Today her value is recognized, not only in Portugal but also in many foreign countries, where her presence is regularly requested.
Mafalda Arnauth, her first album released in 1999, was immediately acclaimed by specialists and won the Prize for Best Upcoming Voice by the weekly magazine Blitz, a sign that new generations are back into fado.
After a year filled with concerts and important invitations, that took her to the most important concert halls in The Netherlands, the Louisiana Centre (Denmark) and to Italy, to perform in the festival Sete-Sois, Sete-Luas, an important Mediterranean folk event, she sang at Centro Cultural de Belém (Lisbon), where she was warmly acclaimed by the press.
Mafalda's second album, Esta voz que me atravessa (This voice that goes through me) was reelased in 2001 and it was produced by Amélia Muge and José Martins. Her album Encantamento was self-produced. She feels it "leaves fatality, disgrace, and nostalgia behind. Hope is fed on sadness; inspiration on suffering; strength and courage on diffculties."
Este Silêncio Que Me Corta
Mafalda Arnauth Lyrics
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Da lágrima sincera que me embarga
É sal de que alimento os meus amores
E rio que afoga a pena mais amarga.
Num mar que é de revolta e de calmia
Navega assim a vida em todos nós
Porquê fugir à dor e à nostalgia
Não quero este silêncio que me corta
Que enfrento de sentidos acordados
Não quero a indiferença, a alma morta
Às quais assim andamos condenados.
Não quero ser o drama insatisfeito
De quem não esteve ali p´ra não sofrer
Morrer por algo, ainda que imperfeito
É tudo quanto basta ao meu viver.
Não tenho ainda o medo de acordar
Mas sinto já a pressa dos mortais
Que sonham ser eternos ao amar
E temem não ter tempo de dar mais.
The lyrics of Mafalda Arnauth's song Este Silêncio Que Me Corta convey a message of embracing the emotions that come with love, pain, and nostalgia. The singer of the song unapologetically admits that tears are a natural part of her love and that they serve as both nourishment and a release from the bitterest grief. The lyrics compare life to a sea - sometimes calm, sometimes stormy - but in all its variations, it is a journey that we all take. The singer challenges the idea of escaping pain and nostalgia, suggesting that they are the waves that drive us forward and allow us to discover our voices.
The singer of the song refuses to be silenced and disconnected from her emotions. She rejects indifference and the feeling of a dead soul that seems to weigh us down. The singer wants to avoid being the unsatisfied drama of those who refuse to take risks and suffer because of it. Instead, she is willing to risk everything, even if it is not perfect, because dying for something is everything she needs to live. Finally, the song acknowledges that time is fleeting, and the fear of not having enough time to give to those we love drives us all to embrace the emotions that the song celebrates.
In conclusion, Este Silêncio Que Me Corta is a passionate and emotive hymn to embrace love, pain, and nostalgia. It is a call to live fully, with the full spectrum of emotions that life has to offer, to resist being silenced or numbed by fear, and to take risks, even if it is imperfect. The final message of the song is that life is short; we must embrace it and give as much as we can to those we love.
Line by Line Meaning
Não tenho nem vergonha nem pudores
I have no shame or shyness
Da lágrima sincera que me embarga
From the sincere tears that overwhelm me
É sal de que alimento os meus amores
It's the salt with which I nourish my loves
E rio que afoga a pena mais amarga.
And a river that drowns the bitterest sorrow.
Num mar que é de revolta e de calmia
In a sea that is both turbulent and calm
Navega assim a vida em todos nós
Life navigates in all of us like this
Porquê fugir à dor e à nostalgia
Why run away from pain and nostalgia
São ondas descobrindo a nossa voz.
They are waves discovering our voice.
Não quero este silêncio que me corta
I don't want this silence that cuts me off
Que enfrento de sentidos acordados
That I face with awakened senses
Não quero a indiferença, a alma morta
I don't want indifference, a dead soul
Às quais assim andamos condenados.
To which we are condemned to walk like this.
Não quero ser o drama insatisfeito
I don't want to be the dissatisfied drama
De quem não esteve ali p´ra não sofrer
Of someone who wasn't there to avoid suffering
Morrer por algo, ainda que imperfeito
To die for something, even if imperfect
É tudo quanto basta ao meu viver.
Is all that is enough for my life.
Não tenho ainda o medo de acordar
I still don't have the fear of waking up
Mas sinto já a pressa dos mortais
But I already feel the haste of mortals
Que sonham ser eternos ao amar
Who dream of being eternal by loving
E temem não ter tempo de dar mais.
And fear not having time to give more.
Contributed by Keira I. Suggest a correction in the comments below.