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.
Ave Maria Sertaneja
Luiz Gonzaga Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
De joelhos sobre o chão
O sertanejo reza a sua oração
Ave Maria
Mãe de Deus Jesus
Nos dê força e coragem
Pra carregar a nossa cruz
Nesta hora bendita e santa
Devemos suplicar
A Virgem Imaculada
Os enfermos vir curar
Ave Maria
Mãe de Deus Jesus
Nos dê força e coragem
Pra carregar a nossa cruz (2X)
The lyrics to Luiz Gonzaga's song Ave Maria Sertaneja describe the religious devotion of rural Brazilians, known as sertanejos, who at the sound of the church bells at six in the evening, kneel down and pray the Ave Maria. The song reflects the strong Catholicism of the Brazilian people and the faith they hold in the mother of Jesus to give them strength and courage to carry on with their daily struggles, represented by the mention of "carregar a nossa cruz" (carry our cross).
The second stanza of the song urges the sertanejos to use this hour of prayer to ask the Virgin Mary, revered as the Immaculate Conception in the Catholic faith, to intercede on behalf of the sick and bring about their healing. The repetition of the chorus, "Nos dê força e coragem, pra carregar a nossa cruz" reinforces the idea that prayer gives strength and the ability to endure hardships.
Overall, Luiz Gonzaga's song Ave Maria Sertaneja is a poignant reflection on the faith and devotion of rural Brazilians, and the role that prayer and religion play in their daily lives.
Line by Line Meaning
Quando batem as seis horas
When the clock strikes six
De joelhos sobre o chão
On their knees on the ground
O sertanejo reza a sua oração
The countryman prays their prayer
Ave Maria
Hail Mary
Mãe de Deus Jesus
Mother of God Jesus
Nos dê força e coragem
Give us strength and courage
Pra carregar a nossa cruz
To carry our cross
Nesta hora bendita e santa
In this blessed and holy hour
Devemos suplicar
We must plead
A Virgem Imaculada
The Immaculate Virgin
Os enfermos vir curar
To come heal the sick
Ave Maria
Hail Mary
Mãe de Deus Jesus
Mother of God Jesus
Nos dê força e coragem
Give us strength and courage
Pra carregar a nossa cruz
To carry our cross
Contributed by Audrey I. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
Georgia Lira
Quando batem as seis horas
de joelhos sobre o chão
O sertanejo reza a sua oração
Ave Maria
Mãe de Deus Jesus
Nos dê força e coragem
Pra carregar a nossa cruz
Nesta hora bendita e santa
Devemos suplicar
A Virgem Imaculada
Os enfermos vir curar
Ave Maria
Mãe de Deus Jesus
Nos dê força e coragem
Pra carregar a nossa cruz (2X)
Jeferson Falcão do Amaral
Quando batem as seis horas
de joelhos sobre o chão
O sertanejo reza a sua oração
Ave Maria
Mãe de Deus Jesus
Nos dê força e coragem
Pra carregar a nossa cruz
Nesta hora bendita e sã
Devemos suplicar
A Virgem Imaculada
Os enfermos lhe curar
Ave Maria
Mãe de Deus Jesus
Nos dê força e coragem
Pra carregar a nossa cruz 2X
Andrey Morbeck
Salve o Nordeste Salve tbm os estados fora do Nordeste que sofre a influência nordestina próximo a divisa
Norte de Minas
Norte do Espírito Santo
Nordeste leste do Tocantins
Leste do Pará
Norte do Tocantins
São regiões que a cultura o sotaque nordestinos alcança
Daniel Mota
Santa Maria mãe de Deus rogai por nós
José icaro Bezerra de Aquino
Rogai por nois...amem
Sofia Cardoso
Isso mesmo dani
Vagner 🤙🏽
@Alex sandro Sandro quando nós falamos “mãe de Deus, queremos dizer: mãe de Jesus” pq Jesus também é conhecido como Deus. Espero q vc tenha entendido.
Adilson Silva
Amém!
Alex sandro Sandro
Maria não é mãe de Deus
Francisca Sa
Quem é nordestino chora largado com essa música rsrsrs. Lembro de meu pai. Que saudades painho.
Yuri Nobre
Essa musica é Linda
Angelinhogustavinhog Gustavo
Ss mas meu pai tá vivo
MARIACRIS
Principalmente, pernambucano...