In 1966 she represented Brazil together with Paulinho da Viola, Elizeth Cardoso, and Elton Medeiros at the Black Arts Festival in Dakar and Senegal. In the same year she performed at the Cecília Meireles Hall (in Rio) José Maria Neves' Missa de São Benedito, for tamba (Hélcio Milito) and voice. Also in that year she recorded her first individual LP, Clementina de Jesus. Together with Pixinguinha and João da Baiana, she participated in the album Gente da Antiga, produced by Odeon in 1968. In the same year she also appeared on the LP Mudando de Conversa, a recording of the show of the same name, along with Ciro Monteiro and Nora Ney, produced at the Teatro Santa Rosa (Rio de Janeiro). In 1970 she had another LP released, Clementina Cadê Você?, edited by the Museu da Imagem e do Som (Sound and Image Museum, Rio de Janeiro), with corimás, jongos, modas, and sambas. In 1973 she had thrombosis, but five months later recorded the LP Marinheiro Só, which had songs by Paulinho da Viola and adaptations of popular songs like "Fui Pedir Às Almas Santas," "Atraca, Atraca," and "Incelença." In that year she also participated in Milton Nascimento's Milagre dos Peixes, recording "Escravo de Jó" (Milton Nascimento/Fernando Brant). In 1982 she was paid tribute by the Lins Imperial samba school, with the play Clementina -- Uma Rainha Negra. In the next year she recorded with Doca and Geraldo Filme the LP Canto dos Escravos, in which she interpreted slave songs from Minas Gerais collected by the researcher Aires da Mata Machado Filho. In 1985 she recorded Clementina e Convidados, which had her composition "Laçador" (co-written by Catoni). The album also had as guests Clara Nunes, João Bosco, Roberto Ribeiro, Martinho da Vila, Ivone Lara, Adoniram Barbosa, and Carlinhos Vergueiro. De Jesus also performed live with Nelson Cavaquinho in São Paulo, upstate Rio de Janeiro, and in Curitiba, Paraná. Her last live performance was in 1987 at the Teatro Carlos Gomes (Rio de Janeiro).
Madrugada
Clementina De Jesus Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
E eu fiquei sozinho sem ninguém
Aonde é que ela mora
Madrugada diz agora
Que eu vou pra lá também
E agora que o sol já vai saindo
Eu não posso resistir
A saudade me devora
Sei que sem ela não vivo
Ela é meu lenitivo
Madrugada diz agora
(láiá laiá...)
The song Madrugada by Clementina De Jesus is about the feeling of loneliness and longing for someone who has left. The singer describes how the dawn has left, but they are still alone and wondering where the dawn has gone. The dawn becomes personified, almost as if it were a lover, and the singer pleads with it to tell them where it is so that they can go and find it. The use of the word "madrugada" (dawn) is symbolic, as dawn represents the beginning of a new day and the hope that comes with it. By personifying the dawn, the singer is expressing their need for hope and connection, as well as their sense of loss and despair.
In the second part of the song, the singer laments that they cannot resist the feeling of longing and the pain it brings. They know that they cannot live without the person they are searching for, and they describe them as a source of comfort or "lenitivo." The repetition of the phrase "madrugada diz agora" (dawn, tell me now) throughout the song emphasizes the singer's desperation and constant need for answers.
Overall, Madrugada is a beautiful and melancholic song that captures the complex emotions of longing and heartbreak. It is a testament to Clementina De Jesus's skill as a storyteller and her ability to convey deep emotions through her music.
Line by Line Meaning
Madrugada foi embora (láiá laiá)
The early hours of the morning have passed by and I find myself alone
E eu fiquei sozinho sem ninguém
I am now alone without anyone by my side
Aonde é que ela mora
Where does she live now?
Madrugada diz agora, que eu vou pra lá também
Tell me, early hours of the morning, so that I may also go meet her
E agora que o sol já vai saindo
Now that the sun is rising
Eu não posso resistir
I cannot resist
A saudade me devora
The longing devours me
Sei que sem ela não vivo
I know that without her, I cannot live
Ela é meu lenitivo
She is my solace
Madrugada diz agora (láiá laiá...)
Early hours of the morning, tell me now (láiá laiá...)
Contributed by Nathaniel R. Suggest a correction in the comments below.