Words and Music composed, written and arranged by Olusegun Akinlolu (except What Will It Take? which was written by Olusegun Akinlolu and Carolyn McCormack). No part of these lyrics should be shared in any form or any public space without giving credit to the writer. All rights reserved. © & ℗ 2002 EniObanke
1. HOW DO YOU DO? (OWURỌ L’ỌJỌ)
Ojúmọ́ ti mọ́, ará mi ẹ gbé ra n’ílẹ̀, iṣẹ́ ti yá
Ojúmọ́ ti mọ́, ọ̀rẹ̀ mi ẹ gbọn’ra jìgì ká tún’ra mú
Oníṣẹ́ ọwọ́, alákọ̀wé, gbogbo ẹni t’ó nwa’ṣẹ́, ọmọ’lé ìwé o
Òwurọ́ l’ọjọ́, ẹní máa r’íre o
Wọ́n á ṣè ‘bà òwúrọ̀ o
(A new day is here, arise, it is time for work
Arise, shake off lethargy, refocus your energy
All you tradesmen, office-workers,
Job-seekers and school children,
The morning determines the day
Those who wish for success must pay homage to it)
Good morning, I greet you, how do you do?
Good morning, I greet you, we’ve got some work to do
Good morning, I greet you, how was your night?
Good morning, I greet you, it will be a beautiful day
If you do your work with honesty and pride
You will find your dreams coming true very soon
If we could be patient and live within the law
There would be much progress
Everyone would be happy…
2. JANGBALAJÙGBÚ
Who made the earth shed tears of sorrow
Who makes the children cry so much
Who’s going to bring back the smiles on their faces
Who’s going to make us laugh?
Ẹ bá ngbọ́n’dò yí gbẹ
Jangbala jùgbú jùgbú jùgbú jangbala
Ojo t’ó rọ̀ l’àná yẹn, gbogbo ilé l’omi rọ́ sí
Gbogbo aṣọ ló tutù
Baálé ilé ti sùn lọ fọnfọn o
Gbogbo ọmọdé l’omi ti kó lọ o…
(Come let’s empty this pond
Yesterday’s rain flooded the house
All our clothes are wet
The head of house was deep in slumber,
The flood carried away all the children)
What joy to see the children when they are playing!
What joy to see the children running around the place!
Omo l’aso, omo n’ide ye o, omo l’aworan ere
Oh, once again to be like a child!
B’ẹ dé’lé l’òní ẹ má gbàgbé ọ̀rọ̀ t’a wí
B’ẹ nb’ọmọdé s’ọ̀rọ̀ ẹ fi’fẹ́ báwọn wí o
Ẹni tó wà ní ‘kọ̀rọ̀ ẹ dákun jáde wá
Kò mà s’oun t’ó dà bí ìfẹ́ aláṣepọ̀
(When you get home, do not forget these words
Talk to the children with love
You in the darkness come into the light
There’s nothing like the love that brings us together)
Ẹ má wẹ̀hìn o
Ìdí ọ̀rẹ́ mi l’èmi ó fi sí, ìdí ọ̀rẹ́ mi jàlánjòló
(No one should look back
I shall place it behind my friend
My darling, bosom friend)
Àwa mà ṣ’oríre o, ayọ̀, a ṣ’oríre ayọ̀
Ẹni t’ó bi’mọ tuntun ayọ̀ ni o
Ẹni t’ó ra mọ́tò̀ yí o, ẹni t’ó kọ́ ’lé yí o,
Ẹni t’ó nse’gbéyàwó o, ẹni t’ó nṣ’ọjọ́ ‘bi o…
(Good fortune is ours; joy unlimited
Those who have just had a baby
They who have just acquired property
Those who are getting married
Those celebrating their birthday anniversaries
Good fortune is ours; joy unlimited)
3. KEEP ’EM MOVING
There was a time we played the rock and roll
Then came the season of the ballroom waltz
Oh, yeah we’ve heard all the pop, jazz, blues, yeah
And my brothers did the roots-rock-reggae
But these are times when the people want something new
Something cool, something smooth
Something just to keep them moving
Wá jó o! (Come out and dance!)
We’ve had our share of miserable days
Fighting the scourge of oppressors and thieves
We like to think we are a new generation
Filled up with love and determined to live
Yes these are times when the people want something new
Something cool, something smooth
Something just to keep them moving…
Who go fit stop the party when we want to dance
Who go fit stop the music? No one, no one!
Who go fit stop the children when they want to play
Who go fit stop the people?
4. WHAT CAN MAN DO?
What can man do when Jah-jah’s your guide?
What can man do when you’ve seen the light?
What can hate do when love’s in your heart?
You’ll be standing tall, you’ll be clean and proud
Tomorrow’s in your eyes, you will never fail
What can man do when Jah-jah says no?
What can man do when his time is up?
You know today’s kings are tomorrow’s bones
So look up history, the wicked must fall, their children will play
The oppressed will always laugh last y’know
It’s just a season it will pass away
Darkness will give way to light one day
You know it’s easy but they cannot see
How we can all live in peace as one
So, what can man do when Jah-jah’s your guide?
What can darkness do when you’re in the light?
What can hate do when love’s in your heart?
You’ll be standing tall, you’ll be clean and proud
Tomorrow’s in your eyes, you will never fail
It’s just a season it will pass away…
5. PASS DE KALABASH
Work is done, it’s time to have some fun
People come together, sing a song of joy
Pass de kalabash o, make we drink some palm-wine
Pass am o (x 2), drink am o (x2), share am o (x2)
Don’t you forget - in Africa, people always share
We love our neighbours all, we don’t discriminate
Pass de kalabash o, make we drink some palm-wine
B’ó wùn mí (x2) mo dẹ̀ lè f’ẹmu wẹ̀
B’ó wùn mí mo dẹ̀ lè fi ṣ’aṣọ
B’ó wùn mí mo mà lè fi ṣ’aya
(If I like I can bathe in palm-wine
If I want I can wear it like a dress
If I like I can take it as my wife)
6. TROPICAL SPICE
I’ve come all the way from Africa
To put some tropical spice in your lives
I’ll do anything to make you dance,
Wake up good people, wave your hands
Wave them high, up in the air
If you bring a plate of kolanuts
We will pour the palm-wine in the grove
The colours of the rainbow in your eyes
Wake up good people, wave your hands
Wake up good people, wave your hands
Do the work we’ve got to do -
Jump and prance, roll around,
Wiggle what we’ve got, o yeah!
Say, how’re you feeling at the back?
How’re you feeling right in front?
How’re you feeling on the sides?
How’re you feeling everywhere?
Now if you feel like grooving, come, get on over here
Cos here we’ve got the music to treat your body right
We going to get you moving, so leave your fears behind
Forget your pains and worries, we’ve got love over here,
Got it over here, feel it in the groove!
Do you feel like grooving?
7. WHAT A FEELING!
Ará ẹ ba mi gbọ̀rọ̀ kan o
Ọ̀rọ̀ yí nkà mí láyà mo wí o
Ọmọ kan mbẹ tí mo fẹ́ràn
Bí ngó ṣe bá a sọ̀rọ̀ kò yé mi rárá o
Nkò rí irú ìfẹ́ èyí rí o,
Ngò rí irú ẹ̀rín èyí rí o
Ọmọ tó ní wà t’ó sì lẹ́wà o,
Mo fẹ́ mọ ‘lé rè o, kí nma bá ẹ lọ
Jọ̀wọ́ mo fẹ́ m’àwọn òbí rẹ o, baby mi yé
Jọ̀wọ́ mo fẹ́ m’àwọn ọ̀rẹ́ rẹ o
Ọmọ oníwàtútù yí o,
Mo fẹ́ mọ ‘lé rẹ̀ o, kí nma bá ẹ lọ
Baby jẹ́ nma bá ẹ lọ, honey kí nma bá ẹ lọ
Ololufẹ jẹ́ nma bá ẹ lọ
(Friends, there’s something I have to share with you
It’s weighing heavily on my mind
There is a lady I am very fond of
But I do not know how to tell her
I have never encountered such a love, such a smile
Perfect bundle of beauty and character
I’d love to know your home and go with you
Please, may I know your friends?
May I meet your parents?
Perfect bundle of beauty and character
I’d love to know your home and go with you)
Oh, what a feeling, burning me all up
I can’t help myself - Baby, I want to love you
I want to be with you both night and day
Share my life with you - Baby, I want to love you
Oh, what a feeling, locking up my lips
I can’t express myself - Baby, I want to love you
I want to live with you, grow old in your arms,
Have babies with you…
Ngó ma bá ẹ lọ ni o-ah o-ah, ngó ma bá ẹ lọ
(I’m coming with you, yes, coming with you)
8. THE SMALL PEOPLE’S ANTHEM
Ọ̀rọ̀ ayé ṣòro o, ọ̀rọ̀ ayé ṣòro, ọ̀rọ̀ ayé ṣòro
Ọ̀rọ̀ ayé mà le o, ọ̀rọ̀ ayé mà le, kò mà yé wa o
Ọ̀rọ̀ aye gb’ẹgẹ́ o, ọ̀rọ̀ ayé gb’ẹgẹ́, ọ̀rọ̀ ayé gb’ẹgẹ́
Ọ̀rọ̀ aye ṣòro o, ọ̀rọ̀ ayé ṣòro, kò mà yé wa o
Àwọn kan lè jẹ, àwọn kan ò rí, àwọn kan nwọ’ṣọ àsìkò
Àwọn kan nsùn s’abẹ́ gádà, àwọn kan nto ‘lé jọ bí iṣu
Àwọn kan nj’ọba, àwọn kan nṣ’ẹrú,
Àwọn kan nse bí Olódùmarè
Ọmọdé òòjọ́ nṣ’aláìsí, àwọn kan s’ayé d’àwámáàlọ
Àwọn kan nṣ’ọdún, àwọn kan nsun’kún,
Àwọn kan nwo’jú Olódùmarè
Ènìyàn rere wọn ì pẹ́ lọ, ẹni burúkú wọ́n npẹ́ nílẹ̀ o
(Life is a mystery, so hard to understand
It requires calm and careful study
Life, such an insoluble puzzle.
Some have aplenty, others can’t find,
Some flaunt trendy fashion
While some sleep under bridges
Others stack up houses like yams
Some rule, others slave, some act like the Supreme Being
Little children die early while some age and refuse to go
Some celebrate, others wail
Many can only look unto the Creator
Good folks are taken too quickly
While the evil seemingly live on forever)
Some people can’t find a way
Some people live by the day
Some people have all the fun
When will it be our turn?
Few people take all the wealth
Poor people bear all the pain
Small people look to the skies
When will it be our turn?
Ayé bí ẹ bá d’agbọ́n, ẹ má ta mí
Ayé bí ẹ bá d’odò, ẹ máà gbé mi lọ o
(Evil ones, do not sting me if you turn into wasps,
Do not sweep me away if you turn into a flood)
9. SEVEN LIFES
In my journey through the world, over land and over sea
I see different cultures and different people's ways
I was born where the sun never sets and never rises
I was born where the heat is like a second skin
Children crying on the streets, automobiles making noise
The land is growing dry and weak, spirits dying low
The forefathers calling me: never tire, never weaken
The pride in me is bursting loose - I'm an African boy.
On the farm my father called me down behind a tree
He said, “Prostrate at my feet and say a few prayers”
Then he told me all the stories of my brave ancestors,
"Look into my eyes son, you were born to be great"
So, in the twilight I went home, behind my father with a hoe
Listening to the songs of birds, whispers of the night
Singing: seven goats, seven beads,
Seven cowries, seven nuts,
Seven lives that's what I've got, I'm an African boy
Over sea, over land, over mountains and in the wild
I'll be brave and I'll be strong, I'm an African boy.
In the evening, mother called me down into her hut
She said, "Lay upon my bosom and say a few prayers"
Then she told me to go forward never looking back
"The spirits are with you and you will never fail"
So I go into the world, into the deeps, into the wild
In the market place I danced the sound of bata
Dancing - seven jumps, seven wriggles,
Seven cowries, seven nuts
Seven lives, that's what I've got
I'm an African boy
10. THE PEOPLE ARE READY
Will the heroes stand up! Call the brave man to arms!
The time is right for that someone who can see into the future
Who will tell us the truth, lead the children a-right?
Who is ready to speak out for the man who is voiceless?
You better know -
The people are ready, they want a better day now
They are tired of promises, pies in the sky, yeah
The people are moving to the future with faith now
There’s got to be a better way, a new dawn of hope
When will all these pains go
Who will heal all these wounds
Will the light ever glow for the man blind with hatred?
Who will bring back the sunshine to this land of despair
Who is ready to show some love,
Free the young of all the anger, you better know -
The people are ready, they want a better day now
They’re tired of politics, they want some reality
The people are moving to the future with faith now
There’s got to be a better way, a new dawn of hope
You turn your eyes to the sun
Don’t you know you could go blind?
The little children on the streets
You’ve made their lives such misery
11. MA BA WỌN SỌ
L’ọ́jọ́ ọjọ́sí, ọmọdé kìí gb’ójú s’ókè w’àgbà o
B’àgbà bá nro’jọ́, ọmọdé á pa lọ́ọ́lọ́ọ́ ni
L’ọ́jọ́ ọjọ́sí, àwọn àgbà kìí wù ’wà ìbàjẹ́ o
Bí wọ́n bá ṣe ‘bàjẹ́, a ó s’igbá fún wọn ni
Ẹ jẹ́ á máa bá wọn sọ́, kí wọ́n má ṣe wù ’wà ìbàjẹ́ mọ́ o
Ọ̀rẹ́, ẹ jẹ́ á máa bá wọn sọ́, kí wọ́n má ṣe wù ’wà ìkà yí o
Ẹ jẹ́ á máa bá wọn sọ́, kí wọ́n má ṣe wù ’wà ìbàjẹ́ mọ́ o
Ẹ jẹ́ á máa bá wọn sọ́, kí wọ́n má ṣe wù ’wà ìkà
(In old times, children dared not disrespect the elders
When adults gathered to rub minds,
The young ones knew they had to be quiet
But in those days the elders didn’t misbehave either
Such behavour would’ve met with communal rejection)
I see them everywhere on the street wasting their lives away
Youth can’t find no direction to put their energies
I see them in Europe and America, looking for hope
Everywhere they go they are lonely, can’t find a warm bed
Do you like to see the children cry
And waste their lives away, my brother?
You like to see them die before their time in poverty?
Do you like to see the people cry in frustration and desperation?
Do you like to see them flee and leave this land so full of promise?
I see them everywhere in factories and plantations
A new wave of slavery and servitude in foreign lands
I see them in Asia, Australia, wherever you may think
Everywhere they go they are lonely, there’s no place like home
Do you like to see the children crying?
Like to see the children worry?
Like to the children running away?
Like to see them die, brother?
12. BABA MIMỌ
Bàbá mímọ́, ìwọ Ọlọ́run gbogbo àgbáyé
Bàbá wá kọ́ wa, ká lè ma fẹ́ràn ara wa
Bàbá mímọ́, a tẹríba s’íwájú ìtẹ́ rẹ
B’ojú wò wá, k’o ṣàánú fún wa
Bàbá mímọ́, ìwọ ẹlẹ́dàá gbogbo ohun tó nmí
Wá kọ́ wa k’a lè máa fẹ́ràn ara wa
Bàbá mímọ́, a tẹríba s’íwájú ìtẹ́ rẹ
B’ojú wò wá, k’o ṣàánú fún wa
Ọlọ́run, Ọlọ́run àgbáyé
Olúwa wa o, ẹlẹ́dàá gbogbo ènìyàn
(Holy Father, Lord of the Universe
Please teach us to love ourselves
Holy Father, we bow before your throne
Cast your eyes upon us, have mercy
Lord of the Universe,
Creator of all Living things
Please teach us to love ourselves)
Why do we lie to the children about their future
When we are not building good schools?
Why do we make our women cry so much
Why is there no peace in this land?
Why do we have so much darkness in the midst of light?
Why do we so many leaders who cannot speak the truth?
Why do we have so many young people fleeing the land?
Kọ́ wa ka lè ma fẹ́ràn ara wa (Teach us to love ourselves)
13. WHAT WILL IT TAKE?
What would it be like without locks on the doors?
And everyone walking on marble floors
No hate, no greed and no reason to kill
Everyone is taking the same magic pill?
Peace, love and harmony - what would it take
To get rid of all this useless hate
Peace, love and harmony - what would it take
For us to live together?
What would it be like just to walk down the street
To smile and talk to everyone we meet?
No fear, no judging, no reason to fear
Everybody’s laughing without any care
Everyone is taking the same magic pill
We are the beginning of our tears and pain
Deep inside we are all but the same
Little gifts of love go a long long way
So, come on everybody, let’s pave the way
Oh! Just what would it take, for the children’s sake?
Everyone deserves to be happy
Oh! How long will it take, to the promised land?
A world of peace where everyone is free
Will it take another bomb, another rocket?
Will it take another war or a millions lives?
Will take ten thousand children dying everyday?