Friday, December 29, 2006

Words borrowed from Si Muhand U M’hand

J'ai juré que de Tizi-Ouzou
Jusqu'a Akfadou
Nul ne me fera subir sa loi
Nous nous briserons
Mais sans plier
Plutôt être maudit
Quand les chefs sont des maquereaux.
L'Exil est inscrit au front
Je préfère quitter le pays Que d'être humilié parmi ces pourceaux.

2 comments:

Nabeel said...

are they words full of wisdom? what's the translation?

David said...

Nabeel,
I thought the notion of self-imposed exile rather than submit to an (ostensibly) unjust law is apropos to the current climate. I’m hoping one of my readers may be able to shed some light on the word “maquereaux”; I’m certain I’ve got it wrong, or at least that I’m missing something contextual that is important. At the risk of being mocked by persons who read French better than I do, I offer the following translation:

I swore that from Tizi-Ouzo
Until Akfadou
No one will make me submit to his law
We will break
But without bending
Instead to be damned
When the chiefs are mackerel
Exile is inscribed on my face
I prefer to leave the country to be humiliated among these swine.