# José Afonso — Balada da Despedida

José Afonso’s Balada da Despedida (1959) is No. 6 in our Fado ranking. The full verdict, and where to hear it.

- **Released:** 1959
- **On one list:** Fado
- **Updated:** 2026-08-30
- **Artist:** [José Afonso](https://waxonia.com/artist/jose-afonso/)
- **Canonical page:** https://waxonia.com/track/jose-afonso--balada-da-despedida/

## What we say

### No. 6 in [Fado](https://waxonia.com/genre/fado/)

Coimbra fado — the student tradition, sung by men in capes, and quite different from Lisbon's. Afonso later wrote the song that started a revolution; the discipline is audible here first.

## Listen

[Search Spotify](https://open.spotify.com/search/Jos%C3%A9%20Afonso%20Balada%20da%20Despedida) · [YouTube Music](https://music.youtube.com/watch?v=x-J_dp-K02A)

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Hand-curated by Waxonia. We host no audio; all links point to streaming platforms.