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.
Hora Do Adeus
Luiz Gonzaga Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Mas a sanfona ainda não desafinou
A minha voz vocês reparem eu cantando
Que é a mesma voz de quando meu reinado começou
Modéstia à parte é que eu não desafino
Desde o tempo de menino
Em Exu no meu sertão
E é por isso que hoje em dia
Ainda sou o rei do baião
Eu agradeço ao povo brasileiro
Norte Centro Sul inteiro
Onde reinou o baião
Se eu merecí minha coroa de rei
Esta sempre eu honrei
Foi a minha obrigação
Minha sanfona minha voz o meu baião
Este meu chapéu de couro e também o meu gibão
Vou juntar tudo dar de presente ao museu
É a hora do Adeus
De Luiz rei do baião
In the song "Hora Do Adeus" by Luiz Gonzaga, the singer reflects on his career as the "king of baião" and his approaching retirement. He notes that his hair is turning gray, but his accordion still plays on key, and he sings with the same voice he had when he began his reign. Gonzaga is modest in saying that he has never sung off-key, ever since he was a boy in Exu. He sang with the freedom of a "wandering cicada", and this is what earned him his crown as the king of baião. He acknowledges the people of Brazil, from the north to the south, for their support in his career, and expresses gratitude for the opportunity to wear his crown.
As he prepares to bid farewell to his fans and his career, Gonzaga plans to donate his cherished musical instruments and attire to a museum. The song is a poignant reminder to fans of Gonzaga's legacy as an internationally-renowned musician, and reflects on the importance of the cultural heritage of Brazil, as embodied in the sound of the baião.
Line by Line Meaning
O meu cabelo já começa pratiando
My hair is turning gray with age
Mas a sanfona ainda não desafinou
But my accordion still plays perfectly
A minha voz vocês reparem eu cantando
Listen to my singing and notice that
Que é a mesma voz de quando meu reinado começou
My voice has not changed since I became king
Modéstia à parte é que eu não desafino
I don't mean to brag, but I never sing off key
Desde o tempo de menino
Ever since I was a child
Em Exu no meu sertão
In Exu, my hometown in the countryside
Cantava solto que nem cigarra vadia
I sang freely, like a wild cicada
E é por isso que hoje em dia
That's why even today
Ainda sou o rei do baião
I am still the king of baião music
Eu agradeço ao povo brasileiro
I thank the Brazilian people
Norte Centro Sul inteiro
From north, south, and central regions
Onde reinou o baião
Where baião music was popular
Se eu merecí minha coroa de rei
If I deserved my crown as king
Esta sempre eu honrei
I have always honored it
Foi a minha obrigação
It was my duty
Minha sanfona minha voz o meu baião
My accordion, my voice, and my baião music
Este meu chapéu de couro e também o meu gibão
My leather hat and jacket
Vou juntar tudo dar de presente ao museu
I will donate everything to a museum
É a hora do Adeus
It's time to say goodbye
De Luiz rei do baião
From Luiz, the king of baião music
Writer(s): Luiz De Franca Guilherme De Queiroga Filho, Onildo Onildo Almeida
Contributed by Adrian G. Suggest a correction in the comments below.