News, reviews and commentary on afrobeat and related music from Africa, The Caribbean and The Americas

Tuesday, March 24, 2009

Fela Kuti Lyrics


By David McDavitt 

Check out the dedicated Fela lyrics page on the Afrofunk Music Forum here:
http://afrofunkforum.blogspot.com/p/fela-kuti-lyrics.html

This page includes lyrics for the following songs:

1. Authority Stealing
2. Beasts Of No Nation
3. Black Man's Cry
4. Coffin For Head Of State
5. Colomentality
6. Confusion Break Bone
7. Expensive Shit
8. Fear Not For Man
9. Fogo Fogo
10. Go Slow
11. J’ehin J’ehin
12. International Thief Thief
13. Kalakuta Show
14. Lady
15. Monday Morning In Lagos
16. Monkey Banana
17. Mr. Follow Follow
18. Mr. Grammarticalogylisationalism Is The Boss
19. No Agreement
20. Opposite People
21. Original Sufferhead
22. Power Show
23. Question Jam Answer
24. Shakara
25. Shuffering and Shmiling
26. Sorrow, Tears, and Blood
27. Teacher Don’t Teach Me Nonsense
28. Trouble Sleep, Yanga Wake Am
29. Upside Down
30. Water No Get Enemy
31. Yellow Fever
32. Zombie



26 comments:

  1. ?3/26/2009 04:15:00 PM

    Many thanks for this...

    ReplyDelete
  2. geza5/22/2009 07:20:00 AM

    authority stealing:

    [Chorus]
    Authority stealing!
    You be thief (I no be thief)
    You be rogue (I no be rogue)
    You dey steal (I no dey steal)
    You be robber (I no be robber)
    You be armed robber (No be armed robber)
    I no be thief (You be thief)
    I no be rogue (You be rogue)
    I no dey steal (You dey steal)
    I no be robber (You be robber)
    I no be armed robber (You be armed robber)
    [Chorus]
    Argument, argument!
    Argument, argument, argue
    Them argue
    Everbody dem argue
    Them dem dem argue
    Up and down them argue
    Everbody dem argue
    Them dem dem dem argue
    Yes yes, them argue
    Everbody dem argue
    Argument about stealing
    Somebody don take something
    Wey belong to another person
    Then you go hear:
    You be thief (I no be thief)...
    On top of the road, on the side
    People dey waka
    Office workers, labourer workers, workers' workers
    Them go dey waka
    Inside bus them go dey
    Motorcycle them dey ride
    Plenty, plenty crowd
    Inside this crowd
    Sometimes for one corner
    Sometimes for one street
    You go dey hear: ha ha!
    [Chorus]
    Thief, thief, thief!
    Rogue, rogue, rogue!
    Robber, robber!
    Catch am, catch am! Thief, thief, thief!
    Catch am, catch am! Rogue, rogue, rogue!
    Catch am, catch am! Robber, robber!
    Catch am
    Pull am
    Get am
    Keep am
    Ole...
    [Chorus]
    Catch am, catch am!
    Looking go start
    Watching go start
    Chasing go start
    Somebody go dey
    Wey them go grab
    Them go beat am well-well
    Them go lynch am well-well
    Police go come well-well
    Them go carry am go court
    Them go put am for jail
    Them fit put am six months
    (Them go put am for one year)
    Them fit put am two years
    (Them go put am for five years)
    Them fit put am seven years
    (Them go put am for ten years)
    If not them go shoot am well
    Them go shoot am for armed robbery
    On top of the road, on the side
    People dey waka
    Office workers, labourer workers, workers' workers
    Them go dey try
    To try to make ends meet
    Them go dey hustle
    To try to make ends meet
    Them go put hands for back
    To try to make ends meet
    Them go dey beg oga
    To try to make ends meet
    Them go be slaves for them town
    To try to make ends meet
    I say turn your face small
    To the right wing
    Oga patapata dey for there
    Authority people dey for there
    Instead of workers
    We have officials
    Instead of buses
    Them dey ride motor-car
    Instead of motorcycle
    Na helicopter
    Instead of them waka
    Na worker go waka for them
    Authority people them go dey steal
    Public contribute plenty money
    Na authority people dey steal
    Authority man no dey pickpocket
    Na petty cash him go dey pick
    Armed robber him need gun
    Authority man him need pen
    Authority man in charge of money
    Him no need gun, him need pen
    Pen got power gun no get
    If gun steal eighty thousand naira
    Pen go steal two billion naira
    [Chorus]
    Thief, thief thief!
    Rogue, rogue, rogue!
    Robber, robber!
    You no go hear them shout
    You no go hear them shout at all
    You no go hear them say
    You no go hear them say response at all
    Na different way be them way
    Na civilize style be them style
    [Chorus]
    Yes, yes, yes, yes!
    "Oh yes, of course, contract, have some money back in hand, ha ha"
    Hear the words them dey take deceive the people:
    Misappropriation
    Maladministration
    Nepotism
    Mitigation
    Make I remember another one wey them dey use
    Defraudment
    Forgerylization
    Embezzlement
    Vilification
    Mismanagement
    Public inquiry
    Authority stealing pass armed robbery
    We Africans we must do something about this nonsense
    We say we must do something about this nonsense
    I repeat, we Africans we must do something about this nonsense
    Because now authority stealing pass armed robbery
    Authority man him go dey steal
    Public contribute plenty money...
    [Chorus]
    Authority stealing!

    ReplyDelete
  3. bebrez5/22/2009 03:37:00 PM

    Wow, thank you for this post! I love Fela, but sometimes it's hard to figure out all these lyrics. I also love Tony Allen and he sings in Yoruba a lot. Maybe someday someone will take a challenge and translate his words for whites like me.
    Big up!

    ReplyDelete
  4. museke10/04/2009 02:20:00 PM

    thanks for this! love getting the translations and meanings of these powerful and historical songs.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Anonymous10/13/2009 08:23:00 PM

    Thanx a lot: since years I always missed a couple of words listening to the songs. It's especialy annoying when you explain, to people who have much fun dancing on his music without figuring out what it talks about, what he is actually saying. And then comes a phrase you can't properly translate to them because you're not sure.
    Fela should be taught in school instead of the making-people-stupid Aristoteles.
    What he describes, this is what the REAL world is, and not Disney's.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Anonymous10/31/2009 05:03:00 PM

    Thank you for this! I was recording my old Fela albums, Army Arrangement and Black President, from vinyl to CD. So cool to find this page and more fully understand lyrics I haven't heard in 20 years. Now, I'm off for a road trip, with Fela on CD player!!

    ReplyDelete
  7. Anonymous11/04/2009 04:13:00 AM

    Thanks so much! This is a real labor of love. As an English teacher, I try to provide my students with as much politically motivated music as possible, but they often have trouble with the lyrics, esp. with someone like Fela. Are the great explanations yours? If so, double thanks, because they really help to unravel the otherwise hidden meanings that Fela's pidgin 'hides' from those who only know so-called standard English.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Webmarketing4/13/2010 05:34:00 AM

    Love the lyrics.
    What a strong lyrics. It change from the craps the "commercial songs" are made of today.

    Cheers, keep to make us dance and to make us feel alive.

    ReplyDelete
  9. Anonymous5/04/2010 07:51:00 AM

    Thanks for this, I was looking for Beasts of no nation but I didn't know the title so I googled the lyrics and your page came up, nice 1:)

    ReplyDelete
  10. Anonymous7/29/2010 05:31:00 AM

    Thanks for this lyrics

    is posible lyrics de demo crazy

    ReplyDelete
  11. Anonymous8/05/2010 10:27:00 AM

    Thanks a lot from Paris. Afrobeat lives and still have a lot to do.

    Bless ya.

    Opposite Afrobeat Band

    ReplyDelete
  12. Thau8/06/2010 01:56:00 PM

    I'm quite sure that in "teacher d.t.m.n." during the "boba la nonsense" it is written "He pass “redeem” em". I really think that the correct lyrics say "he pass regime" (o regime-o).
    Have a nice daY!

    ReplyDelete
  13. Anonymous9/01/2010 10:36:00 PM

    Monkey Banana....
    "Go buy am to chop"
    This has got to be about food:
    "Go buy yam to chop"

    ReplyDelete
  14. Anonymous9/21/2010 02:41:00 PM

    Baba 70 for life.

    ReplyDelete
  15. Anonymous10/01/2010 09:28:00 PM

    You did an awesome job... Many thanks for your kind efforts. Bless ya.

    ReplyDelete
  16. Zamotek12/08/2010 03:15:00 PM

    Awesome web! Many thanks and good luck in the future! Btw. anyone has lyrics for Monday Morning in Lagos please? :)

    ReplyDelete
  17. Keisha4/08/2011 06:18:00 PM

    You did a GREAT job with the lyrics. I am happy to know about this site. Keisha

    ReplyDelete
  18. Anonymous6/04/2011 10:15:00 AM

    Thanks for the translations. Fela needs to be understood by the whole world for the music revolutionary that he is. Your efforts are a huge step in actualizing this.
    A slight correction. In 'Teacher' the lyrics should read as 'Baba nla nonsense', which translates as a 'big pile of crap'.

    ReplyDelete
  19. admin2/07/2012 12:56:00 PM

    thanks dear sir madam

    lyrics

    ReplyDelete
  20. Belle3/20/2012 12:35:00 PM

    Hi all. I was wondering if anyone had worked at all on Just Like That off of Beasts of No Nation. I am having trouble understanding some of the lyrics (choral lines that are not in the liner notes and whatnot) and I was wondering if anyone could give me a hand!
    Thanks!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Unknown9/22/2017 11:29:00 AM


      Fela Kuti – Just Like That Lyrics
      Just Like That Lyrics by Fela Kuti

      Akuba Oranyan! Akuba Oranyan! Akuba Oranyan! X4
      OHHH
      Many things dey happen dey say na wonder
      When I say wonder I mean Wonderfulment
      Me myself I see wonderful things many of dem den wonderful
      Dem pass wonder
      I see am e pass wonder
      I shock I react AHHH (Just like that)
      I see am I shock AHHH (Just like that)
      I see am I react AHHH (Just like that)
      I see am I shock AHHH (Just like that)
      I see am I react AHHH (Just like that)

      Wonder di reason
      I want to sing this song (Wonder)
      Make you no forget about this things (Wonder)
      Make you do something about this things (Wonder)
      Di reason I want to sing this song (Wonder)
      Make you do something about this things (Wonder)
      Make you no forget about this things (Wonder)

      Wonder Wonderfulment (Wonder)
      Wonder Wonder Wonder (Wonder)
      Wonderfulment (Wonder)
      Wonder Wonder Wonder (Wonder)
      Wonderfulment (Wonder)

      OHHH
      I remember how my brother
      Professor Hindu
      Brother Okunlirjn
      E come here for shrine
      E kill person for here
      E wake am di third day

      Wonder Wonderfulment (Wonder)
      Wonder Wonder Wonder (Wonder)
      Wonderfulment (Wonder)
      Wonder Wonder Wonder (Wonder)
      Wonder Wonder (Wonder) x3
      Wonder Wonderfulment (Wonder) x2
      Wonder Wonder (Wonder)
      Wonder Wonderfulment (Wonder) x2
      Wonder Wonder (Wonder) x4
      Wonder Wonderfulment (Wonder) x2

      OHHH
      Akuba Oranyan! Akuba Oranyan! Akuba Oranyan!
      Whiteman rule us many years we get electric constantly
      Our people come take over dem come build Kainji-dam
      Dem come build the dam finish electricity com stop
      One year two years twelve years till now no electricity for town

      Just like that (Just like that) x8
      Just like that

      Akuba Oranyan! Akuba Oranyan! Akuba Oranyan!
      In 1966 civil war start to keep Nigeria one
      I remember the slogan to keep Nigeria one
      A task dat must be done
      Dem kill plenty Ibos before di war
      And more during di war
      Our leaders start dem show Gowon
      Divide am into twelve
      Murtala and Obasanjo den come
      Divide am into 19
      Shagari and Awolowo den won
      Divide am into more

      Just like that (Just like that) x8
      Just like that

      OHHH
      Remember the election you see how everything come be
      You see enough with your eyes how our country come day go
      How everything come dey scatter right before your face
      Nor be Obasanjo put e old padi padi friends for there
      Di young politicians e come shuffle dem for one side
      In di name of democracy, justice and fair play

      Just like that (Just like that) x8
      Just like that

      OHHH Hey
      Akuba Oranyan! Akuba Oranyan! Akuba Oranyan!

      Nothing dey for town to give di youths good example
      How our big people and traditional rulers dey do
      Den don spoil di tradition and corrupt all di town
      Den come make di youths look up to Europe and U.S.A.
      In those places sef people don lose den common sense
      Na di number of nuclear arms and guns you
      Get na him give you power pass
      We in Afrika we must start to think our own
      In our tradition where human beings and nature grow
      Where creativity and understanding must be
      Right now, think now, fight now, right now
      Suffer must stop.

      Just like that (Just like that) x8
      Just like that

      After all the things wey we don talk
      And the things wey you don see for yourselves
      I get some questions to ask
      Shay our leaders den like us or den like themselves
      Opressors
      Shay dem be good leaders or shadow criminals
      Suppressors
      Shay all na plan or no be plan
      Suppressors
      Shay our leaders dem like us or dem like themselves
      Opressors
      Shay dem be good leaders or shadow criminals
      Suppressors
      Shay all na plan or no be plan
      Suppressors
      I get my own answer
      Den be original criminals (Just like that)
      All na plan e ooo (Just like that)
      Den dey like dem self (Just like that)
      Den be original criminals (Just like that)
      All na plan e ooo (Just like that)
      Den dey like dem self (Just like that)

      Just like that….

      Delete
  21. Anonymous4/20/2012 08:29:00 AM

    Hello everybody, I`m looking for the title of a particular song by Fela..parts of the lyrics says: Luku lawyer, e dey run o,luku lawyer e dy shout o!....does anybody know the tile of this song...thanks

    ReplyDelete
  22. Anonymous6/25/2012 03:10:00 AM

    Hello everybody, I`m looking for the title of a particular song by Fela..parts of the lyrics says: Luku lawyer, e dey run o,luku lawyer e dy shout o!....does anybody know the tile of this song...thanks

    It is Kalakuta Show

    ReplyDelete
  23. Qila4/26/2013 06:07:00 AM

    Please... Perambulator Lyrics?

    ReplyDelete
  24. Anonymous8/26/2013 05:35:00 PM

    Excellent job, this guy Fela should be taught in school; what a soul? One of the bravest soul that ever lived, no apology whatsoever.

    ReplyDelete

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