Luiz Gonzaga do Nascimento (Exu, Pernambuco, December 13, 1912 — Recife, Pe… Read Full Bio ↴Luiz Gonzaga do Nascimento (Exu, Pernambuco, December 13, 1912 — Recife, Pernambuco, August 2, 1989) was a prominent Brazilian folk singer, songwriter, musician and poet. Born in the countryside of Pernambuco, he is considered to be responsible for the promotion of Northeastern ("nordeste") music throughout the rest of the country. He is also known as the "king of baiao" and "Gonzagão".

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.

Capim Novo
Luiz Gonzaga Lyrics

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Nem ovo de codorna
Catuaba ou tiborna
Não tem jeito não
Não tem jeito não
Amigo véio pra você
Tem jeito não
Amigo véio pra você
Tem jeito não, não, não

Esse negócio de dizer que
Droga nova
Muita gente diz que aprova
Mas a prática desmentiu
O doutor disse
Que o problema é psicológico
Não é nada fisiológico
Ele até me garantiu
Não se iluda amigo véio
Vai nessa não
Essa tal de droga nova
Nunca passa de ilusão
Certo mesmo é
Um ditado do povo
Pra cavalo véio
O remédio é capim novo

Certo mesmo é
Um ditado do povo
Pra cavalo véio
O remédio é capim novo

Nem ovo de codorna
Catuaba ou tiborna
Não tem jeito não
Não tem jeito não
Amigo véio pra você
Tem jeito não
Amigo véio pra você
Tem jeito não, não, não
Esse negócio de dizer que
Droga nova
Muita gente diz que aprova
Mas a prática desmentiu
O doutor disse
Que o problema é psicológico
Não é nada fisiológico
Ele até me garantiu
Não se iluda amigo véio
Vai nessa não
Essa tal de droga nova
Nunca passa de ilusão
Certo mesmo é
Um ditado do povo
Pra cavalo véio
O remédio é capim novo

Certo mesmo é
Um ditado do povo
Pra cavalo véio
O remédio é capim novo
Certo mesmo é
Um ditado do povo
Pra cavalo véio
O remédio é capim novo
Certo mesmo é
Um ditado do povo
Pra cavalo véio
O remédio é capim novo
Certo mesmo é
Um ditado do povo
Pra cavalo véio
O remédio é capim novo
Certo mesmo é
Um ditado do povo
Pra cavalo véio
O remédio é capim novo
Certo mesmo é
Um ditado do povo

Pra cavalo véio
O remédio é capim novo

Overall Meaning

The lyrics of Luiz Gonzaga's song "Capim Novo" address the topic of new and trendy drugs and their perceived benefits. The song suggests that these "new drugs" such as quail eggs, catuaba or tiborna, do not actually provide any real solutions. The repeated phrase "não tem jeito não" emphasizes that there is no way around it, that these drugs are not effective. The singer addresses an old friend, telling him that there is no solution for him, the old way is still the best way.

The lyrics go on to highlight the destructive nature of these new drugs, contrasting the popular belief that they are beneficial with the reality of their negative effects. The doctor dismisses them as purely psychological, not physical, and assures the singer that they are nothing more than illusions. The chorus delivers the message that for someone who has lived a long life, the best medicine is sticking to the old ways, the traditional and reliable "capim novo" (new grass).

In summary, the song "Capim Novo" advises against falling for the allure of new drugs and emphasizes the importance of sticking to proven methods and traditions.

Line by Line Meaning

Nem ovo de codorna
Not even quail eggs

Catuaba ou tiborna
Catuaba or tiborna

Não tem jeito não
There's no way

Amigo véio pra você
Old friend for you

Tem jeito não
There's no way

Amigo véio pra você
Old friend for you

Tem jeito não, não, não
There's no way, no, no

Esse negócio de dizer que
This thing of saying that

Droga nova
New drug

Muita gente diz que aprova
Many people say they approve

Mas a prática desmentiu
But practice disproved

O doutor disse
The doctor said

Que o problema é psicológico
That the problem is psychological

Não é nada fisiológico
It's not physiological at all

Ele até me garantiu
He even assured me

Não se iluda amigo véio
Don't deceive yourself, old friend

Vai nessa não
Don't go for it

Essa tal de droga nova
This thing called new drug

Nunca passa de ilusão
Never exceeds illusion