Lyrics: Armando Zeferino
Music: Karaoke track by Jorge Ferreira

 

Cape Verde, off the coast of West Africa was a Portuguese slave trading post. The song ‘Sodade’ refers to the migration of contract laborers from Sao Nicolau in Cape Verde to the island of Sao Tome. This period of uncertainty and despair gave birth to a soulful genre of music, called the 'morna' (blues) - songs that bid farewell to emigrating loved ones or described the uncertain fate that awaited them in distant lands. Lyricist Zeferino and original singer Cesaria Evora were both, Cape Verde residents. The song is in Cape Verdean, a mix between Portuguese and native Creole.