Lotfi- you either love him or hate him. Because his lyrics are blunt. He earned his fame as a rebel singer from the outset. It was 1997 and the police stopped a concert in a theatre of Annaba to censor the content of his songs. It ended with a semi-revolt and with Kamikaz, his first album recorded at the age of 26 with his friend Waheb, with whom he forms the duo Double Kanon. Since then, every year is a success. Albums such as Kamikaz, Kondamné, Kanibal, Lakamora, and Kauchmar have confirmed him as the king of Algerian rap. And this piece is taken from the album Kauchmar (2008). It's called "Oh ya lebhar," which means "O sea" and is a kind of ode to burning the border. Because there is no difference between dying in a boat and dying in the middle of the sea. Because the only real blessing is to do away with poverty. They all leave: lawyers, teenagers, the unemployed, painters, men, women. And there is only one thing they ask from the sea: " Just let me cross over ’cause here I’m stressing out! just let me cross over, cause here I have no joy!" Below you will find the lyrics translated into English. Read them carefully, because this is one of the most important harraga rap songs. Both because Lofti is very popular, and because he is a native of Annaba. And this song is like a dedication to the youth in the working-class neighbourhoods of Annaba, where he grew up. Annaba in fact, was the city of St. Augustine many centuries ago, and for the past five years has been the capital of harqua in Algeria. From its neighbourhoods overlooking the sea, thousands of young men set sail for Sardinia, and hundreds of them died en route for Italy. The song in fact ends in their memory. So enjoy listening. And enjoy reading.
| Ah ya leb7ar Ah ya leb7ar, ghir 9ata3ni lahna rani mehmoum! Ah ya leb7ar, ghir fawatni lahna rani meghmoum! Rab3a ta3 sba7 rendez vous aho fdalma Jma3a rahi testena wleflouka rahi ltema Vas y yalla! 9bel mayetla3 nhar! Ghir cha3al lmoteur rou7 9alla3 yalba7ar Galbi 7ar galbi skhoun w mdecidi Koun neg3od hna 3mbali sure nsuicidi Ma la yezzini mel 7ogra fiha baraka, miyet fi barraka wla lil m3a l7araga. Rani karah, khalli nrou7 b GPS, m3aya lghers w chambre a aire b les pieces. Koun jite labess, manriskich b 3omri. Rana m3awrine li kifi ahom m3ammrine. Lkoul m3ewwlin mala vas y demari! 9bal mayjina l'armée lboulici w jadarmi! Waci dari w ngolhom na3tikom kelma, nchalah ltema kinawsal n3ayat l yema Ah ya leb7ar ghir 9ata3ni lahna rani mehmoum Ah ya leb7ar ghir fawatni lahna rani meghmoum W lyoum am daroulna tekhdam ta3 yhoud, 9aflou l7oudoud w3tawna bel baroud. Mzian lbabour ya3raf l9assat y3adi bla visa makra fi l'ambassade Koul sba7 ahom yrou7ou bel mi2at, ya9t3o ltalyan w dakhla 3a rochiate liwala chad bin 3inih l'avenir m3awal 3la rabi wd3awi ta3 lwaldine. Wech 7aydir hadi hi 7alet cha3b yerkeb fi flouka bach yensa chwia ta3b 7atan mba3d ahi tetbedel l3a9lia. Yethewel lb7ar liwala yebda yat9aya, lmouja tweli 9wia tkherej lgalb, lflouka tetgal w 9adra meme tetguelleb. Wach 7angolek? Yan3al bou lmiziria! Ila t7ekmet na3tiwha la nage l Marsilia. Ah ya leb7ar, ghir 9ata3ni lahna rani mehmoum! Ah ya leb7ar, ghir fawatni lahna rani meghmoum! Mala matloumech lira7ou lelmout. Hna ahom yagtlouk ya takoul ya yaklouk. T3ich makhnoug b dyoun bla 7sabat sinon tweli bondi mbasi f le7basat. Nass 3eddat: nssa w rjal, sghar w des jeunes, mineurs w majeurs, lkhedam w chomeur, joueur w chanteur, sebagh w chauffeur, avocat w ingenieur, koulhom jraw wra lharba f lil. Chraw blassa lhih fi babour sghir maykhafouch lberd les vagues ta3 metrkin, maykhafouch l9awanine w rssas ta3 la marine. Besa7 l3in tebki yghidouk: bzaf li gher9o w raj3ohom fi sendou9 surtout hadouk li 7aslou ltem wa7edhom. Dima d3ilhom w goul: "Rabi yar7amhom" Ah ya leb7ar, ghir 9ata3ni lahna rani mehmoum! Ah ya leb7ar, ghir fawatni lahna rani meghmoum! | Oh sea Oh sea, Just let me cross over ’cause here I’m stressing out! Oh sea, just let me cross over, ’cause here I have no joy! At four o'clock in the morning, a blind date. The group is waiting and the boat is already there. Go, come on! Before dawn breaks! Just turn the engine on, go, let go, the sea. My heart is warm, my heart is hot and strong If I stay here, I'm sure I’ll kill myself Blessed is that which will take me out of injustice, dead all the same in a shack or by night with the harraga. I'm tired, let me leave with the GPS, With me I’ve got an inner tube and spare parts. If I had been well, now I would not risk my life. We are desperate, people like me have already decided. We are all ready, go ahead, turn it on! Before the army comes, the police and gendarmes! Warn my house and brings these words to them, God willing when I get there I’ll call mother. Oh sea, Just let me cross over ’cause here I’m stressing out! Oh sea, just let me cross over, ’cause here I have no joy! Today we are working like Jews, they’ve closed the borders, and shot at us Good thing the boat knows the shortcuts and makes you go without a visa and without having to rent a space. At the Embassy (in line to apply for a visa) Every morning they go in hundreds, they cross over to Italy and enter between the rocks to take their future into their own hands relying on God and their parents’ prayers. What else should they do, these are the conditions of the people they get on a boat to forget a little fatigue until the mentality changes. But then the sea changes and starts to swell, the waves becomes strong enough to make your heart pop out, the boat rocks and is about to capsize. What can I tell you? Cursed be misery! If they stop the boat, we will keep going, swimming to Marseille. Oh sea, Just let me cross over ’cause here I’m stressing out! Oh sea, just let me cross over, ’cause here I have no joy! And do not complain for those who have gone to their deaths. They can kill you here too, either you eat or they eat. You live strangled by debt Or you become a gangster based in prisons. People have left: women and men, the littlest ones and the youn ones, minors and adults, the worker and the unemployed, the sportsman and singer the painter and the driver, the lawyer and the engineer, everyone has run off into the night. They bought a place on a little boat not afraid of the cold nor of the waves, not afraid of the laws of the sea nor of the bullets of the marines. Truthfully, eyes cry and you feel sadness for the many who have drowned, and who have been sent back in a coffin and especially for those who have been left alone. Pray for them always and say: "May God have mercy on them". Oh sea, Just let me cross over ’cause here I’m stressing out! Oh sea, just let me cross over, ’cause here I have no joy! |