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.

na primeira manha
Alceu Valença Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

Na primeira manhã que te perdi
Acordei mais cansado que sozinho
Como um conde falando aos passarinhos
Como uma bumba-meu-boi sem capitão
E gemi como geme o arvoredo
Como a brisa descendo das colinas
Como quem perde o prumo e desatina
Como um boi no meio da multidão

Na segunda manhã que te perdi
Era tarde demais pra ser sozinho
Cruzei ruas, estradas e caminhos
Como um carro correndo em contramão
Pelo canto da boca num sussurro
Fiz um canto demente, absurdo
O lamento noturno dos viúvos
Como um gato gemendo no porão
Solidão

Na segunda manhã que te perdi
Era tarde demais pra ser sozinho
Eu cruzei ruas, estradas e caminhos
Como um carro correndo em contramão
Pelo canto da boca num sussurro
Fiz um canto demente, absurdo
O lamento noturno dos viúvos

Como um gato gemendo no porão
Solidão

Overall Meaning

The song "Na primeira manhã" by Alceu Valença is a mournful ballad about the pain of losing someone dear. The lyrics describe the emotional turmoil and physical exhaustion that the singer experiences after the first and second morning of losing their loved one. In the first morning, the singer feels lost and out of place, like a captain-less Bumba-meu-boi (a traditional Brazilian folk dance). They cry out like the wind and sing like a bird, desperate for their lover's return. In the second morning, the pain is even more acute, and the singer is consumed by madness and despair. They wander aimlessly, like a car driving against traffic, and moan like a grieving cat trapped in a basement.

The repeated line "Solidão" ("Loneliness" in English) underscores the theme of isolation and abandonment. It is a powerful reminder not only of the singer's pain but also of the universal human experience of loss and longing. The usage of animal imagery in the song adds to the rawness of emotion that the song depicts.

With its haunting melody and poignant lyrics, "Na primeira manhã" has become a classic Brazilian song and is regularly covered by various artists. It speaks to the universal feeling of loss, grief, and the devastating effects it can have on a person.

Line by Line Meaning

Na primeira manhã que te perdi
On the first morning after losing you

Acordei mais cansado que sozinho
I woke up feeling more tired than lonely

Como um conde falando aos passarinhos
Like a noble speaking to the birds

Como uma bumba-meu-boi sem capitão
Like a carnival bull without a leader

E gemi como geme o arvoredo
And I moaned like the groaning of trees

Como a brisa descendo das colinas
Like the breeze descending from the hills

Como quem perde o prumo e desatina
Like someone who loses balance and goes insane

Como um boi no meio da multidão
Like a bull in the middle of a crowd

Na segunda manhã que te perdi
On the second morning after losing you

Era tarde demais pra ser sozinho
It was too late to be alone

Cruzei ruas, estradas e caminhos
I crossed streets, roads, and paths