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.

To Sobrando
Luiz Gonzaga Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

Vou tocar minha polquinha
Pras meninas do arraiá
Todas são tão bonitinhas
Que nem sei qual vou tirar

Será Lia? Ou Maria?
Todas duas tem seu par
Ai, ai, ai, ai, com quem é que eu vou dançar?

(Ai, ai, ai, ai, com quem é que eu vou dançar?)

Vou tocar minha polquinha
Pras meninas do arraiá
Todas são tão bonitinhas
Que nem sei qual vou tirar

Será Nena? Ou Helena?
Todas duas vão casar
Ai, ai, ai, ai, com quem é que eu vou dançar?
(Ai, ai, ai, ai, com quem é que eu vou dançar?)

Vou tocar minha polquinha
Pras meninas do arraiá
Todas são tão bonitinhas
Que nem sei qual vou tirar

Carinhosa, no meu peito, a sanfona é que é meu par
A sanfona é minha dona e ninguém vai me tomar
Ai, ai, ai, ai, com a sanfona eu vou dançar
(Ai, ai, ai, ai, com a sanfona eu vou dançar)

Vou tocar minha polquinha
Pras meninas do arraiá
Todas são tão bonitinhas
Que nem sei qual vou tirar

Carinhosa, no meu peito, a sanfona é que é meu par
A sanfona é minha dona e ninguém vai me tomar
Ai, ai, ai, ai, com a sanfona eu vou dançar
(Ai, ai, ai, ai, com a sanfona eu vou dançar)

Ai, ai, ai, ai
Com a sanfona

Eu vou... dançar!
(Ai, ai, ai, ai, com a sanfona eu vou dançar)

Overall Meaning

Luiz Gonzaga's song "To Sobrando" is a joyful and lively tune that tells the story of a young man trying to figure out with whom he will dance at the arraiá, a popular Brazilian festival. The lyrics describe how he plays his polquinha (a type of accordion) to the girls of the party, each one prettier than the other, making it hard for him to decide with whom to dance. He even considers Lia, Maria, Nena, and Helena, but he doesn't know who has already paired up with someone else. Despite the difficult decision, the young man finds comfort in his accordion, which he calls "carinhosa" and "my partner." The song finishes with the catchy refrain, "Ai, ai, ai, com a sanfona eu vou dançar" (Oh, oh, oh, I am going to dance with my accordion).

The song's lyrics illustrate the lively and social aspect of the arraiá, a popular event in Brazil where people dance, sing, eat typical foods, and mingle with each other. The song evokes a feeling of joy, excitement, and anticipation, as the young man tries to find a dance partner at the party. The polquinha, played by the singer, represents the music and the soul of the party, bringing people together and making them dance and have fun.

Line by Line Meaning

Vou tocar minha polquinha
I'm going to play my accordion

Pras meninas do arraiá
For the girls at the festival

Todas são tão bonitinhas
They're all so pretty

Que nem sei qual vou tirar
I don't even know which one to choose

Será Lia? Ou Maria?
Will it be Lia? Or Maria?

Todas duas tem seu par
Both of them have their partners

Ai, ai, ai, ai, com quem é que eu vou dançar?
Oh, who am I going to dance with?

Carinhosa, no meu peito, a sanfona é que é meu par
My accordion is my partner in my heart

A sanfona é minha dona e ninguém vai me tomar
The accordion belongs to me and no one will take it away

Ai, ai, ai, ai, com a sanfona eu vou dançar
Oh, I'm going to dance with my accordion

Ai, ai, ai, ai
Oh, oh, oh, oh