Grândola, Vila Morena

"Grândola, Vila Morena"
Song by Zeca Afonso
Written 1972
Writer Zeca Afonso
Language Portuguese

"Grândola, Vila Morena" is a Portuguese song by Zeca Afonso, that tells of the fraternity among the people of Grândola, a town in the Alentejo region of Portugal.

Carnation Revolution

While Salazar's Estado Novo regime banned a number of Zeca Afonso's songs from being played or broadcast, as they were considered to be associated with Communism, Grandola, Vila Morena was not one of these. At a concert in Lisbon on the 24 March 1974 Zeca Afonso played this song, the audience joined in enthusiastically, uniting the crowd as one. For this reason, on 25 April 1974, at 12:20AM the song was broadcast on the Portuguese radio station Rádio Renascença as a signal to start the revolution that overthrew the authoritarian government of Marcello Caetano; it thus became commonly associated with the Carnation Revolution and the beginning of democratic rule in Portugal. It was the second signal to start the coup, the first being E Depois do Adeus ("And after the farewell"), the Portuguese entry in the Eurovision Song Contest of 1974, performed in Portuguese by Paulo de Carvalho.

First performance

Grândola was first sung at a Zeca Afonso concert in Galicia's capital of Santiago de Compostela, on 10 May 1972.

Lyrics

Grândola, vila morena
Terra da fraternidade
O povo é quem mais ordena
Dentro de ti, ó cidade
Dentro de ti, ó cidade
O povo é quem mais ordena
Terra da fraternidade
Grândola, vila morena
Em cada esquina um amigo
Em cada rosto igualdade
Grândola, vila morena
Terra da fraternidade
Terra da fraternidade
Grândola, vila morena
Em cada rosto igualdade
O povo é quem mais ordena
À sombra duma azinheira
Que já não sabia a idade
Jurei ter por companheira
Grândola a tua vontade
Grândola a tua vontade
Jurei ter por companheira
À sombra duma azinheira
Que já não sabia a idade
Grândola, swarthy town*
Land of fraternity
It is the people who lead
Inside of you, oh city
Inside of you, oh city
It is the people who lead
Land of fraternity
Grândola, swarthy town
On each corner, a friend
In each face, equality
Grândola, swarthy town
Land of fraternity
Land of fraternity
Grândola, swarthy town
In each face, equality
It is the people who lead
In the shadow of a holm oak
Which no longer knew its age
I swore as my companion,
Grândola, your will
Grândola, your will
I swore as my companion
In the shadow of a holm oak
Which no longer knew its age

* "Grândola Vila Morena" refers to "Grândola", the mentioned village's name, and a characterization of the town, "Vila Morena", meaning something like "swarthy town", "tanned town", "brown town" or "sunbaked town".

The highly disciplined verse form is notable. Each quatrain is followed by a quatrain that repeats the identical lines in reverse order.

Continuing political legacy

On 15 February 2013, the Prime Minister of Portugal was interrupted by a rendition of this song in the Assembly of the Republic (Portuguese Parliament). Protesters in the Assembly's public galleries, unhappy with the contemporary social and economic policies, expressed their discontent in song.[1][2]

The song that marked the Carnation Revolution, continued to be sung in protest at public events attended by government members.[3]

References

  1. Revolutionary freedom song interrupts parliamentary debate, TPN/ LUSA, The Portugal News, GENERAL category, 16, February, 2013
  2. Passos interrompido por "Grândola Vila Morena", Youtube video published by Esquerda.net (Left Bloc internet channels)
  3. Austerity triggers novel protests as Portuguese chafe at fall in living standards The Washington Post
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