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."
Ora vai
Mafalda Arnauth Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Tropeça após um curto passo dado
Na estafa que nos dá esta vidinha
Que corre, sabe Deus para que lado.
E logo é ver quem vai mais apressado
Veloz, que o autocarro passa cheio
E sempre o fim do mês chega atrasado
O homem do quiosque dos jornais
Não fia nem noticias nem bons dias
Que o pouco que hoje leu já é demais
E há muito que não vai em lotarias.
O crime vai mudando de estatuto
Vagueia entre o temido e o banal
Enquanto não nos toca ele é só furto
Assim que nos ataca ele é fatal.
Lá p'ro meio do dia em vez da sesta
Almoça-se de pé e é se tanto
Tentando que o minuto que nos resta
Possa ainda esticar p´ra ir ao banco.
Não sei se é uma bênção ou ironia
Ouvir ao fim do dia alguém dizer
A frase apressada e fugidia:
"Então até amanha se Deus quiser"!
The lyrics of Mafalda Arnauth's "Ora Vai" paint a picture of the daily struggles of life. The song begins by describing how even the first step out of the house in the morning can lead to tripping due to the exhaustion from the day-to-day routine. Arnauth then depicts the rush of people who are running to catch their bus, only to find that when they finally reach their destinations, their pockets are half-empty. The song goes on to describe the man at the newspaper kiosk who is so consumed with the bad news that he has no time left for greetings, and even the hope of the lottery seems far-fetched. Arnauth then touches on the subject of crime, which continues to evolve from the feared to the mundane. The last verse of the song alludes to how people have to grab the scraps of time they have for lunch before rushing to the bank, and how we end our day with the hope that we'll make it through until the next.
Line by Line Meaning
Quem põe o pé na rua, manhãzinha
Whoever sets foot on the street, early in the morning
Tropeça após um curto passo dado
Trips after taking a short step
Na estafa que nos dá esta vidinha
In the fatigue that this life gives us
Que corre, sabe Deus para que lado.
That runs, God knows in which direction
E logo é ver quem vai mais apressado
And soon we see who is in a hurry
Veloz, que o autocarro passa cheio
Fast, as the bus passes full
E sempre o fim do mês chega atrasado
And the end of the month always comes late
Ao bolso que já está menos de meio.
To the pocket that is already less than half full
O homem do quiosque dos jornais
The man at the newsstand
Não fia nem noticias nem bons dias
Neither cares for news nor greets good morning
Que o pouco que hoje leu já é demais
Because the little he read today is already too much
E há muito que não vai em lotarias.
And it's been a long time since he has played the lottery
O crime vai mudando de estatuto
Crime is changing its status
Vagueia entre o temido e o banal
It wanders between the feared and the trivial
Enquanto não nos toca ele é só furto
As long as it doesn't touch us it's just theft
Assim que nos ataca ele é fatal.
But as soon as it strikes us it's fatal
Lá p'ro meio do dia em vez da sesta
In the middle of the day, instead of siesta
Almoça-se de pé e é se tanto
We have lunch standing, and just a little
Tentando que o minuto que nos resta
Trying to make the remaining minute
Possa ainda esticar p´ra ir ao banco.
Stretch enough to go to the bank
Não sei se é uma bênção ou ironia
I don't know if it's a blessing or irony
Ouvir ao fim do dia alguém dizer
To hear someone say at the end of the day
A frase apressada e fugidia:
The rushed and elusive phrase
"Então até amanha se Deus quiser"!
"See you tomorrow, God willing!"
Contributed by Kaylee G. Suggest a correction in the comments below.