Alceu Valenca was born in countryside Pernambuco, Northeast Brazil. He is considered the most successful artist in achieving an aesthetic balance between traditional northeastern Brazilian music and a broad range of electronic sounds and effects from pop music. One can find traces of maracatu, coco and "repentes de viola" (improvising fast-paced Brazilian folk music) in most of his songs. Alceu was able to utilize the electric guitar the electric bass, and lately even a synthesizer was added to his broad scope of musical instruments.
Because of that, Alceu was able to recreate Northeastern traditional music, like baiao, coco, toada, maracatu, frevo, caboclinhos, embolada and repentes: all sung with a sometimes rock sometimes alternative sounding music background. His music and his themes are intangible, universal and unlimited. However, his aesthetic basis is genuinely Brazilian Northeastern music.
A Moça E O Povo
Alceu Valença Lyrics
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Havia a moça na tarde
De besta me comovia
Tão linda com seu cachorro
E a noite mordia o dia
E a violenta Ipanema
Atropelando o poema
Ai a solidão das capitais
É um não vou, não vens, não vais
Ela me olhava e não me via
E havia o povo na tarde
De besta se iludia
A moça, o povo, a cidade
Realidade tão fria
E a violência da cena
Atropelando o poema
Que nunca mais eu faria
Ai a solidão das capitais
É um não vou, não vens, não vais
Meu povo não, não se entendia
The song "A Moça E O Povo" by Alceu Valença talks about the loneliness and disconnection that people feel in big cities. The lyrics describe a beautiful girl with her dog, who catches the attention of the singer. However, despite her presence, the city's violence and the cold reality of its inhabitants overshadow any poetic inspiration that he may have had. The girl and the people in the city represent different things; the girl represents something beautiful that has been lost within this violent society, while the people symbolize the masses that are becoming disillusioned in their own way.
The song is a reflection of the poet's own feelings of isolation and despair, as he watches life in the big city pass him by. He longs for connection and a sense of community, which seem to be lacking in the modern world. The title of the song itself represents the contrast between the individual and the masses, highlighting the tension between the personal and the collective.
Overall, "A Moça E O Povo" speaks to the universal experience of feeling disconnected in a society that values individualism and competition over community and unity.
Line by Line Meaning
Havia a moça na tarde
In the afternoon, there was a girl
De besta me comovia
Who moved me with her simple beauty
Tão linda com seu cachorro
So beautiful with her dog
E a noite mordia o dia
And the night overpowered the day
E a violenta Ipanema
And violent Ipanema
Atropelando o poema
Overpowering the poem
Que nunca mais eu faria
That I would never write again
Ai a solidão das capitais
Oh, the loneliness of the capitals
É um não vou, não vens, não vais
It's a 'you don't go, you don't come, you won't go' situation
Ela me olhava e não me via
She looked at me but did not see me
E havia o povo na tarde
And there were people in the afternoon
De besta se iludia
Who were deceived by their own simplicity
A moça, o povo, a cidade
The girl, the people, the city
Realidade tão fria
Such a cold reality
E a violência da cena
And the violence of the scene
Atropelando o poema
Overpowering the poem
Que nunca mais eu faria
That I would never write again
Ai a solidão das capitais
Oh, the loneliness of the capitals
É um não vou, não vens, não vais
It's a 'you don't go, you don't come, you won't go' situation
Meu povo não, não se entendia
My people, they didn't understand
Contributed by Ruby P. Suggest a correction in the comments below.