The son of a peasant and accordion player, he was attracted to the 8-bass accordion at an early age, although he started out by accompanying his father by playing the zabumba (a type of bass drum) and singing at parties and religious celebrations. He left home in 1930 to join the army, and toured Brazil with an army band until 1939. Gonzaga decided to remain in Rio de Janeiro with a recently purchased accordion. He performed in the streets and in bars, playing boleros, waltzes and tangos.
After noticing that the Northeastern immigrants missed the music from their hometowns, he started to give listeners the sort of music they craved to hear: xaxados, baiões, chamegos and cocos. At Ary Barroso’s talent show, Luiz Gonzaga played his chamego "Vira e Mexe" and was acclaimed by the audience and by the dreaded host, who gave him the highest score.
In 1943, he dressed up in typical Northeastern costumes for the first time to perform live, and got hyped. Later on, as well as playing popular tunes on the accordion, he began to sing his own material, and his skills as a songwriter were revealed.
Gonzaga's son, Luiz Gonzaga do Nascimento Júnior, known as Gonzaguinha, born 1945, was also a noted Brazilian singer and composer.
His greatest hit ever, "Asa Branca" (written with Humberto Teixeira), was recorded in 1947 and was covered countless times by many different artists. He worked on the radio until 1954, enjoying huge popularity. He is widely recognized for singlehandedly taking the baião style and the accordion to a wide audience. For a time RCA (now BMG), his recording label, was almost exclusively dedicated to printing his singles and albums. During the 60's, as the public taste shifted to bossa nova and iê-iê-iê, he found himself increasingly stranded from big city stages, so he toured the countryside, where his popularity never abated.
In the 70s and 80s, he slowly re-emerged, partly due to covers of his songs by famous artists like Geraldo Vandré, Caetano Veloso, Gilberto Gil, his son Gonzaguinha and Milton Nascimento. Some of his greatest hits are "Vozes da Seca" ("Voices From Drought"), "Algodão" ("Cotton"), "A Dança da Moda" ("The Dance In Fashion"), "ABC do Sertão" ("The ABC of Sertão"), "Derramaro o Gai" ("They Spilt the Gas"), "A Letra I" ("The 'i' letter"), "Imbalança" ("Shake It"), "A Volta da Asa-Branca" ("The Return Of The Picazuro Pigeon"), "Cintura Fina" ("Slender Waist"), "O Xote das Meninas" ("The Girls' Schottische", written with Zé Dantas, and "Juazeiro", "Paraíba", "Mangaratiba", "Baião-de-Dois", "No Meu Pé de Serra" ("There In My Homeland"), "Assum Preto" ("Blue-back Grassquit"), "Légua Tirana" ("Tyrannical league"), "Qui Nem Jiló" ("Like Solanum gilo", written with Humberto Teixeira. Other successful collaborations resulted in "Tá Bom Demais" ("It's Very Good") (with Onildo de Almeida), "Danado de Bom" ("Very Good") (with João Silva), "Dezessete e Setecentos" ("Seventeen And Seven hundred") and "Cortando o Pano" ("Cutting Cloth") (both with Miguel Lima).
Gonzaga died of natural causes at the age of 76.
A Volta da Asa Branca
Luiz Gonzaga Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
A asa branca ouvindo o ronco do trovão
Já bateu asas e voltou pro meu sertão
Ai, ai eu vou me embora, vou cuidar da prantação
Já bateu asas e voltou pro meu sertão
Ai, ai eu vou me embora, vou cuidar da prantação
A seca fez eu desertar da minha terra
De mandar chuva pr'esse sertão sofredor
Sertão das muié séria, dos homes trabaiador
De mandar chuva pr'esse sertão sofredor
Sertão das muié séria, dos homes trabaiador
Rios correndo, as cachoeira tão zoando
Terra moiadam mato verde, que riqueza
E a asa branca à tarde canta, que beleza
Ai, ai, o povo alegre, mais alegre a natureza
E a asa branca à tarde canta, que beleza
Ai, ai, o povo alegre, mais alegre a natureza
Sentindo a chuva, eu me arrescordo de Rosinha
A linda flor do meu sertão pernambucano
E se a safra não atrapaiá meus pranos
Que que há, o seu vigário, vou casar no fim do ano
E se a safra não atrapaiá meus pranos
Que que há, o seu vigário, vou casar no fim do ano!
Luiz Gonzaga's song A Volta da Asa Branca is a bittersweet anthem to the power of home and nature, the pain of forced migration, and the joy of redemption. It tells the story of a migrant worker who left his homeland due to a harsh drought, but now returns because rain has finally come. He hears the white-winged dove calling his name and takes it as a sign that he should go back to his roots and start to look after his crops again. He felt glad that God had remembered the suffering of his homeland, filled with serious women and industrious men, lying in the northeastern part of Brazil. Every aspect of nature, including the singing of the dove, is beautiful and joyous. He feels the rain, remembers his love and his vow to marry her at the end of the year, and prepares for a new beginning.
The song is a perfect blend of folk and popular music, featuring the accordion, the triangle, the zabumba, and other traditional instruments from the Brazilian Northeast. It is a classic that has been covered by numerous artists, including Gilberto Gil, Caetano Veloso, Fagner, and Dominguinhos. It has also been used in films, commercials, and political campaigns, and is widely regarded as a symbol of northeastern Brazilian culture. What makes this song so meaningful is its sense of hope and resilience, despite the harsh conditions of the region, and its ability to evoke a strong emotional response in listeners.
Line by Line Meaning
Já faz três noites, que pro norte relampeia
It's been three nights since lightning strikes to the north
A asa branca ouvindo o ronco do trovão
The white-winged dove listening to the thunder's roar
Já bateu asas e voltou pro meu sertão
It has already flapped its wings and returned to my homeland
Ai, ai eu vou me embora, vou cuidar da prantação
Oh, I am going back, going to take care of the plantation
A seca fez eu desertar da minha terra
The drought made me flee from my land
Mas felizmente Deus agora se alembrou
But fortunately, God has remembered us
De mandar chuva pr'esse sertão sofredor
Sending rain to this suffering backwoods
Sertão das muié séria, dos homes trabaiador
The backwoods of serious women and hardworking men
Rios correndo, as cachoeira tão zoando
Rivers flowing, waterfalls are echoing
Terra moiadam mato verde, que riqueza
Damp earth, green foliage, what a wealth
E a asa branca à tarde canta, que beleza
And the white-winged dove sings in the afternoon, what a beauty
Ai, ai, o povo alegre, mais alegre a natureza
Oh, oh, the people are happy, but nature is even happier
Sentindo a chuva, eu me arrescordo de Rosinha
Feeling the rain, I remember Rosinha
A linda flor do meu sertão pernambucano
The beautiful flower from my Pernambuco homeland
E se a safra não atrapaiá meus pranos
And if the crop does not disappoint me
Que que há, o seu vigário, vou casar no fim do ano
What can I do? Your priest, I will get married at the end of the year
Contributed by Micah K. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
Homem do campo
LETRA Já faz três noites
Que pro norte relampeia
A asa branca
Ouvindo o ronco do trovão
Já bateu asas
E voltou pro meu sertão
Ai, ai eu vou me embora
Vou cuidar da prantação
A seca fez eu desertar da minha terra
Mas felizmente Deus agora se alembrou
De mandar chuva
Pr'esse sertão sofredor
Sertão das muié séria
Dos homes trabaiador
Rios correndo
As cachoeira tão zoando
Terra moiada
Mato verde, que riqueza
E a asa branca
Tarde canta, que beleza
Ai, ai, o povo alegre
Mais alegre a natureza
Sentindo a chuva
Eu me arrescordo de Rosinha
A linda flor
Do meu sertão pernambucano
E se a safra
Não atrapaiá meus pranos
Que que há, o seu vigário
Vou casar no fim do ano.
Joverlaine Veloso
Eu choro com essa perfeição...
E tem gente que ainda desdenha dessa tradição! EU SOU NORDESTINO!!!
g4Br13L Paixones
Ha
Nauan Oliveira
quem diria que a professora usa essa música para fazer uma atividade (aula online)
escritora de fanfics ♡
Ss akkaakkakakkkakakak
Kailane Vieira
Neé
Lohana Cosme Vale
Pra mim é pra prova
Pedro Victor
Né kkkkkk
Fenix Word
Kkkkk vdd
Lany Rodrigues
Que Voz!!
Respeite Gonzagão!
Nordestina com orgulho!
Carlos Marreira
esta música asa branca e o hino do meu querido nordeste um grande abraço para todos os nordestinos. Carlos. Fortaleza