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.

Marimbondo
Luiz Gonzaga Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

Um marimbondo vindo peneirando a asa pra entrá em nossa casa,
Chega chuva no sertão.
Nós matá a fome da mué e nosso fio,
Dança coco e aça mio na fogueira de São João.

Setembro vem aí, tem safra de algodão.
Setembro vem aí, tem safra de algodão.(bis)

Pelo São João é tudo ao redor da fogueira,
Uma morena faceira fala com toda atenção.

Ó seu Mané você vai ser meu compadre,
E eu vou ser sua comadre em louvor a São João.

São João dormiu, São João acordou.
Vamos ser compadres que São João mandou.

São João dormiu, São João acordou.
Vamos ser compadres que São João mandou.(bis)

Overall Meaning

The first stanza talks about a wasp that is trying to enter the house while rain is falling in the countryside. The children and the wife of the singer of the song are dancing and having fun around the fire of the Saint John celebration while they satisfy their hunger. The second stanza speaks about the upcoming cotton harvest in September, which is a significant economic event for the people in the countryside. During the Saint John celebration, a pretty woman approaches the singer and asks him to be her future child's godfather while she would be the godmother. They bond over their love for Saint John festivities. The last stanza repeats the notion of the two becoming compadres, which is a term used in Brazil to describe the relationship between a godfather and a godmother. It repeats twice, emphasizing the importance of the tradition and the celebration of Saint John.

The lyrics depict the joy and sense of community felt during the Saint John celebration, a significant event in Northeastern Brazil. The mention of the wasp trying to enter the house symbolizes the challenges faced by the people of the countryside, but they do not let it take away from their celebration. The mention of the cotton harvest in September reflects the economic reality of the people living there. Finally, the idea of becoming compadres through Saint John is an excellent example of how religion and culture intertwine in Brazil.

Line by Line Meaning

Um marimbondo vindo peneirando a asa pra entrá em nossa casa,
A wasp is flying around, flapping its wings, trying to come into our home.

Chega chuva no sertão.
Rain is coming to our dry region.

Nós matá a fome da mué e nosso fio,
We satisfy the hunger of our wife and child.

Dança coco e aça mio na fogueira de São João.
We dance and enjoy ourselves around the bonfire during the festival of Saint John.

Setembro vem aí, tem safra de algodão.
September is coming, and it's time for the cotton harvest.

Pelo São João é tudo ao redor da fogueira,
During the festival of Saint John, everything revolves around the bonfire.

Uma morena faceira fala com toda atenção.
A pretty brunette speaks with complete attention.

Ó seu Mané você vai ser meu compadre,
Hey Mané, you're going to be my godfather.

E eu vou ser sua comadre em louvor a São João.
And I'll be your godmother, in honor of Saint John.

São João dormiu, São João acordou.
Saint John went to sleep, and then he woke up.

Vamos ser compadres que São João mandou.
Let's become godparents as Saint John has commanded us to do.