2025 Competition Entry:

Fado Lady by Aaron Ruddick

Genre

Pop

Artist

Co-writer(s)

no

Performer(s)

Aaron Ruddick (most of the singing and all of the music)
Deborah Vitale, my wife… Female vocals.

Description

It’s a song about my wife and I having our first date in Portugal and me not understanding the language.

Bio

Aaron is a California-based singer-songwriter and a student at Berklee School of Music. Born in Nebraska, he is a veteran of the Gulf War and a proud disabled veteran. After spending much of his life as a software engineer, Aaron is now fully dedicating himself back to his true passion—music.

Lyrics

Fado Lady (maria da mouraria – casa de fados)

Verse 1:
She sings to the night,
With her eyes held tight.
I see tears from the left,
And love to the right.

Chorus:
Fado lady,
Fado laaaaady,
What do you sing about tonight?
The people I’m with,
Hold hands as they live,
In the magic of her light.

Verse 2 (Portuguese):
Senhora do Fado,
Oh senhora encantada,
Que amor faz brilhar?
Com saudade a vibrar,
Corações a tocar,
E a alma encantar.
(Translation: Fado lady, oh enchanted lady, what love does it make shine? With longing resounding, hearts are touching, and the soul is enchanting.)

Chorus:
Fado lady,
Fado lady,

Fado laaaaady,
What do you sing about?
The people I’m with,
Hold hands as they live,
In the magic of her sight.

Bridge:
But I don’t know the words,
I just witness this bird,
As she sings… to the night.
Her voice lifts the room,
Every heart starts to bloom,
Like a spark… through the dark.

Chorus (Reprise):
Fado lady,
Fado laaaaady,
What do you sing about?
The people I’m with,
Hold hands as they live,
In the magic of her sight.

Outro (Portuguese):
Senhora do Fado,
Que som abençoado,
Canta até o amanhecer.
(Translation: Fado lady, what a blessed sound, sing until the dawn.)

Leave a comment