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.
Um Bouquê Para Uma Rosa
Alceu Valença Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Bouquet pra minha
Amada
Mas sendo ele de
Bolina disfarçada
Com o brilho da
Estrela matutina
Adeus, menina, linda
A rosa vermelha é
Meu bem querer
A rosa vermelha e
Branca hei de amar
Até morrer
The lyrics of Alceu Valença's song Um Bouquê Para Uma Rosa captures the sentiment of a lover who has gotten a bouquet made for his beloved. However, he is disappointed to find that the bouquet is made of fake flowers. He describes the bouquet as being made of "bolina disfarçada," which means "disguised dust," thus signifying that the flowers are made of some cheap material that has been dyed to look like real flowers. Despite this disappointment, he expresses his love for his "menina, linda flor da madrugada" (beautiful girl, flower of the dawn).
The last two lines of the song are particularly interesting as they convey the depth of his love. He says that the red rose is his heart's desire, but he will also love the white rose until his dying days. This sentiment speaks to the idea that true love transcends the physical attributes of the beloved and endures through all the ups and downs of life.
Line by Line Meaning
Mandei fazer um
I had a bouquet made
Bouquet pra minha
A bouquet for my
Amada
Beloved
Mas sendo ele de
But it being made of
Bolina disfarçada
Disguised paper
Com o brilho da
With the shine of
Estrela matutina
Morning star
Adeus, menina, linda
Farewell, my beautiful girl
Flor da madrugada
Flower of the dawn
A rosa vermelha é
The red rose is
Meu bem querer
My beloved
A rosa vermelha e
The red rose and
Branca hei de amar
White, I will love until death
Até morrer
Until I die
Contributed by Jayce T. Suggest a correction in the comments below.