The low voice of the partido-alto singer Clementina de Jesus was only disco… Read Full Bio ↴The low voice of the partido-alto singer Clementina de Jesus was only discovered outside her community when she was 62. Immediately acknowledged both nationally and internationally as a highly expressive singer, she still had time to participate in historic events like the Rosa de Ouro, Zicartola (at the Teatro Opinião), Noitada de Samba, and others. She has recorded and performed with artists of stature such as Nelson Cavaquinho, Turíbio Santos, Pixinguinha, João da Baiana, and many others. As a child, Clementina de Jesus listened to folkloric and religious music (jongo, partido-alto, ladainhas, etc.) sung by her mother. She remained an amateur for decades, participating in Carnaval blocos, and singing in church choirs and rodas de samba (samba get-togethers). After 20 years working as a maid, her career was launched in December 1964 by the classical guitarist Turíbio Santos at Kleber Santos' Teatro Jovem (Rio de Janeiro) in the show O Menestrel. A few months later, in 1965 when she was 63, Clementina de Jesus had her definitive public consecration after being featured in Hermínio Bello de Carvalho's musical Rosa de Ouro at the same theater. Performances, which also featured Araci Cortes, Paulinho da Viola, and Elton Medeiros, followed in Bahia and São Paulo. De Carvalho's first album was this live show, released in the same year as Rosa de Ouro, Vol. 1, followed by a second volume released two years later. On this album, Clementina de Jesus presented the virtually unknown genre of jongo with songs like "Benguelê" (Pixinguinha/Gastão Vianna) and "Boi Não Berra." She also performed sambas like "Sementes do Samba" (Hélio Cabral) and "Nasceste de Uma Semente" (José Ramos), and the lundu "Bate Canela." In August 1983 she was paid tribute by the Brazilian state government at Rio de Janeiro's Teatro Municipal. The gala event attracted many artists like Elizeth Cardoso, Beth Carvalho, Orquestra Sinfônica Brasileira, João Nogueira, Paulinho da Viola, Gilberto Gil, Dona Zica, Dona Neuma, accompanied by the bateria (percussion section) of the Mangueira samba school. In 1985 de Jesus was decorated by the French government. Also known as Quelé (a corrupted use of her name) and as Rainha Ginga (Ginga Queen), she had her majesty truly expressed through this award.

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).

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Piedade
Clementina De Jesus Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

Piedade, ôôô (piedade)
Tem piedade, oh mãe de Deus (piedade)

Nossa Senhora da Penha (piedade)
Que altura foi morar (piedade)
Naquele lugar tão alto (piedade)
Freguesia de Irajá (piedade)

Piedade, ôôô (piedade)
Tem piedade, oh mãe de Deus (piedade)

Nossa Senhora da Penha (piedade)
É madrinha de João (piedade)
Eu também sou afilhada (piedade)
Da Virgem da Conceição (piedade)

Piedade, ôôô (piedade)
Tem piedade, oh mãe de Deus (piedade)

Minha mãe, minha mãezinha (piedade)
Que mãezinha tenho eu (piedade)
Que comeu seu feijão todo (piedade)
Nenhum caroço me deu (piedade)

Piedade, ôôô (piedade)
Tem piedade, oh mãe de Deus (piedade)

Se passares em Mangueira (piedade)
Diga adeus e vai andando (piedade)
Também diga àquele ingrato (piedade)
Saudade tá me matando (piedade)

Piedade, ôôô (piedade)
Tem piedade, oh mãe de Deus (piedade)

Eu não bebo mais cachaça (piedade)
Nem o cheiro quero ver (piedade)
Quando vejo ela no copo (piedade)
Não posso deixar perder (piedade)

Overall Meaning

The song "Piedade" by Clementina De Jesus begins by invoking the mercy of the mother of God, imploring her to have mercy upon the singer. The lyrics then shift to a discussion of the history of the Nossa Senhora da Penha, a famous church in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The church, which is the home of the patron saint of Rio de Janeiro, was built in a very high place in the Freguesia de Irajá, making it a significant landmark in the area. The singer then notes that she and a man named João are both devoted to the Virgin Mary, who is the godmother of João, and who the singer is also a godchild of.

Line by Line Meaning

Piedade, ôôô (piedade)
Begging for mercy, saying mercy

Tem piedade, oh mãe de Deus (piedade)
Asking for mercy, oh mother of God

Nossa Senhora da Penha (piedade)
Referring to Our Lady of Penha

Que altura foi morar (piedade)
Wondering about the height our Lady of Penha lived

Naquele lugar tão alto (piedade)
Noting that it is a very high place

Freguesia de Irajá (piedade)
Referring to a parish in Irajá

É madrinha de João (piedade)
Stating that Our Lady of Penha is the godmother of João

Eu também sou afilhada (piedade)
Adding that the singer is also a godchild of the Virgin of Conception

Minha mãe, minha mãezinha (piedade)
Referring to her own mother

Que mãezinha tenho eu (piedade)
Showing love for her mother

Que comeu seu feijão todo (piedade)
Mentioning a time when her mother ate all the beans, giving none to her

Nenhum caroço me deu (piedade)
Saying that she didn't give her any bean kernels

Se passares em Mangueira (piedade)
If you pass through Mangueira neighborhood

Diga adeus e vai andando (piedade)
Say goodbye and keep going

Também diga àquele ingrato (piedade)
Also tell that ungrateful person

Saudade tá me matando (piedade)
That missing them is killing her

Eu não bebo mais cachaça (piedade)
Saying she doesn't drink cachaça anymore

Nem o cheiro quero ver (piedade)
Not wanting to smell it anymore

Quando vejo ela no copo (piedade)
But when she sees it in a glass

Não posso deixar perder (piedade)
She can't resist it and doesn't want to waste it.

Contributed by Madison B. Suggest a correction in the comments below.

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Comments from YouTube:

Andreas

5y↑3

Ói minha gente aí!!!!Que maravilha de samba!!! (Dandinho)

Samuel Machado Filho

13y↑6

Um tema bem legal do folclore que Clementina de Jesus interpretava desde bem jovem, quando começou a carreira, e que acabou gravando em seu primeiro LP, em 1966. Clementina era fantástica!