Famoudou Konaté is a Malinké master drummer from Guinea. Famoudou Konaté is… Read Full Bio ↴Famoudou Konaté is a Malinké master drummer from Guinea. Famoudou Konaté is a world-renowned virtuoso of the djembe drum and its orchestra. One of only a handful of initiated Masters of the Malinké drumming tradition, Famoudou is universally respected as one of the world’s premiere djembe Drum Masters. He has dedicated his life to performing and preserving the music of his people, helping to elevate the djembe orchestra from its traditional roots to worldwide popularity.

Famoudou was born in 1940 near Sangbaralla, a village in the Hamana region of Upper Guinea, the Malinké heartland and the birthplace of the Dunun family of rhythms. A percussive prodigy, he was drumming in community festivals at the age of eight and was soon in demand as a djembefola across the region. From 1959 to 1985, Famoudou was the Lead Djembe Soloist for Les Ballets Africains de la République de Guinée, touring the world and performing with astounding virtuosity. During this time, Famoudou himself created many of the musical arrangements now common in West African performance groups worldwide.

Since 1986, he has taught and performed annually throughout Europe, Japan, Israel, North America and West Africa, instilling a generation of non-African drummers with an extraordinary level of training. In 1996 he received an honorary professorship in Didactics of African Musical Practice from University of the Arts Berlin. He has produced 7 CDs, including his most recent release, Hamana Mandenkono.

He is a Master Teacher, working across cultures, languages and skill levels to assist students with an approachable, patient and flexible teaching style. Famoudou’s passion for the music infuses every workshop. In each session, he effectively communicates a wealth of knowledge and drumming experience through his hands, his heart and his warm sense of humor. Everyone benefits from hands-on, personal contact with Famoudou throughout the workshop experience.

Lambe
Famoudou Konaté Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

I have this thing where I get older, but just never wiser
Midnights become my afternoons
When my depression works the graveyard shift
All of the people I′ve ghosted stand there in the room

I should not be left to my own devices
They come with prices and vices
I end up in crises

Tale as old as time
I wake up screaming from dreaming
One day I'll watch as you′re leaving
'Cause you got tired of my scheming
For the last time

It's me
Hi!
I′m the problem, it′s me
At teatime
Everybody agrees
I'll stare directly at the sun, but never in the mirror
It must be exhausting always rooting for the anti-hero

Sometimes I feel like everybody is a sexy baby
And I′m a monster on the hill
Too big to hang out
Slowly lurching toward your favorite city
Pierced through the heart but never killed

Did you hear my covert narcissism
I disguise as altruism?
Like some kind of congressman
Tale as old as time
I wake up screaming from dreaming
One day, I'll watch as you′re leaving
And life will lose all its meaning
For the last time

It's me
Hi!
I′m the problem, it's me (I'm the problem, it′s me)
At teatime
Everybody agrees
I′ll stare directly at the sun, but never in the mirror
It must be exhausting always rooting for the anti-hero

I have this dream my daughter-in-law kills me for the money
She thinks I left them in the will
The family gathers 'round and reads it
And then someone screams out
"She′s laughing up at us from hell!"

It's me
Hi!
I′m the problem, it's me
It′s me
Hi!
I'm the problem, it's me

It′s me
Hi!
Everybody agrees
Everybody agrees

It′s me
Hi! (Hi!)
I'm the problem, it′s me (I'm the problem, it′s me)
At teatime
Everybody agrees (everybody agrees)

I'll stare directly at the sun, but never in the mirror
It must be exhausting always rooting for the anti-hero

Overall Meaning

The lyrics of Famoudou Konaté's song Lambe are incredibly introspective and thought-provoking, exploring themes of personal growth, mental health struggles, and self-reflection. The opening lines of the song set a melancholic tone, with the singer admitting that they are getting older but never wiser. The reference to midnight becoming their afternoons suggests a sense of disorientation and a loss of direction that often accompanies depressive episodes. The line "All of the people I've ghosted stand there in the room" is particularly haunting, suggesting that the singer's past actions and relationships continue to haunt them.

The chorus boldly declares that the problem is the singer themselves, and that they cannot be left to their own devices. The lines "They come with prices and vices, I end up in crises" speak to the idea that our actions have consequences, and that our personal demons often catch up with us. The repeated line "Tale as old as time," taken from the classic Disney movie Beauty and the Beast, speaks to the timelessness of these struggles, and the fact that many of us are grappling with the same issues.

The lyrics also touch on the theme of narcissism, with the singer admitting that they sometimes disguise their selfishness as altruism, like a politician. The lines "Sometimes I feel like everybody is a sexy baby, and I'm a monster on the hill" speak to the sense of isolation and otherness that often accompanies mental health struggles, as well as the feeling of being disconnected from the rest of the world.

Overall, Lambe is a powerful and deeply personal song that speaks to the complexity and nuance of our inner lives. It calls for greater understanding and compassion towards people who are struggling, and reminds us that we all have our own demons to face.

Line by Line Meaning

I have this thing where I get older, but just never wiser
I have trouble learning from my mistakes and growing as a person

Midnights become my afternoons
My depression makes it hard for me to differentiate between daytime and nighttime

When my depression works the graveyard shift
My depression tends to get worse at night

All of the people I've ghosted stand there in the room
My past mistakes and the people I've hurt still haunt me

I should not be left to my own devices
I need help and support to stay on track

They come with prices and vices
Help and support can come with its own challenges and temptations

I end up in crises
Despite help and support, I still struggle with crises and challenges

Tale as old as time
My struggles and challenges are not unique and have been experienced by others throughout history

I wake up screaming from dreaming
My struggles can manifest in my dreams and cause me distress

One day I'll watch as you're leaving
I am aware that my behaviors may push people away and cause them to leave me

'Cause you got tired of my scheming
My manipulative behaviors and actions may cause people to become tired of me

For the last time
I hope that this cycle of negative behaviors and consequences will end

It's me Hi! I'm the problem, it's me
I am acknowledging that I am responsible for my own problems and behaviors

At teatime Everybody agrees
I am not alone in recognizing my own flaws and negative behaviors

I'll stare directly at the sun, but never in the mirror
I am more willing to face physical discomfort than to confront my own flaws and mistakes

It must be exhausting always rooting for the anti-hero
I am aware that my behavior can often be seen as self-sabotaging and exhausting for those around me

Sometimes I feel like everybody is a sexy baby
Everyone around me seems perfect and youthful, while I feel like a flawed and unattractive monster

And I'm a monster on the hill
I feel like an outsider looking down at others, who seem more successful and well-adjusted than I am

Too big to hang out
I feel like I am too flawed or imperfect to fit in with others

Slowly lurching toward your favorite city
I feel like I am slowly making progress, but it is difficult and painful

Pierced through the heart but never killed
I have been hurt deeply in the past, but I am still alive and trying to move forward

Did you hear my covert narcissism I disguise as altruism?
I am aware that I can sometimes act in selfish ways while disguising it as selflessness

Like some kind of congressman Tale as old as time
Politicians are notorious for being self-serving, and my behavior is not a new phenomenon

And life will lose all its meaning For the last time
I am aware that my tendencies towards negative behaviors and thoughts can have dire consequences on my mental health and wellbeing

Hi! Everybody agrees
I am not alone in my struggles and my confession that I'm the problem has been accepted by others

Writer(s): Taylor Swift, Jack Antonoff

Contributed by Savannah L. Suggest a correction in the comments below.

To comment on or correct specific content, highlight it

TRACKS