When Cesária Évora recorded her first album, Tito Paris was there. He wrote a song for her ('Regresso'), conceived arrangements and played numerous instruments. This was a step, a memorable moment, but not the beginning. His history and involvement in music go back way before that-in fact, to the very day of his birth (30th May 1963) in Mindelo, the principal city on the island of São Vicente. When you're born into a family where everyone is somewhat musical, it's hard to escape music.
Not having any more resistance than the next guy, Tito Paris also succumbed. He had music in his heart as much as in his soul. If he strolls down memory lane, he remembers his escapades in bars, unbeknownst to his mother, taking advantage of his father's absences. Tito was always dragging around his guitar on which his sister had taught him a first chord.
He played with his brothers and cousin Bau, already quite skilful on the cavaquinho and who would also become famous later on. He profited from the advice, know-how and acquaintances of the clarinettist Luis Morais and the pianist Chico Serra. After the night clubs, cafés and cabarets of Mindelo, Tito Paris was going to be born a second time.
At the age of 19, he left for Lisbon, summoned by Bana, a great Cape Verdean singer who had settled there and who brought him to Portugal to play in his group, Voz de Cabo Verde. From that moment on, with his head full of dreams, Tito Paris began his great adventure. It began with a brief disappointment: he thought he was going to play bass, but was offered drums.
He was on the point of giving up and even going back to Cape Verde, when chance smiled on him. The bass player left, and Tito was able to take his place. Four years passed, and he decided it was time to leave Voz de Cabo Verde, with which he had grown up musically, thanks in particular to Paulinho Viera.
He became one of the most prominent names on the Cape Verde scene in Lisbon, as well as one of the most sought-after musicians, accompanying the finest, like Dany Silva, who encouraged him to take up the guitar definitively. He would also be seen collaborating with numerous Portuguese artists, including Rui Veloso.
In 1985, he produced his first album. This was solely instrumental record and focussed the spotlight on his talents as a guitarist. He formed his own group and, in 1994, recorded Dança mi criola, by which he made himself known throughout the Cape Verde community.
It also became, and has remained, up to the present day, his favourite song, the one everyone requests in concert. In Lisbon, he frequently performed in the cellar of the Enclave, his restaurant-club, or at B. Leza, another meeting place of the African community in the capital. This disc was followed by Graça de Tchega in 1996, then two live albums, including 27 de Julio 1990, which was released last year.
Between these various recordingshis travels took him from Oslo to New York and from Louisiana to Paris.
Guilhermina, the new album, prolongs the pleasure of the previous ones or, even better, magnifies it and gives it wings. Here, gorged with the blues, his voice asserts itself, present and instinctive, while the guitar displays an eloquence ever more fascinating. From inexpressible melancholy to coarse hip-swaying, with large traits of sadness and fruited scents.
All of that is to be found in Guilhermina, i.e., mornas tinged with saudade, that sorrowful serenity, that nostalgia that constantly imbues Cape Verdean music, but also coladeiras and funana, joyous propositions and temptations to dance. Tito Paris adapts these emblematic styles of Cape Verde in his own fashion.
Accompanied by his regular group, joined by numerous guests artists and a string quartet, he slows down or speeds up the rhythm, here introducing an Angolan rhythm, there another from northern Portugal, making a detour by Mozambique or evoking the samba of Brazil.
Although he is anxious to preserve the singularity, the Creole genius and the tradition of the music of Cape Verde, Tito Paris, an enthusiastic volunteer ambassador of the musical soul of his country, also knows how to open doors and windows and build bridges. He invents without ever forgetting where he comes from.
Era Um Sonho
Tito Paris Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Bô sorrise é um paisagem floride
Bô cara tá lembra′n bondade
Bô presença na mi ê tcheu
Mais vez n'oiob nha espirit t′inriquecê
N'tá senti um menine mimode
Mais vez n'oiob nha espirit t′inriquecê
Mais vez n'oiob nha espirit t′inriquecê
N'tá senti um menine mimode
Bôs olhos risonho tá imbala′n
Bô pele morena di criença
Cond mar tá esquebrá na areia
Ondas cristalinas tá faze'n sonhá
Bô jeite ê natural di criença
Na mi ê tcheu
Mais vez n′oiob nha espirit t'inriquecê
N'tá senti um menine mimode
Mais vez n′oiob nha espirit t′inriquecê
N'tá senti um menine mimode
Bôs olhos risonho tá imbala′n
Bô pele morena di criença
Era um sonho
The song "Era um Sonho" by TITO PARIS is a beautiful ode to a significant moment in the singer's life. The song starts with the lyrics "Cond sol tá dá na bô, Bô sorrise é um paisagem floride" which means "When the sun shines on you, your smile is a flowering landscape." The singer describes the beauty of the person he is addressing and how their presence enriches his spirit. He feels like a child again in their presence, indicating the innocence and purity of their relationship.
The singer goes on to describe the person's eyes and skin, which are imbued with so much beauty and naturalness. He says that when the sea breaks on the sand and the clear waves make him dream, he feels like he's in a dream. The singer repeats the phrase "Mais vez n′oiob nha espirit t'inriquecê, N'tá senti um menine mimode" which means "Once again, your presence enriches my spirit, and I feel like a child" several times throughout the song, emphasizing the profound impact this person has on him.
Overall, "Era um Sonho" is a beautiful and heartfelt song about the purity and beauty of a relationship. The singer's appreciation for the person he is addressing is clear, and the simple beauty of the lyrics perfectly captures the essence of this relationship.
Line by Line Meaning
Cond sol tá dá na bô
The shining sun reflects on you
Bô sorrise é um paisagem floride
Your smile is a blooming landscape
Bô cara tá lembra'n bondade
Your face reminds me of kindness
Bô presença na mi ê tcheu
Your presence in me is strong
Mais vez n'oiob nha espirit t'inriquecê
Once again, my spirit is enriched
N'tá senti um menine mimode
I feel like a little boy again
Bôs olhos risonho tá imbala'n
Your laughing eyes are soothing me
Bô pele morena di criença
Your brown skin of childhood
Cond mar tá esquebrá na areia
The sea breaks on the sand
Ondas cristalinas tá faze'n sonhá
Crystal-clear waves make me dream
Bô jeite ê natural di criença
Your way is natural and childlike
Era um sonho
It was a dream
Writer(s): Tito Paris
Contributed by Alexandra M. Suggest a correction in the comments below.