Jorge Palma (1950–2026): The songs that will keep echoing through Portugal

Jorge Palma, one of the most influential singers, lyricists and composers in contemporary Portuguese music, died this Monday at the age of 76. In spirit, however, he seemed to have lived far beyond that — “more than a hundred thousand” years, as he sang in Encosta-te a mim, from the 2007 album Voo Nocturno. The image of Palma surrounded by friends, old and new, will endure. He may be gone, but his songs remain woven into Portuguese culture and memory.

On Estróina, a song from his final album, Vida (2023), he sang: “Whoever my undertaker may be, let him take care to dress me properly.” Few tributes could suit him better than the flood of farewell words already written in his honour — and the many lines he left behind himself.

And, as he also sang, “since life is to be lived, live and in colour, let us toast to pleasure, without false modesty.” That is what remains to be done. Several figures close to the singer, to Portuguese culture and to his enduring legacy reflected on what remains after his death — and on the songs they will never forget.

Herman José — Actor and comedian

For Herman José, who crossed paths with Jorge Palma many times and in different settings, the singer’s death “leaves a silence that is hard to fill”.

One of his most cherished memories dates back to 1974. “I was one of his musicians, alongside the great Pedro Osório. It is one of those memories that time does not erase and that returns today with particular force. We were all much younger, in a Portugal that was itself beginning a new life, and even then Jorge’s extraordinary musical personality was already there — restless, free, unpredictable, fascinating,” he recalls.

The comedian describes Jorge Palma as a “truly singular musician”, one of those artists who “never needed to resemble anyone else to be recognised from the very first chord, the first word, the first inflection of that voice”.

From the vast body of work Palma leaves behind, Herman José chooses Deixa-me Rir, from O Lado Errado da Noite (1985), “perhaps because in it I find so much of Jorge: the intelligence, the irony, the mistrust of certainties, a certain melancholy hidden behind the smile. And that rare ability to say serious things without ever losing his irreverence,” he concludes.

António Zambujo — Singer and songwriter

For the singer from Beja, choosing a single Jorge Palma song is “unfair” because “the whole body of work is immensely rich”. Even so, he accepted the challenge and named O Meu Amor Existe, from the voice-and-piano album Só, released in 1991.

“I consider this record the best in the history of Portuguese music, and whatever I might say about Jorge Palma would never be enough, given the stature I believe he has,” he said.

Gabriel Gomes — Musician and composer

“I have lost a friend, a hero,” says Gabriel Gomes, the accordionist and former member of Madredeus and Sétima Legião. He quickly adds: “I gained so much from having him in my life.”

Earlier this year, he shared the stage with Jorge Palma at the Artes à Vila festival, held at the Batalha Monastery, where he presented his first solo work.

“The emptiness hurts, but his memory and his work will eventually fill it. It was quick, as he deserved,” he says.

Gabriel Gomes chose Passos em Volta, from the album Bairro do Amor, a song they performed together on stage many times and in which, as in the lyrics, Jorge Palma “opened the window and flew away”.

Tiago Cação — Arts agent

With a long career in music, entertainment and artistic management, Tiago Cação admits that he never wanted to meet Jorge Palma.

“I never wanted to meet Jorge. I never wanted to get close to him. I always wanted to keep Jorge in an untouchable place, where the great poets and great musicians I have always admired reside. On Friday, my father — much younger than Jorge — whom I thought knew nothing about music, said: ‘I would not like to die without seeing a Jorge Palma concert. Because with artists like Jorge, we always think they do not die. And they do not,’” he shared.

For Tiago, the song he will never forget is Sonhadores Inatos. “I identify with the simple idea of never stopping dreaming, despite the inevitabilities that this business of being alive entails.”

Fernando Vendrell — Film director

The filmmaker says that today he can only bring to mind Frágil, from Bairro do Amor (1989). “Tonight I feel so fragile,” he paraphrases.

The director of films including Aparição and Sombras Brancas, Fernando Vendrell remembers Jorge Palma as “an extraordinary writer of songs”.

“In my view, they are among the most perfect songs ever written in Portugal. His gaze and his writing were agile, his melodies graceful and unique. They brought with them a world we belonged to, or wanted to be part of,” he says.

Ana Margarida de Carvalho — Journalist and writer

When she received the news of the singer’s death, Na Terra dos Sonhos was the first song to come to mind, both for its melody and because it was written by a “sceptical optimist”.

Ana Margarida de Carvalho says she knows all the albums, songs, acoustic versions and live recordings, where “his virtuosity on the piano, acoustic guitar or electric guitar” stood out. “He had enormous versatility, a powerful voice that has withstood the passage of time,” she recalls, referring to the many concerts she attended. Palma’s voice also remained part of her everyday life. “He is always on my car playlist,” she says.

Among Jorge Palma’s many songs, the journalist also highlights Portugal, Portugal, which she considers “an anthem”, and Estrela do Mar, with chords “that sound like waves, or the string quartet, in which he pays homage to Durrell’s Alexandria Quartet”.

Even so, she told Euronews she would choose Eu Fui um Lobo Malvado, from Acto Contínuo (1982). “With naïve lyrics but, in my view, a song that turns in on itself and becomes the most beautiful welcome, a song about friendship and reconciliation, in short. I know it by heart — and so do my children.”

“I have not yet handled any weapon that did not ricochet / and the scar always survives the neatest bandage / but whenever you wish you are welcome in my castle / which perhaps because it is old and wrinkled / needs no fresh paint,” she quotes.

Luiz Carvalho — Photographer

The author of the cover photo for this article, which he allowed to be published, recalls his first encounter with the singer: “I have known you since that afternoon in 1980 in Paris, when I photographed you singing in the Saint-Michel metro station. Afterwards we went for a drink; I think Graça Lamy was with us too. The damned negative exists, but I cannot find it. I love your work and, above all, your attitude to life: free, nonconformist, courteous, a musician with classical roots, at times too crazy for the body to cope with. I would have liked to make a documentary about you, something alive, handheld camera, direct sound… You will remain forever in my heart and I will keep listening to you, for as long as I still have road ahead of me.”

The song he chose is O Lado Errado da Noite, “a striking melody that has so much to do with part of his path”.

The authors’ selections

Ana Filipa Palma: A Gente Vai Continuar is not only one of his finest songs; it is also one of the most listened to today and, above all, a guarantee that his voice will remain “for as long as there are winds and sea”.

The tribute to Palma at the latest edition of the Play Awards ended with the entire audience singing A Gente Vai Continuar.

Ricardo Figueira: I choose Bairro do Amor because it is good to believe that there is a place drawn in coloured pencil by people who suffered for having no one, a country with no prisons and no hospitals, where the sun seems bigger and there are waves of tenderness in every gaze. Even if that place exists only in songs.

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