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.
São João Na Roça
Luiz Gonzaga Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Em homenagem a São João
O forró já começou
Vamos gente, arrastar pé nesse salão
A fogueira 'tá queimando
Em homenagem a São João
O forró já começou
Dança Janjão com Raqué
Luiz com Yaiá
Dança Joaquim com Zabé
E eu com Sinhá
Traz a cachaça, Mané
Que eu quero ver
Quero ver paia avoar
A fogueira 'tá queimando
Em homenagem a São João
O forró já começou
Vamos gente, arrastar pé nesse salão
A fogueira 'tá queimando
Em homenagem a São João
O forró já começou
Vamos gente, arrastar pé nesse salão
A fogueira 'tá queimando
Em homenagem a São João
O forró já começou
Vamos gente, arrastar pé nesse salão
A fogueira 'tá queimando
Em homenagem a São João
O forró já começou
Vamos gente, arrastar pé nesse salão
Dança Janjão com Raqué
Luiz com Yaiá
Dança Joaquim com Zabé
E eu com Sinhá
Traz a cachaça, Mané
Que eu quero ver
Quero ver paia avoar
A fogueira 'tá queimando
Em homenagem a São João
O forró já começou
Vamos gente, arrastar pé nesse salão
A fogueira 'tá queimando
Em homenagem a São João
O forró já começou
Vamos gente, arrastar pé nesse salão
The lyrics to "São João Antigo" by Luiz Gonzaga paint a vivid picture of the festivities and joy surrounding the celebration of São João, a traditional Brazilian holiday. The opening lines set the scene with a burning bonfire in honor of São João, while the mention of forró - a lively and energetic dance and music style - indicates that the party has already begun. The lyrics invite everyone to join in and dance in this grand hall, encouraging the attendees to move their feet to the rhythm.
The second verse introduces specific couples dancing together, such as Janjão and Raqué, Luiz and Yaiá, Joaquim and Zabé, and the singer with Sinhá. These names are likely fictional characters used to represent the people at the party. The lyrics also mention the desire for Mané to bring the cachaça, a traditional Brazilian liquor, as the singer wants to see the joy and excitement of the party take flight.
Overall, "São João Antigo" captures the spirit of the São João festival, highlighting the importance of community, music, dance, and celebration in Brazilian culture.
Line by Line Meaning
A fogueira 'tá queimando
The bonfire is burning
Em homenagem a São João
In honor of Saint John
O forró já começou
The forró has already started
Vamos gente, arrastar pé nesse salão
Let's go, people, let's dance in this hall
Dança Janjão com Raqué
Janjão dances with Raqué
Luiz com Yaiá
Luiz dances with Yaiá
Dança Joaquim com Zabé
Joaquim dances with Zabé
E eu com Sinhá
And I dance with Sinhá
Traz a cachaça, Mané
Bring the cachaça, Mané
Que eu quero ver
Because I want to see
Quero ver paia avoar
I want to see paia fly
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
Written by: Jose De Souza Dantas Filho, Luiz Gonzaga Do Nascimento Jr
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Deivid Magalhães
A fogueira tá queimando
Em homenagem a São João
O forró já começou
Vamos, gente, rapa pé nesse salão
A fogueira tá queimando
Em homenagem a São João
O forró já começou
Vamos, gente, rapa pé nesse salão
Dança Joaquim com Zabé, Luiz com Yaiá
Dança Janjão com Raquer e veu com Sinhá
Traz a cachaça, Mané!
Eu quero ver, quero ver paia avoar
Dança Joaquim com Zabé, Luiz com Yaiá
Dança Janjão com Raquer e eu com Sinhá
Traz a cachaça, Mané!
Eu quero ver, quero ver paia avoar
A fogueira tá queimando
Em homenagem a São João
O forró já começou
Vamos, gente, ra papé nesse salão
A fogueira tá queimando
Em homenagem a São João
O forró já começou
Vamos, gente, rapa pé nesse salão
Dança Joaquim com Zabé, Luiz com Yaiá
Dança Janjão com Raquer e eu com Sinhá
Traz a cachaça Mané!
Eu quero ver, quero ver paia avoar
Dança Joaquim com Zabé, Luiz com Yaiá
Dança Janjão com Raquer e eu com Sinhá
Traz a cachaça, Mané!
Eu quero ver, quero ver paia avoar
A fogueira tá queimando
Em homenagem a São João
O forró já começou
Vamos, gente, rapa pé nesse salão
A fogueira tá queimando
Em homenagem a São João
O forró já começou
Vamos, gente, ra papé nesse salão
Sthefany Vitória
Essa música me trás tantas lembranças boas...
Fabiano Severino
E dois
Duca Santos
Né fala 🥺
Felipe Farias
Oiii
nestor neto
Tbm
Sandra Rejane
É DOİS
Marliene Lima
Essa música me trás as mais lindas recordações da minha infância, com meus pais meus irmãos e meus vizinhos
PAULO CESAR
Eu também eu tenho orgulho de ser Nordestino
Rivalter Moura
UMA VOZ INESQUECÍVE! O eterno rei!!🖤
Antonio Batista
Q SAUDADE Q TEMPO BOM NÃO VOLTA MAIS MEU DEUS AI SE VOLTASE
🌽🥜🌵☔🌴