The “can” and “can’t” dos
April 27, 2012 at 9:27 pm 11 comments
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In an attempt to show how “unadventrious” we Ethiopians were, how possibilities do not occur to us, how we live under the clouds of “responsibilities” and not for the pursuit of happiness, Seifu Fantahun once joked how when Americans [here represented by R. Kelly] sing “I believe I can fly”, the Ethiopian version of the song dials itself down to an “engurguro”, and goes “Alberr endamora sewu argo fetrognal”. [If it’s any comfort, our “closed-mindedness” makes us shy away, as would a startled horse, from real dare-devil acts such as filming ourselves while fucking little girls and pissing on them].
So let’s re-write this song, shall we? Let’s make it more Ethiopian, more geared towards living to work 16 hours a day and missing out on life [or the American version of it]; to shunning people, activities, places and cultures. Let’s sing it [sing it!] as would people who get no pep-talk when growing up, aren’t offered chances to explore their creative and/or imaginative sides. Let us clap our hand, stamp our feet, and sing along with the children of those yesteryears, who could and did without “I love you”s, “I believe in you”s and “you deserve”s; children who knew they gotta earn what they got, and have no claim over shit. Let us “get the party going”, as they say, like folks who live in a world where both evolution and creationism got gaping holes in them. Where on the same day a house burns down and fries 9 children to crisp, 71 year old human-virus Dick Cheney gets a heart-transplant and makes it too. Let’s sing this song the way it should really be sung, people! Let’s sing it with clenched fist and grinding teeth.
Dj. Hit it!
I used to think that I could go on
And life was anything but an awful song
But now I know the meaning of life
Not leaning on anybody else’s arms
If I can’t see it, then I can’t do it
If I don’t believe it, there’s nothing to it
[Chorus:]
Don’t believe I can fly
Don’t believe I can touch the sky
Don’t think about it every night and day
Spread my wings and fly away?
Don’t believe I can soar
Don’t see me running through that open door
Don’t believe I can fly
Don’t believe I can fly
Don’t believe I can fly
See I am on the verge of breakin’ down
Sometimes silence can seem so loud
There are miracles in life I can’t achieve
I don’t even know where to start oh
If I can’t see it then I can’t be it
If I don’t believe it, there’s everything to it
Well….
You get the drfit. In my defense, it sound really funny when i was singing it.
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1.
sistu | April 29, 2012 at 6:58 am
Ende Abesheet, Jofe Amoraw aysma.
“endaaamoraw, ho, endaaamoraw
kinf awTiche librera”
That’s one more reason why Seifu Fantahun should never get the last word. He is the modern day At’fito tefi, tesasito asasach.
We just need a right-enough motivation, for e.g. prospects with yederesech lijagered, to get us started on our flying fantasies. The difference with R. Kelly is that flying to just touch the sky is just so blah for us while R. Kelly, as you eloquently pointed out, would laugh and piss at the idea of flying for a girl.
2.
Mazzi | April 30, 2012 at 3:51 pm
Ay Abesheet …. Tefiche tefiche yermEn a’and Qenn biQ bil zefenEn sitizefgNi agegNehush, giTmEn hulu sayQerr ;-). Wey “I believe I can fly/soar/touch the sky..” Endihu eyamaregN Qerre!! So much for the American dream. Endew yetgNochu yihonu semay yenekut b’Abesha mentality adgew…. Erre teyigN ete …. ‘Dorron siyatalilwat be’meCHagNa T’alwat’ alu ….
Much to say on this post since I so get the stated and implied sentiments, more than you know. But a close friend who likk likkEn yeminegregN sifeligew said to me recently ‘Mazzi’ no one is interested in knowing how you REALLY are doing after asking “how are things with you?” because when they call to talk to you, they call seeking entertainment to feel good about their own shitty lives and don’t really want to hear anything about yours. So he advised answering positively “Keeping my head above water! How are you?” with a cheerful and up beat voice so as not to discourage friends from not calling at all, lol :-). He continued to say… “At least if they hear that, and if they are smart enough, they can infer how your body is submerged though your head is above water, but it is better than telling them you are drowning!” Weyy guud ale … I told him why even bother call anyone really and say anything at all, hodd yifjew bicha eyalu, when we can vent about it online to who ever wants to read it or to the Universe in general ;-).
Ena, the long and short of it, digging your above R. Kelly song custom tailored to Abeshoch as a form of ‘engurguro’ …. and singing it to myself (while imagining you singing it too) to deaden the pain of failed expectations while still dreaming of flying, soaring, and touching the sky, at least in theory, even if it can’t be practiced in real life, at least for now :-).
(Sistu, fellow Tej bEt denbegNaye, ejj nesichalehu …. nice to see you here again….)
3.
andthree | May 1, 2012 at 4:15 pm
wegenochachin were too busy, saymaru siyastemrun, ingraining in us the utmost importance of passing MINISTRY, ESLCE, you know, down to earth matters, to be bothered about teaching us to fly.
but that should not mean that an old dog can’t be taught new tricks.
4.
Scooby | May 1, 2012 at 6:09 pm
Tsidku kertotbegn bewegu bekonenegn ale yagere sew. Some of us would feel lucky if we can walk with your head held high. Kebet beyew.
5.
Chuchu | May 2, 2012 at 3:58 pm
One of those contradictary “proverbs” we have in Ethiopia, like “melke tifun besim yidegifu” and “semen melak yawetawal”. But i like your take on the song. I don’t believe i can fly either. They broke our wings along with our spirit when they thought us how to “behave” like ethiopians.
6.
Luli | May 4, 2012 at 4:56 am
A friend once asked me what my greatest fear in life was and being the good ole habesha, I replied without blinking, failure … to which he responded, ‘failure, success, blah blah blah … it’s all a false dichotomy.’ I found his words strangely comforting. What is success anyway? What does it mean to fly? Are we setting up ourselves to fail because we’ve internalized ideals that will not necessarily bring us happiness? I don’t know … humans are insatiable beings.
7.
abesheet | May 14, 2012 at 1:18 am
You should hear my “I feel shitty” infront of my morning mirror [Mirror, instead of “coffee”. Got it?! :-)]. Original song is, ofcourse, “I feel pretty” from “West Side Story”. For those of you who aren’t a 60’s hollywood cinema buff, it’s that song at that scene on “Anger Management”.
8.
Mazzi | May 14, 2012 at 6:08 pm
‘Morning mirror’, lol 🙂 … Yes I know that crazy and annoyingly chipper song from ‘West Side Story’ 🙂 … and amused by your own version. Sigh sigh… again I can relate. Endew min yishalal? I so want to be that annoying Maria girl who sings that annoying song for a change eko! :-).
9.
sistu | May 19, 2012 at 5:23 am
Mazzi, nice to see you too! Bemote, won’t you have a birile? Or Four? BeMazzi guroro yinkorkor tej… you may even pick whose guroro gets the aTint. (Not mine, Mazzi). Your friend sounds mighty wise what with his brutal honesty and all. The online universe is certainly a good place to vent. For everything else, there is mastercard. And pandora. Music might be a really good substitute for I-won’t-listen-to-you friends. Speaking of, what do you think of that fella The Weekend?
10.
sistu | May 19, 2012 at 5:27 am
My very bad, its ‘weeknd’! No vowel wasting.
11.
Mitin | June 4, 2012 at 6:12 pm
So gloomy. Why the long face ladies?