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.

O Xamego da Guiomar
Luiz Gonzaga Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

Acho muito interessante
O xamego da Guiomar
Ela diz a todo instante
Que comigo vai casar

Não creio muito nisso
Ela sabe muito bem
Aceito um compromisso

Pela gaita que ela tem

Acho muito interessante
O xamego da Guiomar
Ela diz a todo instante
Que contigo vai casar

Eu não creio muito nisso
Ela sabe muito bem
Assumo um compromisso
Pela gaita que ela tem

Por causa dela eu já perdi
A calma e o sossego, credo
Nunca vi tanto xamego
Pois a Guiomar
Está doidinha pra casar
E eu também
Não 'tou aqui pra bobear

Todo mundo sabe
Todo mundo diz
Que ela tem por mim
Um grande apego

Porém, num ata, nem desata
Com a bossa do xamego
Assim não há quem possa
Ter calma, ter sossego

Mas digo francamente
Posso até jurar
Que a gaita da Guiomar
Vai se acabar

Acho muito interessante
O xamego da Guiomar
Ela diz a todo instante
Que contigo vai casar

Não creio muito nisso
Ela sabe muito bem
Assumo um compromisso
Pela gaita que ela tem

Acho muito interessante
O xamego da Guiomar
Diz a todo instante
Que contigo vai casar

Mas eu não creio muito nisso
Ela sabe muito bem
Assumo um compromisso
Pela gaita que ela tem

Acho muito interessante
O xamego da Guiomar
Ela diz a todo instante
Que comigo vai casar

Não creio muito nisso
Ela sabe muito bem
Aceito um compromisso
Pela gaita que ela tem

Acho muito interessante
O xamego da Guiomar
Diz a todo instante
Que contigo vai casar

Não creio muito nisso
Ela sabe muito bem
Aceito um compromisso
Pela gaita que ela tem

Por causa dela eu já perdi
A calma e o sossego, credo
Nunca vi tanto xamego
Pois a Guiomar
Está doidinha pra casar
E eu também
Não 'tou aqui pra bobear

Todo mundo sabe
Todo mundo diz
Que ela tem por mim
Um grande apego

Porém, num ata, nem desata
Com a bossa do xamego
Assim não há quem possa
Ter calma, ter sossego

Mas digo francamente
Posso até jurar
Que a gaita da Guiomar
Vai se acabar

Acho muito interessante
O xamego da Guiomar
Diz a todo instante
Que contigo vai casar

Mas não creio muito nisso
Ela sabe muito bem

Assumo um compromisso
Pela gaita que ela tem

Overall Meaning

Luiz Gonzaga's song "O Xamego da Guiomar" is about the singer's admiration for Guiomar and her "xamego," a type of dance originated in the northeast region of Brazil. Guiomar constantly mentions how she will marry the singer, but he does not believe her. He agrees to a commitment with her because of the way she plays the "gaita," a type of accordion.

Throughout the song, the singer expresses his frustration with Guiomar's indecisiveness about their relationship, as everyone around them knows how much she likes him. He is caught up in the energy of the "xamego" but is also becoming increasingly agitated by Guiomar's mixed signals. The singer concludes that Guiomar's "gaita" will eventually break due to the intensity of their relationship.

The song presents a relatable situation in which one partner is more eager to commit than the other. It also celebrates the upbeat and lively nature of "xamego" while leaving room for melancholy.

Line by Line Meaning

Acho muito interessante
I find it very interesting

O xamego da Guiomar
Guiomar's affectionate behavior

Ela diz a todo instante
She says at every moment

Que comigo vai casar
That she will marry me

Não creio muito nisso
I don't believe that very much

Ela sabe muito bem
She knows very well

Aceito um compromisso
I accept a commitment

Pela gaita que ela tem
Because of the accordion she has

Eu não creio muito nisso
I don't believe that very much

Assumo um compromisso
I assume a commitment

Por causa dela eu já perdi
Because of her I've lost