Alcione was introduced to the traditional Brazilian music by her father. He was a military musician who worked as the conductor of the corps marching band. At the age of thirteen, she was already able to give vocal performance in college parties. At this same age, she began to study clarinet, and then learnt to play the trumpet.
At age 20 Alcione moved to Rio de Janeiro. There she worked at the city's TV Excelsior, and later went on tour in Argentina and Chile for four months. On returning to Brazil, she settled in São Paulo, working in nightclub and making appearances on television. In 1970, she started her two-year tour in Europe, performing as a vocalist and a trumpet artist.
In 1972, when back to Brazil, Alcione recorded her first single. The following year, she traveled to sing in Mexico and, in 1974, Portugal, where she recorded her first full-length album. In 1975 Alcione released her LP, A Voz do Samba, which achieved gold sales status and featured several hit tracks. The most successful songs were Não Deixe o Samba Morrer, written by Edson and Aloiso, and O Surdo, written by Totonho/Paulinho Resende.
In the late 1970s, Nazaré became well-known as a samba artist and achieved international recognition. She recorded Alerta Geral for Philips Records and, in 1978, released this album, the title of which was taken from a television show that Alcione had hosted on TV Globo for two years. Following its success, Alcione continued to release several other full-length albums in late 1970s and early 1980s, including her self-titled album.
In 1997, Alcione signed with Universal Records, subsequently releasing a label debut named Valeu, through Polygram the next year. This was followed by Celebração that same year, and Claridade---Uma Homenagem A Clara Nunes in 1999. In December 2002 Alcione was recognized for playing an important part in founding the Paraíso School of Samba in London, England. She also helped organizing and preparing the stage for a British version of the Carnival Brasil, Paraíso dos Orixás (Brazil, Paradise of the Gods). In 2003, her 2002 album, Ao Vivo, received the Best Samba/Pagode Album Award at fourth Latin Grammy Award ceremony.
She has interpreted several hits such as Não deixe o samba morrer, Lá vem você, Gostoso veneno and Ilha da maré.
On July 7, 2007 she performed at the Brazilian leg of Live Earth in Rio de Janeiro.
Alerta Geral
Alcione Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Chorar pra que
Quem tem consciência pesada é você
Chorar eu não
Chorar pra que
Quem tem consciência pesada é você
Como viver calada
Cada dia mais difícil de cantar
Minha gente não concebe
Mais chorar
E eu, cantora popular
Tenho minha obrigação
Com toda essa nação
Alertar o povo inteiro
Provar que ri melhor
Quem sorri primeiro
Se hoje em dia falta samba
Na escola falta um surdo
E o dinheiro nunca dá
Traga o pandeiro e a cuíca
Traga o violão, violão
Para fazer sua revolução
The song "Alerta Geral" by Alcione is a call to action for the people of Brazil to be aware of their current situation and to take action to improve it. The lyrics suggest that crying and feeling guilty will not solve anything, and it is up to each individual to recognize their own responsibility in making a change. The singer laments the difficulty of performing and entertaining the people during such troubled times, but acknowledges her duty to bring awareness through her music. Alcione urges the people to come together and use the power of music to ignite a revolution for positive change.
Line by Line Meaning
Chorar
This line is an exclamation which means 'To cry'
Chorar pra que
This line means 'To cry for what' and suggests that there is no reason to cry.
Quem tem consciência pesada é você
This line means 'Who feels guilty is you'. The singer is telling someone that they are the ones who should feel guilty, not her.
Chorar eu não
This line means 'I'm not going to cry' and indicates that the singer will not cry even if someone else thinks she should.
Como viver calada
This line means 'How can I live in silence' and implies that the singer cannot keep quiet about something that troubles her.
Se também sofro as dores da situação
This line means 'If I also suffer the pains of the situation' and suggests that the singer is affected by the same problem as other people.
Cada dia mais difícil de cantar
This line means 'Every day it's harder to sing' and implies that the situation is getting worse and more challenging.
Minha gente não concebe
This line means 'My people cannot conceive' and implies that the situation is unacceptable to the singer's community.
Mais chorar
This line means 'To cry more' and suggests that the singer's community is tired of crying and wants to do something about the situation.
E eu, cantora popular
This line means 'And I, a popular singer' and suggests that the singer has a responsibility to her community as a well-known artist.
Tenho minha obrigação
This line means 'I have my obligation' and indicates that the singer feels responsible for using her platform to bring attention to important issues.
Alertar o povo inteiro
This line means 'To alert the entire people' and indicates that the singer wants to raise awareness about the situation among all people.
Provar que ri melhor
This line means 'To prove that laughter is better' and suggests that the singer believes in the importance of positivity and laughter even in hard times.
Quem sorri primeiro
This line means 'Who laughs first' and implies that the singer wants to encourage people to find joy in life despite difficulties.
Se hoje em dia falta samba
This line means 'If today there is a lack of samba' and suggests that the singer is referring to a problem in society.
Na escola falta um surdo
This line means 'In school, there is a lack of a bass drum' and suggests that there is a shortage of resources.
E o dinheiro nunca dá
This line means 'And money never seems to be enough' and implies that there is a financial problem.
Traga o pandeiro e a cuíca
This line means 'Bring the pandeiro and the cuíca' and suggests that the singer wants to bring people together with music.
Traga o violão, violão
This line means 'Bring the guitar, guitar' and implies that the singer wants to make music together and possibly even start a revolution.
Para fazer sua revolução
This line means 'To make your revolution' and suggests that the singer wants to inspire people to make changes and take action.
Contributed by Lauren H. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
Mirian silene Sousa
Clara um Arrazo 👏🏾👏🏾👏🏾
Paty Cardona
Amor clara