Mariza Nunes (born December 16, 1973 in Mozambique) is a fado singer and so… Read Full Bio ↴Mariza Nunes (born December 16, 1973 in Mozambique) is a fado singer and songwriter on the World Connection label. She moved to Portugal when she was three, and was raised in one of the most traditional quarters of Lisbon, Mouraria, where she learned how to sing fado. She has a Portuguese father but her mother is from Mozambique (the song Transparente is a tribute to her African grandmother).

For the Olympic Games of Athens 2004 she collaborated with Sting for the duet "A Thousand Years", released on the official pop album of the Athens Olympics Unity, where fado is sung in both English and Portuguese.

Mariza is considered by many as a more contemporary follower of Amalia Rodrigues, and has covered a number of her songs.

In 2003 she became the "Winner in the Europe category" of the BBC Radio 3 Awards for World Music.

Discography:

Fado em Mim (2002)
Fado Curvo (2003)
Live in London (2005) DVD
Transparente (2005)
Concerto em Lisboa (2006) DVD and CD
Terra (2008)
Fado Tradicional (2010).

http://www.myspace.com/fadomariza
http://www.marizafriends.blogspot.com/

Recusa
Mariza Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

Se ser fadista, é ser lua
É perder o sol de vista
Se ser fadista, é ser lua
É perder o sol de vista

Ser estátua que se insinua
Então, eu não sou fadista
Ser estátua que se insinua

Então, eu não sou fadista

Se ser fadista é ser triste
É ser lágrima prevista
Se ser fadista é ser triste
É ser lágrima prevista

Se por mágoa o fado existe
Então, eu não sou fadista
Se por mágoa o fado existe
Então, eu não sou fadista

Se ser fadista é no fundo
Uma palavra trocista
Se ser fadista é no fundo
Uma palavra trocista

Roçando as bocas do mundo
Então eu não sou fadista
Roçando as bocas do mundo
Então eu não sou fadista

Mas se é partir à conquista
De tanto verso ignorado
Mas se é partir à conquista
De tanto verso ignorado

Então eu não sou fadista
Eu sou mesmo o próprio fado

Então eu não sou fadista
Eu sou mesmo o próprio fado

Overall Meaning

In "Recusa," Mariza explores the theme of what it means to be a fado singer. She offers a few possibilities to this question in the form of a series of conditional statements. The refrain, "Se ser fadista, é ser lua/É perder o sol de vista" ("If being a fado singer means being a moon/Losing the sight of the sun"), sets up the idea that being a fado singer implies being melancholic, sentimental, and distancing oneself from the joys of life.

The following stanza, "Ser estátua que se insinua/Então, eu não sou fadista" ("To be a statuesque figure that insinuates/Well, then, I am not a fado singer"), suggests that being a fado singer is not just about the voice but also extends to the performer's posture, demeanor, and stage presence.

Mariza then moves on to counter the notion that fado is all about sadness and tears when she sings, "Se ser fadista é ser triste/É ser lágrima prevista" ("If being a fado singer means being sad/It's predictable tears"). She emphasizes that fado can also be about joy and celebration - "Mas se é partir à conquista/De tanto verso ignorado/Então eu não sou fadista/Eu sou mesmo o próprio fado" ("But if it means setting out to conquer/So many ignored verses/Then I am not just a fado singer/I am fado itself").

Mariza's interpretation of the song seems to suggest that the essence of fado lies not in a set of predetermined traits but in the passion and emotion that the singer brings to their performance. By singing "Eu sou mesmo o próprio fado," Mariza suggests that the spirit of fado lives within her, regardless of whether she fulfills others' expectations of what a fado singer should be.

Line by Line Meaning

Se ser fadista, é ser lua
Being a fado singer means being like the moon

É perder o sol de vista
Which means losing sight of the sun

Ser estátua que se insinua
Being a statue that insinuates

Então, eu não sou fadista
But that's not me

Se ser fadista é ser triste
If being a fado singer means being sad

É ser lágrima prevista
And shedding expected tears

Se por mágoa o fado existe
If fado exists because of pain

Então, eu não sou fadista
Then I'm not a fado singer

Se ser fadista é no fundo
If at its core, fado is nothing more than

Uma palavra trocista
A mocking word

Roçando as bocas do mundo
Brushing against the lips of the world