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.
Acordo às quatro
Luiz Gonzaga Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Dou um cheiro na muié′ e nas crianças também
Vou pro trabáio', com céu ainda escuro
Respirando esse ar puro que só minha terra tem
Levo comigo minha foice e a enxada
Vou seguindo pela estrada, vou pro campo trabaiá′
Vou ouvindo o cantar dos passarinho
Tenho as miúças, carneiro, porco e galinha
Tenho inté' uma vaquinha que a muié' vive a cuidar
E os menino, digo sempre a Iracema
Em Santana de Ipanema, todos os três vai estudar
Pois eu não quero fio′ meu analfabeto
Quero no caminho certo, da cartilha do ABC
Eu mesmo nunca tive essa sorte
Mas eu luto inté′ a morte, mode' eles aprender
Eu mesmo nunca tive essa sorte
Mas eu luto inté′ a morte, mode' eles aprender
Tenho as miúças, carneiro, porco e galinha
Tenho inté′ uma vaquinha que a muié' vive a cuidar
E os menino, digo sempre a Iracema
Em Santana de Ipanema, todos os três vai estudar
Pois eu não quero fio′ meu analfabeto
Quero no caminho certo, da cartilha do ABC
Eu mesmo nunca tive essa sorte
Mas eu luto inté' a morte, mode' eles aprender
Eu mesmo nunca tive essa sorte
Mas eu luto inté′ a morte, mode′ eles aprender
É, menino meu tem que aprender
Nem que seja pelo antigo
A, B, C, D, E, F, G, H, I, J
K, L, M, N, O, P, Q, R, S, T, U, V
X, Y, Z!
Fi' de caboclo alagoano tem que estudar
Mode′ eles aprender
Eu luto até a morte...
In Luiz Gonzaga's song "Acordo às quatro," the singer describes his daily routine of waking up at four in the morning, drinking coffee, saying good morning to his wife and children, and going to work in the fields while it's still dark outside. He takes his tools with him, including his scythe and hoe, and walks along the road while listening to the birds singing. Throughout the song, he talks about his animals and his desire for his children to receive a good education, even though he himself never had the opportunity. He affirms that he will fight until the end to provide his children with an education, repeating the phrase "eu luto até a morte" (I will fight until death), demonstrating his dedication to his family and community.
Line by Line Meaning
Acordo às quatro, tomo meu café
I wake up at four, drink my coffee
Dou um cheiro na muié′ e nas crianças também
I give a kiss to my wife and my children too
Vou pro trabáio', com céu ainda escuro
I go to work, with the sky still dark
Respirando esse ar puro que só minha terra tem
Breathing in the pure air that only my land has
Levo comigo minha foice e a enxada
I take my scythe and hoe with me
Vou seguindo pela estrada, vou pro campo trabaiá′
I walk down the road, heading to the field to work
Vou ouvindo o cantar dos passarinho
I listen to the birds singing
Vou andando, vou sozinho, tenho Deus pra me ajudar
I walk alone, but I have God to help me
Tenho as miúças, carneiro, porco e galinha
I have my daughters, a ram, a pig, and chickens
Tenho inté' uma vaquinha que a muié' vive a cuidar
I even have a cow that my wife takes care of
E os menino, digo sempre a Iracema
And about the boys, I always tell Iracema
Em Santana de Ipanema, todos os três vão estudar
That in Santana de Ipanema, all three will go to school
Pois eu não quero fio′ meu analfabeto
Because I don't want my children to be illiterate
Quero no caminho certo, da cartilha do ABC
I want them on the right path, learning the ABCs
Eu mesmo nunca tive essa sorte mas eu luto inté' a morte, mode' eles aprender
Even though I never had that luck, I fight to the death so they can learn
É, menino meu tem que aprender
My boys have to learn
Nem que seja pelo antigo: A, B, C, D, E, F, G, H, I, J, K, L, M, N, O, P, Q, R, S, T, U, V, X, Y, Z!
Even if it's through old ways: A, B, C, D, E, F, G, H, I, J, K, L, M, N, O, P, Q, R, S, T, U, V, X, Y, Z!
Fi' de caboclo alagoano tem que estudar
The son of an Alagoan native has to study
Mode' eles aprender
So they can learn
Eu luto até a morte...
I fight until death...
Writer(s): Marcondes Benedito Farias Costa
Contributed by Sophia R. Suggest a correction in the comments below.