Sodade

There's something amazing about not being able to understand lyrics but still being able to comprehend what a song means.

Cesaria Evora.

I have been listen a lot to Cesaria Evora lately (sparked by a conversation with someone over the weekend.) I was watching a Youtube video of her show at the Grand Rex in Paris back in April 2004. There was one song in particular that really got me. It is called “Sodade” which I learned translates to “longing” or something approximate. I don’t know a word of Portuguese but I’ve listened this song over and over again. There’s something amazing about not being able to understand lyrics but still being able to comprehend what a song means. I really can’t say if this has anything to do with my upcoming trip to Liberia and thinking about the emotions I might confront by being so close to the suffering there, but the song always leaves me with an immense feeling of sadness.

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