| Manno Charlemagne – Ayiti Pa Fore Lyrics | 3 years ago |
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Traduction en français à partir du vers « Si ayiti pa forè » : Si Haïti n’est pas une jungle, alors pourquoi trouve-t’on toutes ces bêtes ? Tu trouves des lions et des tigres, Tu trouves des chats et des rats, Tu trouves même des léopards ! De quels léopards parles-tu ? D’un groupe de mauvais garçons masqués. Le moindre petit bruit, comme à la tortue, Les léopards courent loin, oui ! Tu crois pouvoir me faire peur, parce que tu es un macoute ! Tu crois pouvoir m’intimider. Tu sors ton « ouzi-ou », ça ne me touche pas! Tu sors ta matraque, je reste cool. (Source : http://machansondudimanche.unblog.fr) |
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| Manno Charlemagne – Dwa De Lom Viewo Lyrics | 3 years ago |
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From verse "Nan mitan yon chan kann bò igwe an Dominikani": Viejo (Elder) Lyrics and music by Jean Claude Martineau / Koralen Translated into English by Jean Winer Pascal (July 27, 2020) In a sugarcane field by Higüey in Dominican Republic two Haïtians sit in a Batey barefooted, bare chested There is one talking, one’s listening so softly, soundlessly only the wind comes close to listen what they’re saying. Cousin, you’re going to Haïti there’s a commission, which I’m sending to my wife Cousin, it’s ten dollars My dear cousin, when you do arrive home If my wife is shacking up give it to my mother for me. The cousin went, cousin came back unpleasant news that tear the heart Mother is dead, it has been a long while Many have said, it’s from shagreen Your wife is there, she’s holding on and the children are all struggling The first one’s grown like a wild horse the last one does not remember his Dad. In a sugarcane field by Higüey in Dominican Republic Two Haïtians sit in a Batey barefooted, bare chested There is one talking, one’s listening so softly, soundlessly this time around, the wind erases what they were saying. Cousin, I came back from Haïti there is a message that your wife has sent for you My dear cousin, it’s time to go back Beloved cousin When crossing the borders Even if you don’t bring nothing don’t leave your machete behind. Cousin, Cousin, Cousin You’ll bring your machete To cut the wicked trees, woy Please bring your machete just to cut all the tares, woy. |
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| Manno Charlemagne – Dwa De Lom Viewo Lyrics | 6 years ago |
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Sur l'album La Fimen (1994) : www.youtube.com/watch?v=RYIEmXB4DL0 En direct en 1988 au Batofou (Pétion-Ville) avec la Koral Konbit Kalfou : www.youtube.com/watch?v=uyMabBzab04 La version complète de ce concert de 1988 : www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q4Bg3wnDlJU |
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| Manno Charlemagne – Dwa De Lom Viewo Lyrics | 6 years ago |
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Sur l'album La Fimen (1994) : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RYIEmXB4DL0 |
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| Manno Charlemagne – Lan Male M Ye Lyrics | 8 years ago |
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(Note by Gage Averill on conjunctions.com) In the last stanza and the refrain, Manno tells Haitians not to be persuaded by the institution of the "koudyay". Derived from the French phrase "coup de jaille" (spontaneous bursting-forth), the "koudyay" became a military celebration in Haiti, and eventually any street party "hosted" by an important person. Rose-Anne Auguste co-wrote "Lan Malè M Ye". |
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| Manno Charlemagne – Oganizasyon Mondyal Lyrics | 8 years ago |
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(Note by Gage Averill on conjunctions.com) The former dictatorship, in an effort to skim off more profits from the country, let foreign aid groups provide all of the infrastructure, health, education and agricultural development that the Haitian government should have been providing. The resulting foreign aid bureaucracy has been compared to a shadow government that too often works in the interests of the Haitian import-export elite and against those of the peasants and the poor. One translation of the title, "World Organization," anticipates George Bush's kinder, gentler "New World Order." |
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| Manno Charlemagne – Lafimen Lyrics | 8 years ago |
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(Note by Gage Averill on conjunctions.com) The line in the second stanza ("The people have been initiated many times") literally says: "The people have undergone the fire ritual ("kanzo") many times". In a song in which Manno implies that the elite and army have lit a smoking (not burning) fire to blind and confuse people, the "kanzo" serves as a contrasting kind of fire, one that purifies and that tests people's faith and determination. When a "gwo nèg" (big shot) rides by in the street, the "ti-nèg" (little people) are supposed to line the street and "bat bravo" (pay collective tribute by applauding), as in the third stanza here. It is one of those many rituals of power that define hierarchy and the social order in Haiti. |
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| Manno Charlemagne – Mon Frère Lyrics | 8 years ago |
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(Note by Gage Averill on conjunctions.com) The Haitian term "twoubadou" (troubadour) includes singer-songwriters of conscience like Manno, but it also encompasses the quaint ensembles that play old méringues about the beauty of Haiti as well as Creole versions of Cuban trio songs. In the first stanza of this song, Manno contrasts himself to these quaint twoubadou ensembles. The song that he refers to in the second line is "Choucoune," one of the best-known romantic méringues, with a chorus that starts "Ti-zwazo" (or Little Birds). This is the same song that is sung in English as "Yellow Bird." In the second stanza, Manno tells us of another kind of singer that he isn't: commercial singers in Haiti are routinely classified into "chanteurs de charme" (romantic crooners) and "chanteurs de choc" (hard rockers). Francine Chouinard co-wrote "Mon Frère". Gregg Ellis co-translated "Mon Frère". |
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| Manno Charlemagne – Lamayot Lyrics | 8 years ago |
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(Note by Gage Averill on conjunctions.com) "Lamayòt" (Masked Man) was written in 1989, the first year Carnival was held in Port-au-Prince after the fall of Duvalier in 1986. For three years, Carnival had been banned by the military authorities because it combines songs of political critique with exuberant lower-class crowds, an unstable mix for the elite in politically unstable periods. Lamayòt is an individual masque (i.e., not part of a large Carnival group). The Lamayòt carries a box in which he has hidden something odd, humorous, gross or obscene, and he charges people to look inside, or even to buy one of the contents. Parents will sometimes scare their children by telling them that the Lamayòt will put them in his box. The refrain "Madigra m pa pè w se moun ou ye" is also found in a 1960s Carnival song by Nemours Jean-Baptiste. |
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| Manno Charlemagne – Lan Male M Ye Lyrics | 8 years ago |
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(Translated from Haitian Creole by Mark Dow) I AM IN MISERY We are six million Haitians, out of every hundred thousand, there's one who lives well, that makes six thousand who have money. Is it God who wanted it that way? You are the king as far as that answer's concerned, I don't think it's written in the Bible. Ever since the Old Testament slaves have always fought against kings, they struggle to break their chains, they fought against Pharaoh. You yourselves Haitian peasants, who cannot read, that's what they say, one rice harvest isn't two and it isn't three, but it is something. Six thousand people who have money in spite of all the old weapons they find every time we want to change that, it doesn't mean a damn thing to the people the day they want it to change. I have to get out of this misery I'm in, neither tafia street parties nor candidates can get me out of it. To change this life, to make an improvement, it's up to me to stand up and fight. Out of every five thousand intellectuals four thousand nine hundred are full of shit, a bunch of gutless, spineless pimps, they forget that the people are the only power, say a mass for the Americans to come in, come take the country, thank you, sir. Contraband plus charity is for those with no face, it's true, with no honor, with no dignity. It really is a pity for a group of people who are cultured, who went to school, who know their abc's, to bend their backs with a beggar's bowl wherever they go. Six thousand people who have money in spite of all the old weapons they find every time we want to change that, it doesn't mean a damn thing to the people the day they want it to change. I have to get out of this misery I'm in, neither tafia street parties nor candidates can get me out of it. To change this life, to make an improvement, it's up to me to stand up and fight. The angry river is trouble, its union is with the sea, for us that is clear. For the man it's pretty words, especially when he wants to play a big role, he's a better singer than the nightingale. He's always talking about union, when you see how he wants to be president, comes down to the neighborhood in a nice car, pays a couple of rara bands to play their bamboo horns, brothers, don't get scammed, that's what they call the big sham. Let the thieves in Port-au-Prince keep selling themselves for nothing. Six thousand people who have money in spite of all the old weapons they find every time we want to change that, it doesn't mean a damn thing to the people the day they want it to change. I have to get out of this misery I'm in, neither tafia street parties nor candidates can get me out of it. To change this life, to make an improvement, it's up to me to stand up and fight. |
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| Manno Charlemagne – Oganizasyon Mondyal Lyrics | 8 years ago |
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(Translated from Haitian Creole by Mark Dow) INTERNATIONAL ORGANIZATIONS The international organizations are not for us; They're there to help the thieves plunder and devour. When people who are suffering arm themselves, Know that they are exhausted. International medicine stays on the sidelines. They hold meetings, they sit and they bullshit With a glass of champagne, a nice imported wine And that's it. When people are under the gun all over the world, Don't give me all that analysis When you really don't give a damn. What people don't want to hear is the truth. Underdeveloped reactionaries are the most dangerous of all; When their interests are threatened, they're always the ones Who call for intervention against the people who are rising up. The dominant class is very clever: In principle they know they are the minority, They know how to play it. Their class position is what counts: They'll do the impossible, they'll rampage To eliminate the child in the womb. We will fight until the corn is ripe, until we are free. We take heart from the struggles of other peoples who are not afraid to die. Their deliverance is their efforts, is in their blood that is shed. As for the pills the doctors would like to prescribe, They throw them away. We salute all peoples who are fighting, We honor all those who have died For the cause of freedom. As for those Haitian dogs who say they are cultured While making a living from the suffering of refugees At their universities, we spit in your face. At their universities, we spit in your face. At their universities, we spit in your face. |
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| Manno Charlemagne – Mon Frère Lyrics | 8 years ago |
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(Translated from French by Mark Dow) MY BROTHER You would like me to sing yet again the sweet song about the little birds to please you even as I hear the cries of the dead coming from our filthy prison cells. You'd like me to sing of the clear water of the streams and rivers of the Artibonite red with the blood of our brothers. You call yourself a pacifist, you call yourself apolitical, my brother. You really like the romantic crooners, it pleases the beautiful women who love to faint, it doesn't hurt anyone; when the singer shakes it in front of a clucking America, idols supply the thrills which make us forget about the missiles, El Salvador and Haiti, Grenada and company, my brother. When show business makes big bucks you're no longer racist, my brother. You like rock, you like blues, you dance, you play at losing yourself. You wash your hands of it, you're all good little citizens and in the sand the ostriches sleep the sleep of the just while the great eagle plays at devouring the weak ones the weak ones, the weak ones, the weak ones. |
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| Manno Charlemagne – Lafimen Lyrics | 8 years ago |
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(Translated from Haitian Creole by Mark Dow) SMOKE The one in hiding who takes wet leaves, Pissed-in mattress-stuffing that's not yet dry, Is not making a fire to cook, But to make us cough. If you see tears running down our faces, Our crying is not crying. We are the conscience that stands up, That moves on and analyzes The puff of smoke that's up to no good. Smoke, listen closely. Smoke, the mistress of the house is the one who gives the orders. Smoke, don't let the people get angry Or they'll open the door and, dammit, you're gone. The people have been initiated many times, They're through that place in just two or three steps. On their land, they are the only king, Little vodou priests like Lika, Little Jan or Little Nikola, Cannot make them march in step. The people know what this means: The life that is destroyed to give life Can't be lost, it will not be lost. Smoke, listen closely. Smoke, the mistress of the house is the one who gives the orders. Smoke, don't let the people get angry Or they'll open the door and, dammit, you're gone. The people know that the victory Of respect for life and of right Is something you have to fight for. They know very well that you may die If you just applaud and stand by, No one has any doubt about that. I don't think the people were surprised By what happened at midnight: The day always follows the night. Smoke, listen closely. Smoke, the mistress of the house is the one who gives the orders. Smoke, don't let the people get angry Or they'll open the door and, dammit, you're gone. |
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| Manno Charlemagne – Lamayot Lyrics | 8 years ago |
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(Translated from Haitian Creole by Mark Dow) That grinning mask is the flag you carry, That's what your Mardi Gras has become. Carnival hasn't satisfied you yet, And Ash Wednesday is almost here. You take the country and you walk all over it, You sell it for a nice house across the sea. But I see through your Mardi Gras disguise, Let's see what happens if you lead the parade. In Port-au-Prince you hear all kinds of things... Mardi Gras Man's parade float is an armored car. Mardi Gras Man, I'm not afraid of you, you're only a person. Mardi Gras Man, I'm not afraid of you, you're only a person. It was the first time I saw how this works, The Mardi Gras Man gives himself a military rank To scare me, but it excites me. Masked Man, I'm not afraid of you, I'm not afraid of you, I'm not afraid of you, Masked Man, I'm not afraid of you, you're only a person. As long as there are those who will take responsibility, Who want to fight with lucidity, I'll open a white sheet for the honest ones, Come lie in it, roll in it, confess your sins. Don't put the blame on underdevelopment, Don't look for words to hide behind. Two centuries ago we were important people Because we fought other people to make ourselves free. In Port-au-Prince you hear all kinds of things... Mardi Gras Man's parade float is an armored car. Mardi Gras Man, I'm not afraid of you, you're only a person. Mardi Gras Man, I'm not afraid of you, you're only a person. It was the first time I saw how this works, The Mardi Gras Man gives himself a military rank To scare me, but it excites me. Masked Man, I'm not afraid of you, I'm not afraid of you, I'm not afraid of you, Masked Man, I'm not afraid of you, you're only a person. Masked Man, I'm not afraid of you, you're only a person. |
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| Manno Charlemagne – Chalmay Peral Lyrics | 8 years ago |
| Version créole de "Chalmay Peralt". | |
| Manno Charlemagne – Chalmay Peralt Lyrics | 8 years ago |
| Version française de "Chalmay Peral". | |
| Manno Charlemagne – Fini Les Colonies Lyrics | 9 years ago |
| Version française de "Na Sispann Pedi". | |
| Manno Charlemagne – Na Sispann Pedi Lyrics | 9 years ago |
| Version créole de "Fini Les Colonies". | |
| Manno Charlemagne – Dwa De Lom Viewo Lyrics | 9 years ago |
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Traduction en français (par Karole Gizolme avec la collaboration de Lionel Pierre-Louis, Anne Lescot, Reynold Henrys, Bernard Chancy, Barbara Prézeau) : DROITS DE L'HOMME, VIEJO* Droits de l’homme, c’est ainsi qu’on les nomme, Lamayòt** pour enfants téméraires, Après deux cents ans, on en est toujours au même point : L’homme veut me faire croire que le soleil est le bon dieu. Mais le diable est venu, sans dire un mot, La bible c’est une chose sacrée, Une chose toujours pas très claire : Les Blancs ont pris la terre, Ils nous ont donné la bible, On a accepté, on a écouté. Fais-moi gagner un peu d’argent en travaillant pour toi, cher maître. Sur les questions idéologiques, cher frère, Nous sommes admirés, honnêtement, Mais pour le reste, ne sommes-nous bons que pour la misère ? ... Au moins une chose changera : Nous sommes capables d’être ministre, C’est vrai nous avons étudié pour cela. Tonnerre ! La cause nationale, ils l’ont utilisée, Longtemps, la littérature servait à quelque chose. Maintenant, je crois qu’il faut passer aux actes, Pas besoin de nous fâcher, nous sommes déjà enragés. Au milieu d’un champ de canne près d’Iguey, en République dominicaine, Deux Haïtiens assis dans un batey. L'un parle, l’autre écoute, ils ne font pas de bruit. Seul le vent dans les cannes entend leurs paroles. Cousin, je vais partir en Haïti. Si tu as une commission à faire passer, je la remettrai à ta femme. Cousin, même si ce n'est que 10 pesos, donne-les-lui. Cousin, quand tu arrives chez moi, si ma femme est avec un autre, Donne-les à ma mère. Le cousin est allé, le cousin est revenu, Avec une triste nouvelle : Sa mère est morte depuis plusieurs années ; Certains disent que c’est le chagrin. Sa femme, elle, est toujours là, elle tient le coup. Les enfants sont délaissés : Le premier est aussi grand qu’un cheval, Le petit dernier ne se rappelle même pas de son père. Au milieu d’un champ de canne près d’Iguey, en République dominicaine, Deux Haïtiens assis dans un batey. Un parle, l’autre écoute, ils ne font pas de bruit. Le vent dans les cannes s'empresse d'effacer leurs paroles. Cousin, Je reviens d’Haïti. Ta femme m’a remis une commission pour toi. Cousin, il est temps de rentrer. Cousin, quand tu passeras la frontière, Même si tu ne rapportes rien, n’oublie pas ta machette. Cousin, cousin, cousin... Cousin, prends ta machette pour couper les ronces, Cousin, prends ta machette pour couper les mauvaise herbes. Cousin, prends ta machette pour couper les ronces, Cousin, prends ta machette pour couper les mauvaise herbes. * "Viejo" : se dit du coupeur de canne haïtien en République dominicaine qui n'est jamais retourné chez lui. Contrairement au "Kongo", celui qui vient d'arriver dans les "bateyes" (plantations). ** "Lamayòt" : sac transporté par un homme pendant le carnaval. Les enfants payent un penny pour avoir le droit de voir ce qui est dedans ; jeu à la fois amusant et effrayant. |
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* This information can be up to 15 minutes delayed.