Ó gente da minha terra : reason for the Grammy 2

Oh People of my Land

Lyrics by Amália Rodrigues

É meu e vosso este fado (This Fado is both yours and mine)
destino que nos amarra (The destiny that unites us)
por mais que seja negado (No matter how much it is denied)
às cordas de uma guitarra (By the strings of a guitar)

Sempre que se ouve um gemido (Whenever one hears a lament)
duma guitarra a cantar (Of a guitar's song)
fica-se logo perdido (One is instantly lost)
com vontade de chorar (With a longing to weep) [believe it or not it happens exactly this to me! and to all the portuguese that really have the fado soul]

Ó genta da minha terra (Oh people of my land)
agora é que eu percebi (It is now that I have perceived)
esta tristeza que trago (This sadness which I carry)
foi de vós que a recebi (Was from you that I received)

E pareceria ternura (It would seem a kindness)
se eu me deixasse embalar (If I left myself be soothed)
era maior a amargura (The greater the anguish)
menos triste o meu cantar (The less sorrowful my song)

Ó genta da minha terra (Oh people of my land)


Ó genta da minha terra (Oh people of my land)
agora é que eu percebi (It is now that I have perceived)
esta tristeza que trago (This sadness which I carry)
foi de vós que a recebi (Was from you that I received)

This beautiful Fado is a tribute to the portuguese people. It was written by the great Amalia and it is a deep insight of the portuguese soul. You can translate "this sadness which I carry" as a feeling of nostalgia, of saudade that actually makes us long to weep when we hear the guitar and the first lines of this poem; we really know what it means and believe me, it means a lot. And pay attention to the guitar...she says it all about the song!!

And of course, the warm reaction of the Portuguese audience to the interpretation of Mariza... First everybody remains quiet and in silence (in Portugal we say "silence! fado is about to be sang" which shows respect) and then, the emotion grows up in such a way that Mariza starts crying and even turns the back to audience like she couldn´t stand the emotion...and finally everybody applauds loudly for a long time! What an unforgettable moment... I always get the goose bumps and feel very privileged to have such a powerful singer to sing for me, to my heart, to our hearts! She sings about us and she does it astonishingly...

Magnificent!

The Grammy is not enough :P

And here is another video with Mariza´s fado and some pictures I found interesting; It is kind of an "illustration" of the song itself. Hope you like it!