Alcione (Alcione Nazaré, São Luís, Maranhão, November 21, 1947) also known … Read Full Bio ↴Alcione (Alcione Nazaré, São Luís, Maranhão, November 21, 1947) also known as Marrom (brownie) is one of the most successful female sambists in Brazil who first claimed international recognition in the late 1970s, and has had 19 gold records and two platinum records.

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.

Flor De Lis
Alcione Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

Valei-me, Deus!
é o fim do nosso amor
Perdoa, por favor
Eu sei que o erro aconteceu
Mas não sei o que fez
Tudo mudar de vez
Onde foi que eu errei?
Eu só sei que amei,

Que amei, que amei, que amei

Será talvez
Que minha ilusão
Foi dar meu coração
Com toda força
Pra essa moça
Me fazer feliz
E o destino não quis
Me ver como raiz
De uma flor de lis

E foi assim que eu vi
Nosso amor na poeira,
Poeira
Morto na beleza fria de Maria

E o meu jardim da vida
Ressecou, morreu
Do pé que brotou Maria
Nem margarida nasceu

E o meu jardim da vida
Ressecou, morreu

Do pé que brotou Maria
Nem margarida nasceu

Overall Meaning

These lyrics are part of the song "Flor de lis" by Alcione and Emilio Santiago, and they talk about the end of a relationship and the grief that follows it. The singer is asking for forgiveness for a mistake that led to the breakup, but they don't understand what they did wrong. They only know that they loved their partner deeply and that their love has now turned into dust.

The second part of the song reflects on the possibility that the singer's illusion was to give their heart entirely to their partner in the hope of finding happiness. However, fate did not want them to be the "root of a flor de lis." The flor de lis is a symbolic flower that represents purity, light, and perfection. It can also refer to a particular kind of lily or iris. In this context, it represents an unattainable ideal that the singer was unable to live up to, and that ultimately destroyed their relationship.

The image of the singer's life as a garden that withered and died after the departure of their beloved is a powerful metaphor that adds to the melancholic tone of the song. The last verse emphasizes the finality of the loss by contrasting the possibility of a new flower with the impossibility of the singer's garden, which was rooted in a doomed love.

Line by Line Meaning

Valei-me, Deus!
A plea for help from a higher power

é o fim do nosso amor
Acknowledgment that the relationship has ended

Perdoa, por favor
A request for forgiveness

Eu sei que o erro aconteceu
Recognition that a mistake was made

Mas não sei o que fez
Uncertainty about what caused the mistake

Tudo mudar de vez
Realization that everything has changed suddenly

Onde foi que eu errei?
Questioning what exactly went wrong

Eu só sei que amei,
Despite the problems, the artist knows they loved.

Que amei, que amei, que amei
Repeated emphasis on the depth of the artist's love.

Será talvez
Wondering if perhaps

Que minha ilusão
The singer's belief