Asa Branca ("White-Winged Dove", 1947) is a defining song of baião — the genre Luiz Gonzaga carried from the sertão to all of Brazil. Written with Humberto Teixeira, it tells of a farmer forced to leave his home and his love, Rosinha, by the great drought, promising to return when the rain falls again. The footnotes below explain some of the regional words and imagery.
Asa Branca
Luiz Gonzaga
Português
Quando olhei a terra ardendo
Quá fogueira de São João1
Eu perguntei a Deus do céu: Ai
Por que tamanha judiação?2
Que braseiro3, que fornalha4
Nem um pé de plantação5
Por falta d'água, perdi meu gado
Morreu de sede meu alazão6
Por falta d'água, perdi meu gado
Morreu de sede meu alazão
Inté mesmo a asa branca7
Bateu asas do sertão8
Entonce eu disse: Adeus, Rosinha
Guarda contigo meu coração
Entonce eu disse: Adeus, Rosinha
Guarda contigo meu coração
Hoje longe, muitas légua9
Numa triste solidão
Espero a chuva cair de novo
Pra mim voltar pro meu sertão
Espero a chuva cair de novo
Pra mim voltar pro meu sertão
Quando o verde dos teus olho
Se espalhar na plantação
Eu te asseguro, não chore não, viu?10
Que eu voltarei, viu, meu coração?
Eu te asseguro, não chore não, viu?
Que eu voltarei, viu, meu coração?
English
When I saw the land burning
Like a São João bonfire
I asked God in heaven: Ai
Why such cruel suffering?
What a blazing fire, what a furnace
Not a single crop left standing
For lack of water, I lost my cattle
My chestnut horse died of thirst
For lack of water, I lost my cattle
My chestnut horse died of thirst
Even the white-winged dove
Flew away from the sertão
Then I said: Farewell, Rosinha
Keep my heart with you
Then I said: Farewell, Rosinha
Keep my heart with you
Today, far away, many leagues
In sad loneliness
I wait for the rain to fall again
So I can return to my sertão
I wait for the rain to fall again
So I can return to my sertão
When the green of your eyes
Spreads across the fields
I assure you, don't you cry, you hear?
For I'll come back, you hear, my heart?
I assure you, don't you cry, you hear?
For I'll come back, you hear, my heart?
Footnotes
- fogueira de São João
The bonfire lit during the São João festival in June, a major Northeastern Brazilian tradition celebrating the summer solstice and Saint John, symbolizing intense heat and festive fire imagery.
- judiação
A term denoting hardship, or unjust mistreatment, often describing the harsh conditions endured during drought or migration in Northeastern Brazil.
- braseiro
Literally a bed of hot coals, brazier, sometimes hellfire; used figuratively here to describe the scorching heat of the drought-stricken land.
- fornalha
A furnace used metaphorically to describe the torrid and harsh climate of the sertão during drought.
- pé de plantação
Literally 'foot of the plantation,' here used to mean not a single crop or plant surviving the drought.
- alazão
An equestrian term for a horse with a chestnut or reddish-brown coat, part of everyday rural vocabulary in the sertão.
- asa branca
A white-winged dove (picazuro pigeon) native to the sertão. During drought the bird leaves the countryside. Also the protagonist, unable to make a living in the dry season, has to leave the sertão and his lady-love. In a sequel to this song "A Volta da Asa-Branca", the bird and protagnoist return with the beginning of the rainy season.
- sertão
The semi-arid backlands of Northeastern Brazil, known for its harsh dry season which is a driver of migration and economic poverty in the region. The sertão is nonetheless well known for its rich history, folklore and unique cultural identity. And a crucial symbol in forró music.
- légua
A traditional unit of distance historically used in Brazil, roughly equal to 6 kilometers, evoking the long journeys of Northeastern migrants.
- asseguro, não chore não, viu?
A tender colloquial phrase from the song's finale, using Northeastern speech patterns ('viu?' as a verbal tic meaning 'you hear?') to comfort a loved one with a promise of return.