Fado is the most worldwide known Portuguese musical genre It is a music characterized by melodies and lyrics that are generally very sad but of great beauty. The feelings they transmit are of a melancholy that can sometimes border on fatality, although sometimes it is only resignation and even a certain joy in sadness.
The themes generally talk about the lives of simple people and their love problems. In this way, they are inspired by urban stories of the working class, although in the best Portuguese fado songs there are also stories inspired by maritime life.
Top 7 Portuguese Fado Songs
This particular musical genre has somewhat unknown roots, but there is evidence that it was already sung in Lisbon in the 1820s. Its origins are probably earlier, but since then the genre has flourished enormously in the Lusitanian country, which has turned this genre into its own brand.
Fado is a symbol of Portugal, to the point that it is a great tourist attraction. The fact that in 2011 it was declared Intangible Cultural Heritage by UNESCO has only increased its fame.
one. A Portuguese House - Amália Rodrigues
Amália Rodrigues (1920-1999) is considered the greatest historical exponent of fado. We couldn't start the list without a magnificent song of his, since fado became popular with it and without its influence nothing would be the same today.
Uma casa portuguesa is one of the best-known songs in all of Portuguese music. It deals with melancholy in the memory of a humble home and the kindness of the Portuguese people.
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2. People Da Minha Terra - Mariza
Mariza is at the top of fado and is much loved in Portugal, and is possibly the Portuguese artist with the most international impact . With a Portuguese father and a Mozambican mother, she grew up in a Lisbon neighborhood surrounded by music. She started out singing many styles including gospel, soul and jazz, but her father encouraged her to sing fado and since then she has won many awards
Gente Da Minha Terra pays tribute to the Portuguese people with a lot of feeling (melancholic, of course). Mariza is a singer capable of transmitting great emotional intensity, as can be seen in her songs.She is an artist who evokes sensitivity and a full-fledged flagship of fado.
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3. Lisbon Menina e Moça - Carlos do Carmo
Lisboa Menina e Moça was a poem by José Carlos Ary dos Santos, Joaquim Pessoa and Fernando Tordo. Paulo de Carvalho put it to music and it became a very emblematic song of the city of Lisbon. It was also one of the most recognized songs in the career of Carlos do Carmo, who performed it with the most popularity
Carlos do Carmo is one of the fado singers who has obtained the most international repercussion. His mother was already a fado player, and his family ran a fado house. He is an ambassador of Portuguese music and culture thanks to his performances in many countries
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Next we will find this beautiful song performed by 35 artists in the same streets of the Portuguese capital.
4. Desfado - Ana Moura
Ana Moura is the fado singer who has sold the most records and is very popular inside and outside Portugal. She has achieved her success thanks in part to a personal and modern touch that she has given to fado, making it more accessible to the new generations.
Desfado is a very witty song on a lyrical level in which Ana Moura displays great poetic ingenuity. It transmits in it a series of sentimental paradoxes charged with melancholy.
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5. Song of the Sea - Dulce Pontes
Canção do Mar is a traditional Portuguese song. With lyrics by Frederico de Brito and music by Ferrer Trinidad, it was Amália Rodrigues who popularized it in 1955 in the film “Amantes do Tejo”. It was also sung by Tristão da Silva, but it was Dulce Pontes who brought it to maximum popularity.
Dulce Pontes is currently one of the best-known Portuguese artists worldwide, and was the greatest exponent of fado in the 90s. style nourishes fado with characteristics belonging to genres such as classical music or pop. Her vocal capacity is very versatile and dramatic, being capable of transmitting emotions out of the ordinary.
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6. No Chovesse - Cristina Branco
Cristina Brancobegan her interest in music through jazz. It was thanks to the fact that her grandfather taught her the work of Amália Rodrigues that she was introduced to fado to the point of studying the poems that fado was inspired by. The mixture of tradition and modernity is a hallmark of this artist.
Se não Chovesse is one of Cristina Branco's best-known songs. It deals with the feelings of a woman having her crush away from home. A repressed love and a feeling of great melancholy at not even knowing when she is going to return.
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7. My Love of Longe - Raquel Tavares
Raquel Tavaresshe started singing fado as a child and at the age of 12 she already won the youth award at the “Grande Noite do Fado” , an annual event dedicated to fado. In 2006 she won the revelation of the year award, and today she is already a consecrated singer who crosses borders.
InMeu Amor de Longethe protagonist transmits her happiness due to the fact that her lover sees her again. She expresses her happiness while walking through the streets of a town on the banks of the Tagus (probably Lisbon).
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