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.
Cidadão De Caruaru
Luiz Gonzaga Lyrics
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Faz gosto a gente ver
De tudo que há no mundo
Nela tem pra vender
Na feira de Caruaru
Tem massa de mandioca
Batata assada
Tem ovo cru
Batata doce, queijo e cajú
Cenoura, jabuticaba
Guiné, galinha
Pato e peru
Tem bode, carneiro e porco
Se duvidar isso é cururu
Tem bode, carneiro e porco
Se duvidar isso é cururu
Tem cesto, balaio, corda
Tamanco, greia, tem boi tatu
Tem fumo, tem tabaqueiro
Tem tudo e chifre
De boi zebu
Caneco, arcoviteiro
Peneira, boi
Mel de uruçu
Tem carça de arvorada
Que é pra matuto
Não andar nu
Tem carça de arvorada
Que pra matuto
Não andar nu
Na feira de Caruaru
Tem coisa pra gente ver
De tudo que há no mundo
Nela tem pra vender
Na feira de Caruaru
Tem rede, tem baleeira
Mó de menino
Caçar nhandu
Maxixe, cebola verde
Tomate, coentro
Coco e xuxu
Armoço feito na corda
Pirão mexido
Que nem angu
Mobília de tamborete
Feita de tronco de mulungu
Mobília de tamborete
Feita de tronco de mulungu
Tem louça, tem ferro véio
Sorvete de raspa
Que faz jaú
Gelado, caldo de cana
Fruta de parme
E mandacaru
Boneco de vitalino
Que são conhecido
Inté no Sul
De tudo que há no mundo
Tem na feira de Caruaru
De tudo que há no mundo
Tem na feira de Caruaru
A feira de Caruaru
Faz gosto a gente ver
De tudo que há no mundo
Nela tem pra vender
Na feira de Caruaru
Na feira de Caruaru
The lyrics of Luiz Gonzaga's "Cidadão de Caruarú" describe the vibrant atmosphere and abundance of goods found in the famous Caruarú fair. The song portrays the fair as a place where one can find everything in the world. It lists a variety of items that are available for sale, such as cassava dough, roasted potatoes, raw eggs, fruits like bananas, oranges, and mangoes, sweet potatoes, cheeses, carroty, jabuticaba (a Brazilian fruit), guinea fowl, chicken, duck, turkey, and even goat, sheep, and pork. The repetition of "se duvidar isso é cururu" emphasizes the incredible range of animals available for consumption. The lyrics go on to mention different objects found at the fair, such as baskets, ropes, clogs, and tobacco, highlighting the diverse merchandise available.
The song also mentions cultural references specific to Caruarú, like the "arvorada" pants worn by locals to avoid walking naked, the "baleeira" (canoe used for hunting), and "mobília de tamborete" (furniture made from mulungu trunks). The lyrics mention various foods that are commonly found at the fair, including maxixe (a type of vegetable), green onions, tomatoes, coriander, coconuts, and chayotes (a type of squash). The song concludes by reiterating that everything in the world can be found at the Caruarú fair.
Overall, "Cidadão de Caruarú" celebrates the richness and diversity of the Caruarú fair, emphasizing the wide range of products available and the unique cultural elements associated with the event. It showcases the importance of the fair as a place of commerce, gathering, and cultural exchange.
Line by Line Meaning
A feira de Caruaru
The Caruaru market
Faz gosto a gente ver
Delights us to see
De tudo que há no mundo
Of everything that exists in the world
Nela tem pra vender
It has things to sell
Tem massa de mandioca
There is cassava dough
Batata assada
Roasted potato
Tem ovo cru
There are raw eggs
Banana, laranja e manga
Banana, orange, and mango
Batata doce, queijo e cajú
Sweet potato, cheese, and cashew
Cenoura, jabuticaba
Carrot, jabuticaba fruit
Guiné, galinha
Guinea fowl, chicken
Pato e peru
Duck and turkey
Tem bode, carneiro e porco
There are goats, sheep, and pigs
Se duvidar isso é cururu
If in doubt, it's a type of frog dance
Tem cesto, balaio, corda
There are baskets, wicker baskets, ropes
Tamanco, greia, tem boi tatu
Wooden clogs, gossip, and armadillo
Tem fumo, tem tabaqueiro
There is tobacco, there are tobacco holders
Tem tudo e chifre
There is everything, even cattle horns
De boi zebu
Of zebu cattle
Caneco, arcoviteiro
Mug, trickster
Peneira, boi
Sieve, ox
Mel de uruçu
Uruçu bee honey
Tem carça de arvorada
There are pants from the arvorada tree
Que é pra matuto
So that countrymen
Não andar nu
Don't walk naked
Na feira de Caruaru
In the Caruaru market
Tem rede, tem baleeira
There are hammocks, there are whaling ships
Mó de menino
Boy's toy
Caçar nhandu
Hunt rheas
Maxixe, cebola verde
Maxixe (type of vegetable), green onion
Tomate, coentro
Tomato, cilantro
Coco e xuxu
Coconut and chayote
Armoço feito na corda
Lunch cooked on a rope
Pirão mexido
Mixed pirão (type of Brazilian dish)
Que nem angu
Just like polenta
Mobília de tamborete
Stool furniture
Feita de tronco de mulungu
Made from mulungu tree trunks
Tem louça, tem ferro véio
There is crockery, there is scrap iron
Sorvete de raspa
Scraped ice cream
Que faz jaú
That the jaú fish makes
Gelado, caldo de cana
Frozen sugarcane juice
Fruta de parme
Parme fruit
E mandacaru
And mandacaru cactus
Boneco de vitalino
Vitalino's dolls
Que são conhecido
That are well known
Inté no Sul
Even in the South
Na feira de Caruaru
In the Caruaru market
De tudo que há no mundo
Of everything that exists in the world
Tem na feira de Caruaru
It is available at the Caruaru market
A feira de Caruaru
The Caruaru market
Faz gosto a gente ver
Delights us to see
De tudo que há no mundo
Of everything that exists in the world
Nela tem pra vender
It has things to sell
Na feira de Caruaru
In the Caruaru market
Na feira de Caruaru
In the Caruaru market
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: Onildo Almeida
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind