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.
Espelho Cristalino
Alceu Valença Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Foi um rio de águas cristalinas
Serra verde molhada de neblina
Olho d'agua sangrava numa fonte
Meu anel cravejado de brilhantes
São os olhos do capitão corisco
E é a luz que incendeia meu ofício
Nessa selva de aço e de antenas
Mas eu tenho meu espelho cristalino
Que uma baiana me mandou de maceió
Ele tem uma luz que alumia
Ao meio-dia clareia a luz do sol
Que me dá o veneno da coragem
Pra girar nesse imenso carrossel
Flutuar e ser gás paralisante
E saber que a cidade é de papel
Ter a luz do passado e do presente
Viajar pelas veredas do céu
Pra colher três estrelas cintilantes
E pregar nas abas do meu chapéu
Vou clarear o negror do horizonte
É tão brilhante a pedra do meu anel
The song, Espelho Cristalino by Alceu Valença, talks about the contrast between nature and the city. The first stanza highlights the natural beauty of the surroundings, which used to be a crystal clear stream and a misty green mountain range. However, with the hustle and bustle of the city, this has been replaced with steel jungle and towering antennas. This contrast is further highlighted in the next stanza where the idea of a hummingbird (beija-flor) melting in the heat of the asphalt is introduced.
The song then shifts to a more positive and uplifting tone, as the singer talks about his "espelho cristalino" or crystal mirror. This is a physical object that was sent to him by a woman from Maceió. The mirror is more than just a reflection of his own physical appearance, it also represents his connection to his roots and the source of his courage. It is a powerful talisman that allows him to transcend the limitations of the city, to float and to become a paralyzing gas. This shows that even though the world around him has changed, he has a constant source of strength and identity that he carries with him.
Line by Line Meaning
Essa rua sem céu, sem horizontes
This street has no sky or horizon
Foi um rio de águas cristalinas
It used to be a river with crystal clear waters
Serra verde molhada de neblina
Green mountain range wet with fog
Olho d'agua sangrava numa fonte
An eye of water bled from a fountain
Meu anel cravejado de brilhantes
My diamond-studded ring
São os olhos do capitão corisco
Are Captain Corisco's eyes
E é a luz que incendeia meu ofício
And it's the light that ignites my work
Nessa selva de aço e de antenas
In this concrete jungle of antennas
Beija-flor estou chorando suas penas derretidas na insensatez do asfalto
I'm shedding tears for the hummingbird's feathers melted in the foolishness of the asphalt
Mas eu tenho meu espelho cristalino
But I have my crystal mirror
Que uma baiana me mandou de maceió
That a woman from Bahia sent me from Maceió
Ele tem uma luz que alumia
It has a light that illuminates
Ao meio-dia clareia a luz do sol
At noon, it brightens the sunlight
Que me dá o veneno da coragem
That gives me the venom of courage
Pra girar nesse imenso carrossel
To spin on this immense carousel
Flutuar e ser gás paralisante
To float and become paralyzing gas
E saber que a cidade é de papel
And to know that the city is made of paper
Ter a luz do passado e do presente
To have the light of the past and present
Viajar pelas veredas do céu
To travel through the sky's paths
Pra colher três estrelas cintilantes
To pick three sparkling stars
E pregar nas abas do meu chapéu
And attach them to the brim of my hat
Vou clarear o negror do horizonte
I will brighten the darkness of the horizon
É tão brilhante a pedra do meu anel
The stone of my ring is so bright
Contributed by David D. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
Anderson Lima
00:00 - Agalopado
03:20 - Maria dos Santos
07:18 - Anjo de fogo
10:42 - Veneno
14:47 - Espelho cristalino
18:47 - Eu sou você
22:19 - A dança das borboletas
25:17 - Sete léguas
Dê um joinha pro comentário subir e a galera pegar as músicas no ponto! ;)
Anderson Lima
00:00 - Agalopado
03:20 - Maria dos Santos
07:18 - Anjo de fogo
10:42 - Veneno
14:47 - Espelho cristalino
18:47 - Eu sou você
22:19 - A dança das borboletas
25:17 - Sete léguas
Dê um joinha pro comentário subir e a galera pegar as músicas no ponto! ;)
Carol Brandalise
📀👍
Hiago Ramos
😆
Gabriel Veiga
up!
Mariana Cabral
up!!!
Art Arteiro
obrigado!
Pedro Augusto
Esse disco é um sincretismo quase ilógico, rock, forró, embolada, xaxado... Esse homem é um gênio como poucos!
Jota Mercury
Nossa ! Descobri esse fabuloso disco só agora aqui no youtube. Parabens por essa reliquia . Alceu valença bom demais
Rodrigo Mendonça
Estou redescobrindo Alceu com esse álbum, viciei, escuto sempre e estou apresentando para toda a família
Márcio Brito
Este álbum é lindo, vasto, profundo. Por muitos e muitos anos ele me acompanha e sou feliz por isso.