"Asa Branca" is a song written by

Luiz Gonzaga Luiz Gonzaga do Nascimento (standard orthography 'Luís'; ; Exu, December 13, 1912 – Recife, August 2, 1989) was a Brazilian singer, songwriter, musician and poet and one of the most influential figures of Brazilian popular music in the twen ...

and Humberto Teixeira in 1947. The ''asa-branca'' ("white wing") of the title is the picazuro pigeon. With its departure the desolation of the parched ''

sertão The ''sertão'' (, plural ''sertões'') is the "hinterland" or "backcountry". In Brazil, it refers both to one of the four sub-regions of the Northeast Region of Brazil (similar to the specific association of "outback" with Australia in English ...

'' (the arid backcountry) is complete, and the protagonist of the song, unable to make a living, must leave the ''sertão'' and his lady-love Rosinha. The song closes with his promise to return.

Covers

Eliane Elias Eliane Elias
BrowseBiography.com, 20 November 2011; retrieved 10 September 2014. is a Brazilian jazz pianist, sin ...

included the song in her 1994 album '' Solos and Duets''. *

Raul Seixas Raul Santos Seixas (; 28 June 1945 – 21 August 1989)allmusic Biography/ref> was a Brazilian rock composer, singer, songwriter and producer. He is sometimes called the "Father of Brazilian Rock" and "Maluco Beleza", the last one roughly transla ...

has written an English version of the song under the title "White Wings". It has been released only after his death, in the compilation ''Documento'' from 1998. *It has been covered by

Zé Ramalho Zé Ramalho (born José Ramalho Neto on October 3, 1949 – Brejo do Cruz, Paraíba, Brazil) is a Brazilian composer and performer. Zé Ramalho has collaborated with various major Brazilian musicians, including Vanusa, Geraldo Azevedo and Alce ...

in his 2003 album ''

Estação Brasil Estação Brasil is a compilation album by Brazilian solo artist Zé Ramalho, containing songs by him (including one new song, "Nesse Brasil cabôco de Mãe-Preta e Pai João") as well as songs by various Brazilian artists. It was released in 2003 ...

''. It is about the

drought A drought is defined as drier than normal conditions.Douville, H., K. Raghavan, J. Renwick, R.P. Allan, P.A. Arias, M. Barlow, R. Cerezo-Mota, A. Cherchi, T.Y. Gan, J. Gergis, D. Jiang, A. Khan, W. Pokam Mba, D. Rosenfeld, J. Tierney, an ...

s that often afflict the ''

'' of the

Brazilian Northeast The Northeast Region of Brazil ( pt, Região Nordeste do Brasil; ) is one of the five official and political regions of the country according to the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics. Of Brazil's twenty-six states, it comprises n ...

. *An instrumental version appears on

Ballaké Sissoko Ballaké Sissoko (born 1968) is a Malian player of the kora. He has worked with Toumani Diabaté and Taj Mahal, and is a member of the group 3MA with Driss El Maloumi and Rajery. Biography Ballaké's father, Djelimady Sissoko, was a notable mus ...

's 2013 release, ''At Peace'', arranged by the artist for kora, and featuring frequent collaborator

Vincent Ségal Vincent Ségal (born 1967 in Reims, France) is a French cellist and bassist. He studied at the National Music Academy of Lyon and the Banff Centre for the Arts in Canada. He is mainly known for the variety of his collaborations and unusual projec ...

on cello. Also played on the Scottish Highland bagpipes long with Brazilian surdo by macumba.

Recognition

The song was voted by the Brazilian edition of ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first kno ...

'' as the 4th greatest Brazilian song.

A Volta da Asa-Branca

"A Volta da Asa-Branca" (''The Return of the White-wing'') is a sequel to "Asa Branca". It marks the return of rain, the ''asa-branca'', and the protagonist to the ''sertão''. The song celebrates the return of life to the ''sertão'', and the protagonist's reunion with Rosinha, whom he plans to marry at the end of the year.

References

1947 songs Brazilian songs Songs about Brazil Portuguese-language songs Songs written by Humberto Teixeira {{Brazil-music-stub