Sister of the also popular and renowned singer and composer Caetano Veloso, she began her artistic career in 1963, appearing in the play "Boca de Ouro" by Nelson Rodrigues. A song about the play was written by Caetano Veloso, who opened the show singing a samba track by Ataulfo Alves. That year she met Gilberto Gil, Gal Costa, Tom Zé, Djalma Correa, Pitti, Alcivando Luz and Fernando Lona in Salvador, with whom she performed at the commemorations inaugurating the Vila Velha de Salvador theatre in 1964 in the shows "Nós por exemplo" and "Nova bossa velha, velha bossa nova". In 1964 she also appeared in "Mora na Filosofia", her first solo show, when she met Nara Leão. As 1965 she replaced the muse of bossa nova in the show at Teatro Opinião (Rio de Janeiro), sharing the stage with Zé Kéti and João do Vale. She stood out for her stirring interpretation of the song "Carcará". In 1965 she also recorded her first record, a single containing the tracks "Carcará" and "É de manhã", the first recording of Caetano Veloso’s composition. That same year she released a double single with the songs "Carcará", "No carnaval", "Mora na filosofia" and "Só eu sei", followed by her debut album "Maria Bethânia" and the record "Maria Bethânia canta Noel Rosa". That year she also performed in the show Arena canta Bahia, directed by Augusto Boal, alongside Gal, Gil, Caetano, Pitti and Tom Zé. Also under the direction of Boal, the same group performed the show Tempo de Guerra. In 1996 she shared the stage of Teatro Opinião with Vinícius de Moraes and Gilberto Gil, presenting the show "Pois é". In 1967 she released the album "Edu & Bethânia" with Edu Lobo. She appeared in the shows "Yes, nós temos Maria Bethânia" (Bolso theatre, Rio de Janeiro) and "Comigo me desavim" (Miguel Lemos theatre, Rio de Janeiro) and "Brasileiro profissão esperança", by Paulo Pontes, directed by Bibi Ferreira, at the Casa Grande theatre (Rio de Janeiro). In 1971 she recorded the album "A tua presença", which was praised by the select critics. In 1971 the show "Rosa dos ventos" premiered at Teatro da Praia (Rio de Janeiro), directed by Fauzi Arap and she released the album of the same name. In 1972 she appeared alongside Chico Buarque and Nara Leão in the film "Quando o carnaval chegar" by Cacá Diegues. After another trip to Europe, she launched the album "Drama - anjo exterminado" also that year. In 1973 the show Drama, luz da noite premiered at Teatro da Praia, directed by Antônio Bivar and Isabel Câmara, from which arose the record "Luz da noite". The following year she commemorated ten years in the music business with the show "A cena muda", directed by Fauzi Arap, at the Casa Grande Theatre (Rio de Janeiro). The show led to a live record of the same name. In 1975 she performed a lengthy season with Chico Buarque at the Canecão (Rio de Janeiro). In 1976 she recorded the album "Pássaro proibido" which earned her first gold record. Also that year she got together with Caetano, Gil and Gal, forming the group Os Doces Bárbaros. In 1977 she released the album "Pássaro da manhã", for which she received the second gold record of her career. That year she was considered one of the bestselling singers in Brazil, which opened new doors in the record industry. In 1978 she starred in the show "Maria Bethânia e Caetano Veloso ao vivo" alongside her brother. Also that year the album "Álibi" was released, which earned her third gold disk. In 1979 she recorded the album "Mel". She released a series of records in the following decades: "Alteza" (81), "Maria" (88), "Memória da pele" (89), "Olho d’água" (92), "As canções que você fez pra mim" (93), only recording records by Roberto and Erasmo Carlos Âmbar (96), "Imitação da vida" (97) and "A força que nunca seca" (99). In 1994 she performed alongside Caetano Veloso, Gal Costa and Gilberto Gil, in the show "Doces Bárbaros na Mangueira", reference to the tribute made to them by this samba school, with the theme "Atrás da verde e rosa só não vai quem já morreu". In 2000, she recorded limited-edition album "Cânticos, preces, súplicas à Senhora dos Jardins do Céu". In 2001, she recorded the album "Maricotinha", containing the tracks "Moça do sonho" (Edu Lobo and Chico Buarque), from the musical "Cambaio, Primavera" (Carlos Lyra and Vinícius de Moraes), "Quando você não está aqui" (Herbert Vianna and Paulo Sérgio Valle), "Antes que amanheça" (Chico César and Carlos Rennó) and "Se eu morresse de saudade" (Gilberto Gil), among others, in addition to the title track, by Dorival Caymmi. She released the record a special show at the Canecão (Rio de Janeiro). The show included appearances by Caetano Veloso, Carlos Lyra, Chico Buarque, Nana e Danilo Caymmi, Adriana Calcanhoto and Gilberto Gil, among other artists. Also in 2001, in commemoration of her 35 years in the music business, she returned to the Canecão in the show "Maricotinha", which led to the double album "Maricotinha ao vivo". On December 8 that same year, she performed before 100,000 people on Copacabana beach alongside Caetano Veloso, Gilberto Gil and Gal Costa in the show "Doces Bárbaros", which concluded the project Pão Music. In 2003 the show presented in 2001 at the Canecão was released on the DVD "Maricotinha ao vivo", directed by André Horta. In 2003 she was also nominated for the Multishow Award in the categories Best Show and Best Album for "Maricotinha ao vivo". Also that year she created her own label, Quitanda, in partnership with record company Biscoito Fino, inaugurated the company by releasing the album "Brasileirinho", containing songs about religion and Brazil, with guest appearances by Nana Caymmi, Miúcha, Denise Stoklos and Ferreira Gullar, in addition to the groups Tira Poeira and Uakti, and the album "Vozes da Purificação", the first song recorded by Dona Edith do Prato. In 2004 she received the Tim Award in the categories Best Singer, Best Record and best visual MPB project, the Rival BR Award in the category Best Album, and the Academia Brasileira de Letras Award in the category Best Singer, in addition to being nominated for the Latin Grammy. That same year she produced and appeared as a singer alongside other artists on the album "Namorando a Rosa", a tribute record to violinist Rosinha de Valença, released by her Quitanda label. In 2005 she released the album Que falta você me faz, recording works by Vincius de Moraes, in partnership with Tom Jobim, Chico Buarque, Carlos Lyra, Baden Powell, Toquinho, Adoniran Barbosa and Jards Macalé. That same year she appeared at Canecão (Rio de Janeiro) in the show "Tempo Tempo Tempo Tempo - Uma homenagem a Vinícius de Moraes". In 2005 she also received the Golden Music Dolphin Award from the Rio de Janeiro State Culture Council.
Luar Do Sertão
Maria Bethânia Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Lá na serra branquejando
Folhas secas pelo chão
Este luar cá da cidade tão escuro
Não tem aquela saudade
Do luar lá do sertão
Se a lua nasce por detrás da verde mata
Prateando a solidão
E a gente pega na viola que ponteia
E a canção e a lua cheia
A nos nascer no coração
Não há, oh gente, oh não
Luar como esse do sertão
Coisa mais bela nesse mundo não existe
Do que ouvir um galo triste
No sertão, se faz luar
Parece até que a alma da lua que descança
Escondida na garganta
Desse galo a soluçar
Não há, oh gente, oh não
Luar como esse do sertão
Ai, quem me dera que se eu morresse lá na serra
Abraçada à minha terra
E dormindo de uma vez
Ser enterrado numa grota pequenina
Onde à tarde a surunina
Chora a sua viuvez
Azulão, azulão, companheiro
Vai, vai ver minha ingrata
Diz que sem ela o sertão
Não é mais sertão
Ah! Voa azulão, vai contar companheiro vai
Azulão, azulão
This song, 'Luar Do Sertão,' performed by Maria Bethânia, is a nostalgic reflection of the singer's love for the natural beauty of her hometown, which she longs for in the city. The opening verse is an expression of deep longing, specifically for the moonlight that shone over her town. The moonlight made the surrounding landscape seem like it was glowing and, even as it illuminated the fallen leaves on the ground, it also illuminated homegrown memories in the singer's heart. She contrasts this natural brightness to the city's darkness, which fails to evoke the same emotional response, making her homesick.
The second verse's imagery of the moon rising over a green forest, washing the solitude with silver beams outlines how the light generated by the moonlight was integral to the culture of her town. It was with the light of the moon that the music played, and the songs carried the messages of the community's social gatherings. And consequently, when she hears a rooster crow in the town, she has what she longs for. It's the symbolic metaphor of the song. The singer's connection to the sound is a connection to the very soul of her hometown.
Line by Line Meaning
Ah, que saudade do luar da minha terra
Oh, how I miss the moonlight from my homeland
Lá na serra branquejando
There in the mountain, making it gleam white
Folhas secas pelo chão
Dry leaves scattered on the ground
Este luar cá da cidade tão escuro
This moonlight here in the city is so dark
Não tem aquela saudade
It doesn't have that nostalgia
Do luar lá do sertão
Of the moonlight from the Sertão
Se a lua nasce por detrás da verde mata
If the moon rises from behind the green forest
Mais parece um sol de prata
It looks like a silver sun
Prateando a solidão
Silvering the solitude
E a gente pega na viola que ponteia
And we grab the guitar that strums
E a canção e a lua cheia
And the song and full moon
A nos nascer no coração
Are born in our hearts
Não há, oh gente, oh não
There isn't, oh people, oh no
Luar como esse do sertão
Moonlight like the one in the Sertão
Coisa mais bela nesse mundo não existe
There's nothing more beautiful in this world
Do que ouvir um galo triste
Than listening to a sad rooster
No sertão, se faz luar
In the Sertão, it makes moonlight
Parece até que a alma da lua que descança
It seems like the soul of the resting moon
Escondida na garganta
Is hidden in the throat
Desse galo a soluçar
Of that rooster sobbing
Ai, quem me dera que se eu morresse lá na serra
Oh, if only I could die there in the mountain
Abraçada à minha terra
Embraced by my homeland
E dormindo de uma vez
And fall asleep at once
Ser enterrado numa grota pequenina
Being buried in a small ravine
Onde à tarde a surunina
Where in the afternoon, the shrike
Chora a sua viuvez
Mourns its widowhood
Azulão, azulão, companheiro
Azulão, azulão, companion
Vai, vai ver minha ingrata
Go, go and see my ungrateful one
Diz que sem ela o sertão
Tell her that without her the Sertão
Não é mais sertão
Isn't Sertão anymore
Ah! Voa azulão, vai contar companheiro vai
Ah! Fly, Azulão, go tell my companion
Contributed by Nolan V. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
sabrina
Escutei essa canção agora há pouco no rádio e corri para procurar aqui no YouTube. Que letra mais tocante, profunda, nos transporta para um cenário de paz e belezas naturais. Essa sim representa o homem do campo, que acorda com o cortejo dos pássaros e se deita com a luz branqueada do luar. Uma verdadeira poesia!
Gil Oliveira
Nossa 😲! Que música linda 😍 parabéns! Na voz mais bela ...
Ficou passando um filme na minha cabeça .
Sou sertaneja com orgulho.
Mas há muitos anos não voltei lá. Que saudades 😢😞.
Quem concorda???
Fabricio Rocha
Simplesmente lindo.bela interpretação....com uma nordestina cheia de talento...👍🏼
Sergio Matos
Poesia... Hino ... Na mais bela voz do Brasil...
Oliveira Oliveira
Uma das mais belas músicas sertanejas. É um hino!
Elzimar lima
Catulo da Paixão Cearense, que inspiração quando escreveu esse hino!
Adeilson Gomes
Que música linda,e a voz de Betânia dispensa comentários
Platao2020
A voz mais linda do Brasil
Gilson Nascimento
Maravilhosa interpretação de María Betânia
Renato BEzerra Rocha
Um hino...