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.
(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.