Alceu Valença (born July 1, 1946 in São Bento do Una, Pernambuco, Brazil) i… Read Full Bio ↴Alceu Valença (born July 1, 1946 in São Bento do Una, Pernambuco, Brazil) is a Brazilian composer, writer, performer, actor, and poet.

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.

Amor covarde
Alceu Valença Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

Amor covarde, que morde que arde
Capela magra é metade de mim
A madrugada se arrasta, tão lenta assim

Dor...dor...dor...
Moça bonita, novilha tão rara
Não há quem valha metade de mim
A dor do amor, navalhada que arde assim

Dor...dor...dor...
Estrela d'alva, pedaço de lua
A pele nua, cheirando a jasmim
Boca cereja, bandeja de prata, Do-In

Dor...dor...dor...
Moça bonita, novilha tão rara

Não há quem valha metade de mim
Nascemos sós, sós seremos serenos no fim

Overall Meaning

The song "Amor Covarde," by Alceu Valença, is a lament about unrequited love. The lyrics portray the singer as consumed by the agony of love that bites, burns and cuts. The first verse starts with the line, "Amor covarde, que morde que arde" (cowardly love, biting and burning), which sets the tone for the rest of the verses. The singer metaphorically personifies the love as a half-empty chapel or church, suggesting that the love is incomplete and has taken some of his spirit. The singer is in a state of mind where he feels time passes painfully slow through the night, and he is left alone with his thoughts about this unattainable love.

The second verse continues with the agony of love's unfulfilled desire. The singer describes a beautiful young lady, almost like a rare heifer, for whom there is no one worthy of half his self. The love is so intense that it hurts, like a razor's edge that is cutting into his body, leaving him in pain. In the third verse, the singer describes the beauty of his beloved - the star of dawn and moonlight and the smell of jasmine from her naked skin. He is torn between the desire to take her into his arms and his fear of hurting her.

The final verse concludes with the bitter realization that every person in life is born alone, and in the end, we all die alone. This line emphasizes that even if the singer were to achieve his love, it would not matter since he would ultimately be alone. The song captures the essence of love that remains unattainable and painful, leaving the singer in a state of surrender.

Line by Line Meaning

Amor covarde, que morde que arde
Love that is timid, biting and burning

Capela magra é metade de mim
A meager chapel is half of me

A madrugada se arrasta, tão lenta assim
The dawn drags on so slowly

Dor...dor...dor...
Pain... pain... pain...

Moça bonita, novilha tão rara
Beautiful girl, such a rare heifer

Não há quem valha metade de mim
There is no one who is worth half of me

A dor do amor, navalhada que arde assim
The pain of love, a burning razor blade

Estrela d'alva, pedaço de lua
Morning star, piece of moon

A pele nua, cheirando a jasmim
Naked skin, smelling like jasmine

Boca cereja, bandeja de prata, Do-In
Cherry lips, silver tray, painful pressure point therapy

Nascemos sós, sós seremos serenos no fim
We are born alone, we'll be alone and serene in the end