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.

Pisa No Pilão
Luiz Gonzaga Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

Pisa no pilão, tum
Hoi! Pisa no pilão, tá
Pisa no pilão, tum
Hoi! Pisa no pilão, tá

Pisa no pilão, tum
Hoi! Pisa no pilão, tá
Pisa no pilão, tum

Hoi! Pisa no pilão, tá

Pisa no pilão, meu bem
Pisa o milho pro xerém
Pra fazer fubá hoi
Pisa no pilão cabocla
Quero ver dentro
Da roupa tu sacolejar
Tum tum tum tum
Joga as aconra
Pra frente e pra trás
Tum tum tum tum
Finca a mão no pilão bate mais
Finca a mão no pilão bate mais

Se Janeiro é mês de chuva
Fevereiro é pra plantar
Em Março o milho cresce
Em Abril vai penduar
Em Maio tá bonecando
No São João tá bom de assar
Mais em Julho o milho tá seco
E tempo, morena, da gente pilar
E tempo, morena, da gente pilar

Pisa no pilão, tum
Hoi! Pisa no pilão, tá
Pisa no pilão, tum
Hoi! Pisa no pilão, tá
Pisa no pilão, meu bem

Pisa o milho pro xerém
Pra fazer fubá hoi
Pisa no pilão cabocla
Quero ver dentro
Da roupa tu sacolejar
Tum tum tum tum
Joga as aconra
Pra frente e pra trás
Tum tum tum tum
Finca a mão no pilão bate mais
Finca a mão no pilão bate mais

No meu tempo de menino
Nas fazendas do sertão
Eu gostava de espiar
As caboca nos pilão
Sacudindo a formusoru
Dando murro como quê
Duas negas no meio do sol
Batendo caçula, dá muito o que ver

Pisa no pilão
Pisa no pilão

Pisa no Pilhão!
Tum tum táááá . . .

Overall Meaning

The lyrics of Luiz Gonzaga's song Pisa No Pilão describe the process of grinding corn kernels in a mortar and pestle to make cornmeal, which is commonly used in Brazilian cuisine. The repeated chorus of "Pisa no pilão" encourages the listener to stomp on the pestle to grind the corn kernels. The song also references the different stages of corn growth throughout the months of the year, highlighting the importance of timing and weather in agriculture. The final verse reminisces about the nostalgia of watching women grind corn in the region, showcasing the cultural significance and tradition behind this activity.

Line by Line Meaning

Pisa no pilão, tum
Step on the mortar, thud

Hoi! Pisa no pilão, tá
Hey! Step on the mortar, there

Pisa no pilão, meu bem
Step on the mortar, my dear

Pisa o milho pro xerém
Crush the corn for the porridge

Pra fazer fubá hoi
To make cornmeal, hey!

Pisa no pilão cabocla
Step on the mortar, indigenous girl

Quero ver dentro
I want to see inside

Da roupa tu sacolejar
Shake your clothes

Tum tum tum tum
Thud thud thud thud

Joga as aconra
Throw the chaff

Pra frente e pra trás
Back and forth