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.
Eu Vou Pro Crato
Luiz Gonzaga Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Vou matar minha saudade
Ver minha morena
Reviver nossa amizade
Eu vou pro Crato
Tomar banho na nascente
Na subida do Lameiro
Eu vou pro Crato
Comer arroz com pequi
Feijão com rapadura
Farinha do Cariri
Eu vou pro Crato
Vou matar minha saudade
Ver minha morena
Reviver nossa amizade
Eu vou pro Crato
Pois a coisa melhorou
A luz de Paulo Afonso
O Cariri valorizou
Eu vou pro Crato
Já não fico mais aqui
Cratinho de açucar
Coração do Cariri
Eu vou pro Crato
Vou matar minha saudade
Ver minha morena
Reviver nossa amizade
Eu vou pro Crato
Vou pra casa de seu Pedro
Seu Felício é velho macho
Tô com Pedro, tô sem medo
Eu vou pro Crato
Vou viver no Cariri
Cratinho de açucar
Tijolo de buriti
Luiz Gonzaga's song "Eu Vou Pro Crato" is a joyful celebration of returning to the town of Crato in the Cariri region of the Brazilian state of Ceará. Gonzaga sings of his longing to see his "morena" (dark-skinned woman) and revive their friendship. He looks forward to taking a dip in the nascent waters and sampling the local cuisine, including "arroz com pequi" (rice with pequi fruit), "feijão com rapadura" (beans with caramelized sugar), and "farinha do Cariri" (ground cassava flour). The singer also alludes to the recent improvements in the region, including the arrival of electricity from the Paulo Afonso dam.
Throughout the song, Gonzaga emphasizes his fond memories of Crato and his eagerness to return. He mentions specific locations, such as the Lameiro hill, and people he plans to visit, including Pedro and Felício. The repetition of the chorus "Eu vou pro Crato / Vou matar minha saudade / Ver minha morena / Reviver nossa amizade" (I'm going to Crato / To quench my longing / To see my morena / To rekindle our friendship) adds to the infectious upbeat tone of the piece.
Line by Line Meaning
Eu vou pro Crato
I am going to Crato
Vou matar minha saudade
To ease my longing
Ver minha morena
To see my lover
Reviver nossa amizade
To revive our friendship
Tomar banho na nascente
To take a bath in the spring
Na subida do Lameiro
On the way up Lameiro
Tomo uns trago de aguardente
I drink some aguardente
Comer arroz com pequi
To eat rice with pequi
Feijão com rapadura
To eat beans with rapadura
Farinha do Cariri
To eat Cariri's flour
Pois a coisa melhorou
Because things have improved
A luz de Paulo Afonso
The light of Paulo Afonso
O Cariri valorizou
Cariri has appreciated
Já não fico mais aqui
I don't stay here anymore
Cratinho de açucar
Crato, the small town of sugar
Coração do Cariri
Heart of Cariri
Vou pra casa de seu Pedro
To go to Mr. Pedro's house
Seu Felício é velho macho
Mr. Felicio is an old rooster
Tô com Pedro, tô sem medo
I am with Pedro, I am without fear
Vou viver no Cariri
I will live in Cariri
Tijolo de buriti
Brick made of buriti
Contributed by Austin E. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
Silas Marcone
Eu vou pro Crato
Vou matar minha saudade
Ver minha morena
Reviver nossa amizade
Eu vou pro Crato
Tomar banho na nascente
Na subida do Lameiro
Tomo uns trago de aguardente
Eu vou pro Crato
Comer arroz com pequi
Feijão com rapadura
Farinha do Cariri
Eu vou pro Crato
Vou matar minha saudade
Ver minha morena
Reviver nossa amizade
Eu vou pro Crato
Pois a coisa melhorou
A luz de Paulo Afonso
O Cariri valorizou
Eu vou pro Crato
Já não fico mais aqui
Cratinho de açucar
Coração do Cariri
Eu vou pro Crato
Vou matar minha saudade
Ver minha morena
Reviver nossa amizade
Eu vou pro Crato
Vou pra casa de seu Pedro
Seu Felício é velho macho
Tô com Pedro, tô sem medo
Eu vou pro Crato
Vou viver no Cariri
Cratinho de açucar
Tijolo de buriti
Eliel Santos 🅥
Eu vou pro Crato
Vou matar minha saudade
Ver minha morena
Reviver nossa amizade
Eu vou pro Crato
Tomar banho na nascente
Na subida do Lameiro
Tomo estrago de aguardente
Eu vou pro Crato
Comer arroz com pequi
Feijão com rapadura
Farinha do Cariri
Eu vou pro Crato
Vou matar minha saudade
Ver minha morena
Reviver nossa amizade
Eu vou pro Crato
Pois a coisa melhorou
A luz de Paulo Afonso
O Cariri valorizou
Eu vou pro Crato
Já não fico mais aqui
Cratinho de açucar
Coração do Cariri
Eu vou pro Crato
Vou matar minha saudade
Ver minha morena
Reviver nossa amizade
Eu vou pro Crato
Vou pra casa de seu Pedro
Seu Felício é velho macho
Tô com Pedro, tô sem medo
Eu vou pro Crato
Vou viver no Cariri
Cratinho de açucar
Tijolo de buriti
Fonte: LyricFind
Compositores: Jose Patapio Da Costa Jatai / Luiz Gonzaga Do Nascimento
Letra de Eu Vou Pro Crato © Universal Music Publishing Group
Thanya Marta
Essa música me lembra a ExpoCrato. Que está ficando altamente conhecida, adorooo melhor evento do meu Cratim, tijolo de buriti.🌵💥
GAMEPLAYS DO BOQUINHA
Tem orgulho de ter nascido nessa cidade maravilhosa tem muito ah viajar por fora do Brasil por dentro enfim não trogo meu Crato por nenhuma outra cidadezinha ❤😍😍😢
Suel S Felix Sousa
@Andressa @á
Narutinhoff
E o cheiro de vaca sksk
Gabriel oliveira
Verdade lembra muito a expocrato...
Diego alves de M
Conheço bem o Crato, Juazeiro , Barbalha , brejo santo
Manū Silva
meus conterrâneos! Depois de 7 anos voltei ao nosso cratinho de açúcar♥️ a saudade foi maior não troco por nenhum outro lugar!♥️♥️
Rachel Rezende
Pense na moral do Crato, cantada pelo rei do baião, Luiz Gonzaga.
Fernando Antônio
Rachel Rezende Luiz Gonzaga tb fez uma música pra Barbalha
Maria Socorro
Rachel Rezende verdade