Throughout her career, in which it is clearly traced and expressed a deep respect, understanding and humbleness before Fado, Mísia developed a new style: she stripped the Fado off the shawl of the "amalian" type, and adds to the traditional instruments (bass guitar, classical guitar and Portuguese guitar) the sensuality of the accordion and the violin, and borrows from the best Portuguese poets their finest verses. The piano was often used in fado before, and this she also uses.
Her 2003 album "Canto" may be considered her masterpiece. Mixing pieces of the best works of the Portuguese guitarist Carlos Paredes with poems of Vasco Graça Moura (and some of Sérgio Godinho and Pedro Tamen), Mísia has built a piece of music that she would describe as belonging to her "gallery of impossible things". Mísia is also known for covering other artists' songs in a very "fadoish" way. The classic "As time goes by", and some of the songs of Luis Eduardo Aute ("De Alguna Manera", for instance) are some of the examples.
Mísia is a polyglot. Despite singing mostly fado (which is sung in Portuguese), she sings some of her themes in Spanish, French, Catalan or even English. One of the examples is her last album "Drama Box", a collection of tangos, boleros and fados, sung in Portuguese and Spanish. In "Drama Box", Mísia depicts herself as a cabaret dancer living in the "Drama Box Hotel" with her musicians. It's a very personal album, simultaneously a tribute to her mother and a real description of her life: travelling through the world, taking fado everywhere.
In spite of being famous in Portugal, her music has from the beginning been greatly appreciated in foreign countries: France and Japan for example.
Discography
1991 — Mísia
1993 — Fado
1995 — Tanto menos, tanto mais
1998 — Garras dos Sentidos
1999 — Paixões Diagonais
2001 — Ritual
2003 — Canto (music by Carlos Paredes)
2005 — Drama Box
2009 — Ruas
E Se a Morte Me Despisse
Mísia Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Andam palavras na noite / Cansadas de me chamar / Trago os meus lábios salgados / E algas no paladar / Aberta a
Porta selada / Sou pensada já não penso / Se a musa fica calada / Como dizer o silêncio / Inúteis os meus anéis / Já
Os troquei por poemas / Se hão de perder~se os papéis / Voam com as minhas penas / Só sei que neste destino / Vou
Atrás do que não sei / E já me sinto cansada / Dos passos que nunca dei / Ficou entre nós o tempo / Que fica uma
Andorinha / Deu-nos essa primavera / Porque deu tudo o que tinha / Ficou a morte caida / Antes do tempo no chão / E
Uma estatua dividida / Pela linha do coração / Há dias em que sou monja / Há outros em que sou fêmea / E
Embruxada na fogueira / Do amor ponho mais lenha / Como se eu já existisse / Antes do sol e da lua / E se a morte
Quatro folhas / Tenho debaixo da língua / E nada de biografia / Senão a da lua nova / O que escreverem um dia / Os
Astros na minha cova
The lyrics to Mísia's song "E Se a Morte Me Despisse" are a reflection on the state of the singer's life, as well as a contemplation of death and the afterlife. The singer begins by acknowledging the presence of words that seem to be following her, as if she is being called out by an unknown force. She describes herself as having salty lips and a taste of algae in her mouth - perhaps a reference to the sea and the unknown depths that it represents.
The singer goes on to describe a sense of alienation from the world around her. She feels as though she is no longer thinking for herself, but is simply being thought about by some external musa, or muse. The singer laments that her jewelry has become useless to her and has been replaced by poetry. She contemplates the fleeting nature of life and how easily it can be lost.
Despite her feelings of isolation, the singer also expresses a sense of empowerment. She embraces her femininity and her ability to nurture her own passions, such as her love for writing. At the same time, she acknowledges her vulnerability and the fact that she may never truly know what lies in wait for her in the afterlife. The singer's words suggest a sense of resignation to the fact that life is both unpredictable and finite.
Line by Line Meaning
Andam palavras na noite
Words wander in the night
Cansadas de me chamar
Tired of calling me
Trago os meus lábios salgados
I bring my salty lips
E algas no paladar
And seaweed in my taste buds
Aberta a Porta selada
The sealed door is open
Sou pensada já não penso
I am thought, I no longer think
Se a musa fica calada
If the muse remains silent
Como dizer o silêncio
How to express silence
Inúteis os meus anéis
My rings are useless
Já Os troquei por poemas
I have already exchanged them for poems
Se hão de perder-se os papéis
If the papers are to be lost
Voam com as minhas penas
They fly with my feathers
Só sei que neste destino
All I know is that in this destiny
Vou Atrás do que não sei
I go after what I don't know
E já me sinto cansada
And already feel tired
Dos passos que nunca dei
Of the steps I never took
Ficou entre nós o tempo
Time remained between us
Que fica uma Andorinha
That leaves a swallow
Deu-nos essa primavera
That gave us that spring
Porque deu tudo o que tinha
Because it gave all it had
Ficou a morte caida
Death fell down
Antes do tempo no chão
Before its time on the ground
E Uma estatua dividida
And a divided statue
Pela linha do coração
By the line of the heart
Há dias em que sou monja
There are days when I am a nun
Há outros em que sou fêmea
There are others when I am female
E Embruxada na fogueira
And bewitched in the fire
Do amor ponho mais lenha
Of love, I put more wood
Como se eu já existisse
As if I already existed
Antes do sol e da lua
Before the sun and moon
E se a morte Me despisse
And if death stripped me
E eu não me sentisse nua
And I didn't feel naked
Quando me derem por morta
When they declare me dead
Lágrimas nem uma pinga
Not a single tear shed
Um trevo de Quatro folhas
A four-leaf clover
Tenho debaixo da língua
I have under my tongue
E nada de biografia
And no biography
Senão a da lua nova
Except for that of the new moon
O que escreverem um dia
Whatever they write one day
Os Astros na minha Cova
The stars on my grave
Contributed by Xavier O. Suggest a correction in the comments below.