27/06/2022
ናዕት
Matzah (Tis aching #2)
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Tis confusing times
When the beaming beat its peak reaches
And then, like broken light switches,
In a second, dies.
Ou…ou… reggae flat
Reggae flat!
However glittering the tent may be,
Ou …ou…reggae flat
None shall join its feasting party.
Ou…. Ou…. reggae flat
Reggae flat!
However dazzling the tent may be,
Ou …ou… reggae flat
No Gog has ever obscured reality.
In bewilderment we watched
As, one by one, in the race sink they drowned
When, in their minds clouded,
The ground into a bottomless gorge turned
And like an endless pit the suffering seemed.
A fool blinded by race who has broken all his vows
Evens out a lawn on a thousand million graves.
The popcorn smile that my pain belies
Even got me a bold invite to their reggae whines.
Reckless, vain tailor of corpses putrefied
Weaves mindlessly on without looking forward.
Speak oh mouth of mine without fear nor dread
Since no silence can shelter from the gaping death ahead.
A unified choir of drums by resistance beats enlivened
Will bring down that fortress by racism diseased.
Give way Esau! Do not weaken my resolve with your choking hands.
Let my raging heart break free of my abused patience!
Tis aching
Tis aching
Still ablaze from flames it did not yet smother,
My heart is aching anew from the pain of last year.
The turns of the Masinko*, which like music sounds,
Is the only true tune of my soul’s aggrieved notes.
Ou….ou…
Tis aching
A trampled truth left to quiver
Stifled, for a time, by loud clatter
Will, once all the rattle quiets,
Be heard above the dead silence of lies.
Tis aching
For love to be crowned the grudge must be deposed.
No one man with two heads has his goal ever reached.
No love has by mere lines ever been contained
Nor no child of Adam by mere words from humankind ousted.
Come storm or a torrent of fire
Never from my country shall I waver
In life and even in death for her I will never falter.
Can it be drawn?
Can it have lines?
Can love by borders be separated?
Can it by religion be divided?
Can love by walls be secluded?
If, by this timeless truth, armed
Each one of us will stand forever guard
For the land of love we inherited.
Come storm or a torrent of hell fire
Never from my country shall I waver;
In life and even in death for her I will never falter.
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Glossary:
Matzah: Unleavened, flat bread
*Masinko: one string Ethiopian music instrument, played like a violin
🟩 🟨 🟥
Written by : Tewodros Kassahun (Teddy Afro)
Composed by: Tewodros Kassahun ( Teddy Afro)
And
An old traditional Ethiopian melody
Mixing:
Keyboard- Bereket Tesfazghi (Beki)
Guitar- Bereket Tesfazghi
Masinko- Haddis Alemayehu (Hadinqo)
Sound recording/mastering: Maru Alemayehu
English translation: Tarikua Getachew
Acknowledgment:
To all who have contributed in various ways to the success of the song
Dedicated to all the innocent lives in various parts of the country who have been lost, all the people who have become disabled and been internally displaced over the past four years
