His name is Reda Tamni. But they all know him as Reda Taliani. Reda the Italian. He got this nickname when he was only a child of eight, because of the way he dressed. Since then he’s come a long way. And today, at thirty-one, the designer-labelled child of Kolea is one of the stars of the Algerian music scene, thanks to a sound that mixes raï, chaabi and traditional styles of the Maghreb, and thanks to lyrics that sing of the aspirations of Algerian youth. Chenoui Kheloui is one of these. Originally, it is a song of the supporters of Mouloudia, one of the football teams of Algiers. The text is light and sometimes the meaning is lost in favour of rhymes and wordplay. The chorus, however, has become a real cult. There is a ‘Chinese’ man, which is the name given to the supporters of Mouloudia in 1999 when the team won the championship and the youngsters who filled the streets in celebration were so numerous they were compared to the Chinese population. In this case, however, the Chinese man is solitary, kheloui, which here also indicates someone raised on the streets. And so the Chinese man ends up alone, roaming the port, watching the boats. The harraga boats. He lists the names. And he begins to dream of travelling the world, first visiting Rome, then Malaysia, and finally deciding to settle in Italy. You can easily download the mp3 file from the Internet. Some of my harraga friends even have it saved on their mobile phones, along with other memorable tracks that compose the soundtrack of a true harqa pop culture. Below is the full translation of the text. Enjoy listening.
| Chenoui Kheloui* Chenoui Kheloui w ydour fel por Ychouf el babour , babour 7arraga Tareq , Liberté wella Tassili** Roma , Malayziya ou n3ichou fi Talyan Roma , Malayziya ou n3ichou fi Talyan Chenoui Kheloui w ydour fel por Ychouf el babour , babour 7arraga Tareq , Liberté wella Tassili Roma , Malayziya ou n3ichou fi Talyan Roma , Malayziya ou n3ichou fi Talyan 99 championna 7naya dinaha Rafiq Saifi , l3asima zahinnaha M3a CRB tlaqina fi qbar Yamaha wel denya faniya w ma yebka ghir moulaha wel denya faniya w ma yebka ghir moulaha Chenoui Kheloui w ydour fel por Ychouf el babour , babour 7arraga Tareq , Liberté wella Tassili Roma , Malayziya ou n3ichou fi Talyan Roma , Malayziya ou n3ichou fi Talyan Championna dawha , ghir b chkara*** Chnawa* ga3 rahoum 3arfin Qasbah , Beb el Oued w wlad Salambi Fi déplacement dima zahyin Fi déplacement dima zahyin Chenoui Kheloui w ydour fel por Ychouf el babour , babour 7arraga Tareq , Liberté wella Tassili Roma , Malayziya ou n3ichou fi Talyan Roma , Malayziya ou n3ichou fi Talyan Ya lommima w ma tebkich w 3la Mouloudia anaya ma necrédich m3akom lel mamét b tnaber w 3lamét Chenoui Kheloui w ydour fel por Ychouf el babour , babour 7arraga Tareq , Liberté wella Tassili Roma , Malayziya ou n3ichou fi Talyan Roma , Malayziya ou n3ichou fi Talyan Fi 5 Juillet , ynoud lhoul non si capisce Chenoui jamais , ma ywellich lour dima lgouddam jusqu'a la mort Chenoui Kheloui w ydour fel por Ychouf el babour , babour 7arraga Tareq , Liberté wella Tassili Roma , Malayziya ou n3ichou fi Talyan Roma , Malayziya ou n3ichou fi Talyan | The lone Chinese* The lone Chinese man wanders the harbour Looks at the boat, the harraga boat Tareq, Liberté, or Tassili** Rome, Malaysia and we live in Italy Rome, Malaysia and we live in Italy The lone Chinese man wanders the harbour Looks at the boat, harraga boat Tareq, Liberté, or Tassili Rome, Malaysia and we live in Italy Rome, Malaysia and we live in Italy In ’99 we won the championship With Rafiq Saifi, we made the capital happy We played against the CRB in their stadium (an area in Beb El Oued called Qbar Yamaha) this world is mortal and only god remains this world is mortal and only god remains The lone Chinese man wanders the harbour Looks at the boat, the harraga boat Tareq, Liberté, or Tassili Rome, Malaysia and we live in Italy Rome, Malaysia and we live in Italy Others won the championship only through bribes *** And all Chinese know this * Qasbah, Beb El Oued and Ouled Salambi (neighbourhoods of Algiers) Away (with the team) they are always happy Away they are always happy The lone Chinese man wanders the harbour Looks at the boat, the harraga boat Tareq, Liberté, or Tassili Rome, Malaysia and we live in Italy Rome, Malaysia and we live in Italy Come, Mom don’t cry when it comes to Mouloudia they don’t always lose support for you with the banners and the posters The lone Chinese man wanders the harbour Looks at the boat, the harraga boat Tareq, Liberté, or Tassili Rome, Malaysia and we live in Italy Rome, Malaysia and we live in Italy At this stadium on July 5 the madness begins nothing is clear The Chinese* never give up Always ahead until death The lone Chinese man wanders the harbour Looks at the boat, the harraga boat Tareq, Liberté, or Tassili Rome, Malaysia and we live in Italy Rome, Malaysia and we live in Italy |
* Chenoui (plural chnaoua) literally means ‘Chinese’, used in Algiers since 1999 to describe supporters of the Algiers football team ‘Mouloudia’, joking about the fact that they are great in numbers, just like the Chinese population
* Kheloui: literally means solitary, isolated, but here it is also used to indicate someone of the lower classes, who grew up on the streets
** Tareq, Liberte, Tassili: here used as names of boats
*** Chkara: literally means a large bag, but is used to mean a lot of money