Fado and the Place of Longing

Fado, often described as 'urban folk music', emerged from the streets of Lisbon in the mid-nineteenth century and went on to become Portugal's 'national' music during the twentieth. It is known for its strong emphasis on loss, memory and nostalgia within its song texts, which often refer to absent people and places. One of the main lyrical themes of fado is the city itself. Richard Elliott explores the ways in which fado acts as a cultural product reaffirming local identity via recourse to social memory and an imagined community.