Fado Português Lyrics in English by Amália Rodrigues

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Below, I translated the lyrics of the song Fado Português by Amália Rodrigues from Portuguese to English.

O Fado nasceu um dia

Fado was born one day

Quando o vento mal bulia

When the wind barely stirred

E o céu o mar prolongava

And the sky stretched into the sea

Na amurada dum veleiro

On the rail of a sailing ship

No peito de um marinheiro

In a sailor's chest

Que estando triste cantava

Who, feeling sad, was singing

Que estando triste cantava

Who, feeling sad, was singing

Ai que lindeza tamanha

Ah, what immense beauty

Meu chão, meu monte, meu vale

My ground, my hill, my valley

De folhas flores frutas de oiro

Of leaves, flowers, golden fruit

Vê se vês terras de Espanha

See if you spot lands of Spain

Areias de Portugal

Sands of Portugal

Olhar ceguinho de choro

Eyes blind with crying

Na boca de um marinheiro

From a sailor's mouth

Do frágil barco veleiro

Of the fragile sailing boat

Morrendo a canção magoada

The wounded song dying

Diz o pungir dos desejos

Speaks the sting of desires

Do lábio a queimar de beijos

From lips burning with kisses

Que beija o ar e mais nada

That kiss the air and nothing else

Que beija o ar e mais nada

That kiss the air and nothing else

Mãe adeus, adeus Maria

Mother goodbye, goodbye Maria

Guarda bem no teu sentido

Keep well in your thoughts

Que aqui te faço uma jura

That here I make you a vow

Que ou te levo à sacristia

That either I'll take you to the sacristy

Ou foi Deus que foi servido

Or God decided it so

Dar-me no mar sepultura

To give me a sea grave

Ora eis que embora outro dia

Now, behold, another day

Quando o vento nem bulia

When the wind didn't even stir

E o céu o mar prolongava

And the sky stretched into the sea

À proa de outro veleiro

At the bow of another sailing ship

Velava outro marinheiro

Another sailor kept watch

Que estando triste cantava

Who, feeling sad, was singing

Que estando triste cantava

Who, feeling sad, was singing

Ai que lindeza tamanha

Ah, what immense beauty

Meu chão, meu monte, meu vale

My ground, my hill, my valley

De folhas flores frutas de oiro

Of leaves, flowers, golden fruit

Vê se vês terras de Espanha

See if you spot lands of Spain

Areias de Portugal

Sands of Portugal

Olhar ceguinho de choro

Eyes blind with crying

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Picture a still Atlantic where the sky melts into the ocean and the sails barely stir. On the rail of a small sailing boat, a lonely sailor pours his heart into song, and in that fragile moment fado is born. In Fado Português Amália Rodrigues spins a poetic origin story for Portugal’s most iconic music, describing how a homesick sailor paints his missing homeland in words: golden fields, fragrant flowers, rolling valleys, and the familiar sands of Portugal that lie beyond Spain’s distant shoreline.

That plaintive chant carries the essence of saudade—a bittersweet blend of longing, love, and quiet resignation. The lyrics move between tender promises to loved ones back home and the grim acceptance that the sea might become his grave. When the scene repeats with another sailor on another windless day, the song suggests that each sorrowful voice at sea adds a new thread to the national melody. Through Amália’s performance, this maritime lament becomes a celebration of endurance, proving that fado is more than sadness; it is the sound of a people who keep singing no matter how far they drift from shore.

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Amália Rodrigues Fado Português Lyrics