Iro ye
In this song, "Iro" is the name of the baby.
"This song is from the Ewe community in Benin. This song is to any child, it was also used to bless any woman who was going to be married.
Iro is a name so you can also take the name of your child, your sister or somebody that means much to you…" -Oceanne
Iro ye
My Iro
Lullaby
Lullaby
(Gen - Mina)
(English)
Iro ye
Nou ka ye manao
Iro ye
Nou ka ye manao
Nie nou do nou de anao
Napodenao
Akbe la mio nao
So yakbe na yoma
My Iro,
What am I going to give you?
My Iro,
What am I going to give you?
I have nothing to give you.
I'm going to pray for you.
Your life will be happy*
Till eternity.
Notes
*Literally, "Life will be happy for you".
Comments
Oceanne wrote, "The song says:
Iro
What should I give (you)?
I have nothing to give
But I will pray for you !!!
Your life will be good
And you will have a long life…"
This song is in the Gen/Mina language in the Niger-Congo language family (not to be confused with the Mina language of Cameroon). The language is also called Ge, Gebe, Gen-Gbe, Guin, Mina-Gen and Popo.
Thanks and Acknowledgements
Many thanks to Sylvain Buttaro and his friends for providing the translation into French. Thanks to Oceanne for helping with the meaning of this song too.
Image: Van Gogh
