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.
Eu Te Amo
Alceu Valença Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Como quem sai da cadeia
Como quem planta um roçado eu te amo
Como quem volta da feira
Com toda a gula dos pobres
Eu te amo, te amo, te amo
Eu te amo, eu te amo
Meu xexéu-de-bananeira
Sou Menino Passarinho eu te amo
Como diz Luiz Vieira
Com toda a gula dos pobres
Eu te amo, te amo, te amo
Eu te amo, eu te amo
The lyrics of Alceu Valenca's song, "Eu Te Amo," are a unique expression of love that compare the love he feels to various mundane and ordinary experiences. The first verse mentions loving like someone going to the cinema or someone released from prison, emphasizing the intensity of the emotion. He compares his love to someone planting a crop and returning from the market, both simple activities that represent the cycle of life. The repetition of the phrase "te amo" emphasizes the intensity of his love.
In the second verse, he compares his love to returning to the safety of a nest, like a bird. He identifies himself as the "Menino Passarinho," meaning the boy bird, perhaps emphasizing a sense of innocence and simplicity. The line "xexéu-de-bananeira" refers to a typical bird from northeastern Brazil which usually feeds on bananas. He references a song by Luiz Vieira, further emphasizing the importance of Brazilian culture in his expression of love.
Overall, the song highlights the beauty of simplicity and nature as ways to express and celebrate love. The lyrics reflect on the culture and traditions of northeastern Brazil, where the artist was born, and where nature, farming, and birds are commonly found.
Line by Line Meaning
Como quem vai ao cinema eu te amo
I love you like someone going to the cinema, excited and eager for the experience.
Como quem sai da cadeia
I love you like someone free from prison, grateful for a new chance at life and love.
Como quem planta um roçado eu te amo
I love you like someone cultivating a garden, putting in effort and care for long-term reward.
Como quem volta da feira
I love you like someone returning from the market, with a full basket of fresh and delicious treasures to enjoy.
Com toda a gula dos pobres
With all the hunger of the poor, who appreciate and savor every little thing that comes their way.
Eu te amo, te amo, te amo
I love you, love you, love you - entirely and with complete devotion.
Como quem volta pro ninho eu te amo
I love you like someone returning home to their safe and warm nest, where they can be themselves and be loved unconditionally.
Meu xexéu-de-bananeira
My love, my dear one, my treasure - someone special and cherished in my heart.
Sou Menino Passarinho eu te amo
I love you like a free-spirited bird, full of joy and song, soaring above the world with a light heart.
Como diz Luiz Vieira
As Luiz Vieira says - with reverence and respect to the wisdom and poetry of this great Brazilian artist.
Contributed by Camilla W. Suggest a correction in the comments below.