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.
O Xote Das Meninas
Alceu Valença Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
É o sinal que a chuva chega no sertão
Toda menina que enjoa da boneca
É sinal que o amor já chegou no coração
Meia comprida não quer mais sapato baixo
Vestido bem cintado não quer mais usar quimão
Ela só quer só pensa em namorar
Ela só quer só pensa em namorar
Ela só quer só pensa em namorar
Mas o Doutor nem examina
Chamando o pai de lado
Lhe diz logo em surdina
O mal é da idade
Que tem a tal menina
Não há um só remédio
Em toda medicina
Ela só quer só pensa em namorar
Ela só quer só pensa em namorar
Ela só quer só pensa em namorar
Ela só quer só pensa em namorar
The opening lines of "O Xote Das Meninas" talk about the mandacaru cacti, which serve as a symbols of hope for the people living in the dry and barren lands of sertão in Brazil. The cacti bloom only during the dry season, which signifies to the locals the arrival of the rains. The song then transitions to talk about young girls who are hitting puberty, as they start to discard their childhood toys and clothing. Their bodies are changing, and they are starting to feel the stirrings of love in their hearts. They start to pay more attention to their appearance, wearing clothes that flatter their figures and help them feel more grown-up. The chorus of the song repeats the line "Ela só quer só pensa em namorar," which means "she only wants to think about dating."
In the second verse, the doctor refuses to examine the young girl, pulling aside her father to explain that there's no cure for this - it's just a natural part of growing up. The song ultimately celebrates this infatuation and the longing for love that comes with it. It captures an important moment in a young girl's life, when she starts to realize that there's more to the world than dolls and play-pretend.
Line by Line Meaning
Mandacaru quando fulora na seca
When the cactus blooms in the dryness, it's a sign that rain is coming to the countryside.
É o sinal que a chuva chega no sertão
This is the sign that rain has arrived in the hinterlands.
Toda menina que enjoa da boneca
When a girl gets tired of her dolls,
É sinal que o amor já chegou no coração
it's a sign that love has already entered her heart.
Meia comprida não quer mais sapato baixo
She no longer wants low shoes and wears longer socks now.
Vestido bem cintado não quer mais usar quimão
She prefers a tight dress over a loose one.
Ela só quer só pensa em namorar
She only wants and thinks about love.
Ela só quer só pensa em namorar
She only wants and thinks about love.
Mas o Doutor nem examina
But the doctor doesn't even examine her.
Chamando o pai de lado
He calls the father aside.
Lhe diz logo em surdina
He quickly whispers to him.
O mal é da idade
The problem is her age.
Que tem a tal menina
That this girl is going through.
Não há um só remédio
There's not a single medicine
Em toda medicina
In all of medicine.
Ela só quer só pensa em namorar
She only wants and thinks about love.
Ela só quer só pensa em namorar
She only wants and thinks about love.
Contributed by Madelyn W. Suggest a correction in the comments below.