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.
Fogueira De São João
Luiz Gonzaga Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Eu quero brincar
Quero soltar meu balão
E foguinhos queimar
Seu Januário
Venha ser o meu parceiro
Não esqueça da sanfona
Traga a famia
Que nós tem muito prazer
De dançar com suas fia
'Té o dia amanhecer
In Luiz Gonzaga's "Fogueira De São João," the singer expresses his excitement and eagerness to participate in the traditional celebrations of Saint John's Eve, a popular festivity in Brazil that occurs on June 23rd. Gonzaga vividly describes the atmosphere of the festivities, mentioning the bonfire, balloons, and fireworks that light up the night sky. The singer invites his friend Januário to join him in the celebrations, urging him not to forget his accordion to enliven the party.
Gonzaga also emphasizes the importance of family and community in the festivities. He implores Januário to bring his family along so that they can relish in the joy of dancing together until dawn. The song highlights the sense of togetherness and camaraderie that is at the heart of the São João festivities, where family and friends gather to celebrate with music, dancing, and food.
Overall, "Fogueira De São João" is a vibrant ode to the spirit of São João, one of Brazil's most beloved festivities that showcases the country's culture, traditions, and folklore.
Line by Line Meaning
Na fogueira de São João
In the bonfire of Saint John's celebration
Eu quero brincar
I want to play
Quero soltar meu balão
I want to release my balloon
E foguinhos queimar
And burn little fireworks
Seu Januário
Mr. Januário
Venha ser o meu parceiro
Come be my partner
Não esqueça da sanfona
Don't forget the accordion
Para animar o terreiro
To liven up the place
Traga a famia
Bring the family
Que nós tem muito prazer
Because we have lots of fun
De dançar com suas fia
Dancing with your daughters
'Té o dia amanhecer
Until the daybreak
Contributed by Tyler E. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
Roseneide Pinheiro
Eu tenho 12 anos, fui criada em Nordeste ardente mesmo morando em cidade. Tenho sangue nordestino de meu pai, terra quente de Deus que eu amo tanto. 🖤
Antonio Batista
que sodade meu pai minha mae meus irmaos em volta da fugueira comendo milho assado ai si voltace tudo de novo que saudade da vontade de chorar ja estou com 73anos mas a saudade e de mais 👭👨👨
The Epic Wander
@marcos cledson costa ah
marcos cledson costa
@The Epic Wander Pessoas humildes que não tem estudos, mas tem um coração enorme.
The Epic Wander
pera lá quem que escreve sodade, fugueira, voltace
ReMaRei.B
77.
kaua gamer
EU TÔ B TRISTE LAMENTO PELOS SEUS PAIS
Manoel Higino
Lindo demais! Salve Luiz Gonzaga!
Eliel Santos 🅥
Eita que essa é boa, forró danado de bom 🎶✌
Rogerio Tadeu Rocha
muito legal