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.
Tesouro e meio
Luiz Gonzaga Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Faz a gente lembrar, esquecer
Ô baião
Traz saudade gostosa de ter
Um triângulo
Uma sanfona, um zabumba
Uma cabrocha
Baionando um balanceio
Quanto vale?
Tesouro e meio
Uma peixeira, um gibão
Um chapéu de couro
Valem um tesouro
Valem um tesouro
Mas o gemer de uma sanfona
No balanceio
Então isso é baião
E baião por si só
É tesouro e meio
Tesouro e meio
Tesouro e meio
The song "Tesouro e Meio" by Luiz Gonzaga is a tribute to the baião genre of music, which originates from the northeastern region of Brazil. "Ô baião" is a phrase that repeats throughout the chorus and serves as a reminder of the nostalgic feelings and sense of longing that the genre often inspires. The lyrics go on to describe the essential instruments that make up a baião: the triangle, the accordion, and the zabumba (a type of drum). The mention of a cabrocha (young woman) "baionando" (dancing the baião) adds to the picture of local culture surrounding the genre.
The refrain "Quanto vale? Tesouro e meio" ("How much is it worth? Treasure and a half") emphasizes the value that these humble instruments and articles of clothing can hold for those who appreciate baião music. A peixeira (a type of knife), a gibão (a type of leather vest), and a hat made of leather may seem like insignificant items, but when combined with the sound of a soulful accordion, they hold immeasurable worth. The final lines of the song declare that "baião por si só é tesouro e meio" ("baião alone is treasure and a half"), underscoring the sentimentality that this musical style holds for Brazilians.
Line by Line Meaning
Ô baião
Oh, Baião
Faz a gente lembrar, esquecer
Makes us remember, forget
Traz saudade gostosa de ter
Brings a tasty feeling of nostalgia
Um triângulo
A triangle
Uma sanfona, um zabumba
An accordion, a bass drum
Uma cabrocha
A peasant girl
Baionando um balanceio
Dancing a baião rhythm
Quanto vale?
How much is it worth?
Tesouro e meio
A treasure and a half
Uma peixeira, um gibão
A fish-knife, a leather vest
Um chapéu de couro
A leather hat
Valem um tesouro
Are worth a treasure
Mas o gemer de uma sanfona
But the moaning of an accordion
No balanceio
In the rhythm
Então isso é baião
That's what baião is
E baião por si só
And baião itself
É tesouro e meio
Is a treasure and a half
Tesouro e meio
A treasure and a half
Tesouro e meio
A treasure and a half
Contributed by Connor P. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
Professor Thiago Soares
Viva o Rei. Não vamos deixar morrer sua obra riquíssima. Ele deve ser tocado sempre em todo lugar.
Hildebrando Miguel
Luiz Gonzaga eternamente sempre o Rei
Antonio Carlos Vitor Santos
Gostei muito de ver as raízes do nordeste.
Abner Ramos
amo essa musica mds 2021 e eu ouco todos os dias
Edilma Albuquerque
E no Côuro, (Segunda voz) tá Abdias e Marinês a Rainha do Xaxado. Eternos.
José Bueno
Mas a letra permite ir além: existem coisas que valem mais do que elas mesmas. Valem mais do que um tesouro. São aquelas coisas intangíveis que valem um tesouro e meio. É aí, nesse lugar que não se "pega", que mora algo de muito valor. Algo que muito vale não tem preço que se pague. Vale mais que um tesouro.