha mulher e eu
Foi ela quem te convidou
Ou então foi um amigo comum e isso agora é indiferente
Sei que pouco depois a viagem que eu tinha andado a adiar
Se concretizou
Quando voltei dois anos mais tarde encontrei-te nas prais do sul
Estavas resplandescente
Com a vida a dançar-te no olhar ao mesmo tempo trágico e gozão
Há momentos flagrantes
Em que o tempo é eterno
Há vestigisos do verão
Que o outono não pode apagar
Há encontros que ficam
Na nossa memória
Onde a luz é difusa
Onde a vida e a morte não se querem separar
Ainda tenho presente um jantar em que havia mais gente
Mas não recordo quem
Entre o cheiro da sardinha e a loucuro do vinho sobresaiste tu
Porque a certa altura houve um gesto teu, uma frase ou uma canção
Provavelmente do alentejo
Foi isso mesmo, cantaste e o mundo ficou nu
E eu fiquei a saber de oude vens, tu saiste da cepa
Que a carne e o sangue veneram
Havias de achar muita graça se me ouvisses falar assim
Nós não descobrimos nada, dir-me-ias tu, está tudo descoberto
Até a rota do cabo
Vamos antes brincar ao gato e ao rato até ao fim
Há momentos flagrantes...
The lyrics to Jorge Palma's song "Fátima" describe a series of encounters with a woman named Fátima. The first encounter was in their apartment building, where Fátima came down in the elevator from the floor above. At the time, the singer was having problems with his wife and found Fátima attractive, but they didn't get to know each other well. Two years later, the singer ran into Fátima on a beach in the south, where she was radiant and full of life. The lyrics reflect on the fleeting, poignant encounters we have in life, where time seems to stand still and the beauty of the moment is indelibly etched into our memory.
The lyrics also touch on themes of escapism and the search for something more in life. The singer's encounter with Fátima represents a moment of liberation from the mundanity of daily life. He reflects on the idea that there are moments in life where time ceases to exist, and the boundaries between life and death become blurred. Fátima represents a vessel for this escape, a way to tap into a more profound sense of being.
Overall, the lyrics of "Fátima" are evocative of the fleeting encounters we have in life and the need to live fully in the present moment. The song's use of vivid imagery and sensory details creates a feeling of nostalgia and longing for experiences that are both bittersweet and transformative.
Line by Line Meaning
Tu vieste pelo elevador, vinhas do andar de cima
You came by elevator, from the floor above.
Se é que não estou em erro
If I'm not mistaken.
Habitávamos o mesmo prédio e eu achei-te apenas atraente
We lived in the same building, and I found you only attractive.
Nessa altura as coisas íam mal entre a minha mulher e eu
At that time, things were not going well between my wife and me.
Foi ela quem te convidou
It was she who invited you.
Ou então foi um amigo comum e isso agora é indiferente
Or maybe it was a mutual friend, but that doesn't matter now.
Sei que pouco depois a viagem que eu tinha andado a adiar se concretizou
I know that shortly thereafter, the trip I had been postponing finally happened.
Não chegamos a conher-nos bem, pelo menos nessa ocasião
We didn't really get to know each other well, at least not at that time.
Quando voltei dois anos mais tarde encontrei-te nas prais do sul
When I returned two years later, I found you on the southern beaches.
Estavas resplandescente
You were radiant.
Com a vida a dançar-te no olhar ao mesmo tempo trágico e gozão
With life dancing in your eyes, at the same time tragic and playful.
Há momentos flagrantes
There are striking moments.
Em que o tempo é eterno
When time is eternal.
Há vestigisos do verão
There are traces of summer.
Que o outono não pode apagar
That autumn cannot erase.
Há encontros que ficam
There are meetings that remain.
Na nossa memória
In our memory.
Onde a luz é difusa
Where the light is diffuse.
Onde a vida e a morte não se querem separar
Where life and death do not want to separate.
Ainda tenho presente um jantar em que havia mais gente
I still remember a dinner where there were more people.
Mas não recordo quem
But I don't remember who.
Entre o cheiro da sardinha e a loucurdo do vinho sobresaiste tu
Among the smell of sardines and the madness of wine, you stand out.
Porque a certa altura houve um gesto teu, uma frase ou uma canção
Because at one point, there was a gesture from you, a phrase or a song.
Provavelmente do alentejo
Probably from Alentejo.
Foi isso mesmo, cantaste e o mundo ficou nu
That's right, you sang, and the world became naked.
E eu fiquei a saber de onde vens, tu saiste da cepa
And I came to know where you come from; you came out of the vine.
Que a carne e o sangue veneram
That flesh and blood worship.
Havias de achar muita graça se me ouvisses falar assim
You would find it amusing if you heard me speak like this.
Nós não descobrimos nada, dir-me-ias tu, está tudo descoberto
We haven't discovered anything, you would say to me, everything is already discovered.
Até a rota do cabo
Even the route of the Cape.
Vamos antes brincar ao gato e ao rato até ao fim
Let's play cat and mouse until the end instead.
Contributed by Brayden H. Suggest a correction in the comments below.