Oh Sweet Mother

Pauline wrote
I saw 'Je dois tout a ma mère' painted on a taxi bumper today. I owe my mother everything. Mothers are held in high esteem -- a woman who has never borne a child is a disgrace to womanhood. Street boys will say 'la vieille mère' to impart their respect. It took some time getting used to that. Old Mother. What if they tried that in Europe?

That reminded me of the song Sweet Mother below that had the power to literally stop crowds in their tracks to dance if it was played. Mothers are very important in West Africa and Prince Nico hammered the essence of that in the middle 70's.

Oh Sweet Mother I no go forget you oh as I am missing mine just now.

Happy Mother's Day




By Prince Nico Mbarga
1976

Sweet mother I no go forget you
for the suffer wey you suffer for me.
Sweet mother I no go forget you
for the suffer wey you suffer for me.

When I dey cry, my mother go carry me--she go say,
my pikin [1] wetin you dey cry ye, ye,
stop stop, stop stop make you no cry again oh."

When I won sleep, my mother go pet me,
she go lie me well well for bed,
she cover me cloth, sing me to sleep,
"sleep sleep my pikin oh."

When I dey hungry, my mother go run up and down.
she go find me something when I go chop [2] oh.

Sweet mother I no go forget you for the suffer wey you suffer for me

When I dey sick, my mother go cry, cry, cry,
she go say instead when I go die make she die.

O, she go beg God,
"God help me, God help, my pikin oh."

If I no sleep, my mother no go sleep,
if I no chop, my mother no go chop, she no dey tire oh.

Sweet mother I no go forget you,
for the suffer wey you suffer for me.

You fit get another wife, you fit get another husband,
but you fit get another mother? No!

And if I forget you, therefore I forget my life and the air I breathe.

And then on to you men, forget, verily, forget your mother,
for if you forget your mother you've lost your life.