“I’m what I call ‘rock ‘n’ love’”, she tells Reuters Africa Journal when asked how she herself would categorize her music. “It’s not rock ‘n’ roll because I don’t go silly drinking or taking drugs, but I’m really rock, so I’m ‘rock ‘n’ love’.”
Inna Modja released her debut album, “Everyday is a new world” in France in October 2009 and her first video, “Mr. H”, shows all the hallmarks of a pop princess and has enjoyed a lot of play on French TV stations.
Born in Mali, she lived in Nigeria, Togo and the USA with her diplomat parents before making Paris her home when she was 18. “I like my life in Paris,” she says. “I love my friends, people close to me – my daily life is very important to me. But in Bamako I have my family – this big town full of energy. I love the market and I love to walk along the banks of the river Niger.” Legendary world musician Salif Keita is one of her mentors. Inna Modja sang back-up for his band, the “Bamako Rail Band” before she decided to go solo.
In spite of the close ties that she maintains to her home country, Modja’s music is definitely a departure from what we usually think of as World Music or “African sound”. But then, what is African sound? And should upcoming African musicians like Inna Modja embrace influences from all over the world; or should they be ambassadors of their own musical heritage?
Bamako, Mali
IT'S ALRIGHT
Inna Modja Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
that I don't love you no more
I'll never try
to go and hurt you
My head is faithfull
And my heart goes up and down
But I'll stay here and pretend it's fine
I don't mind
I'd rather die
than say it's over
It's too painfull
to see love is gone
So I'll stay here and pretend it's Alright
It's Alright, it's Alright Padadadada (Chorus)
It's Alright, it's Alright...
You don't care
And you don't want me no more
But it's hard to see
the game is over
It's too stressfull t
o see love is gone
So we'll stay here and pretend it's Alright
(Chorus)
We don't need to go
We don't need to stay
We don't want to know
Love is gone way
We'd rather stay blind for a while
(Chorus)
Je ne peux pas dire
que je t'aime plus
Je n'essayerais jamais
de partir et te blesser
Ma tete est fidèle
Et mon coeur a des hauts et des bas
Mais je resterais là
et prétendrais que ça va
Ca m'est égal
Si tu ne me passiones plus
Plutot mourir que te dire que c'est fini
C'est trop douloureux
de voir que l'amour est mort
Donc je resterais la et prétendrais
que tout va bien
It's Alright, it's Alright
Pada da da da da
It's Alright, it's alright
Tout t'es égal
et tu ne m'aime plus
Mais c'est trop dur
de voir que notre amour est mort
Donc on restera là
et on prétendra que tout va bien
On n'a pas besoin de partir
On n'a pas besoin de rester
On ne veut pas savoir que notre
amour est mort
On préfère rester aveugle
It's alright, it's alright ...
The lyrics to Inna Modja's song "It's Alright" are about two people who are no longer in love but are afraid to confront the truth about their relationship. The opening lines, "I can't say that I don't love you no more, I'll never try to go and hurt you," suggest that the singer still has feelings for the other person but is hesitant to express them. The singer knows that their love is fading, and while they don't want to hurt the other person, they also don't want to end the relationship.
The chorus, which repeats the phrase "it's alright," is a form of denial. The two people are pretending that everything is fine and that their love is still intact. They are aware that their relationship is over, but they are not ready to confront the reality of it. The final lines, "On n'a pas besoin de partir, on n'a pas besoin de rester, on ne veut pas savoir que notre amour est mort, on préfère rester aveugle" (We don't need to go, we don't need to stay, we don't want to know that our love is dead, we prefer to stay blind), further emphasize this.
Line by Line Meaning
I can't say that I don't love you no more
I cannot deny my love for you
I'll never try to go and hurt you
I will never intentionally cause you pain
My head is faithfull
I am intellectually committed to you
And my heart goes up and down
But my emotions are inconsistent and uncertain
But I'll stay here and pretend it's fine
But I will remain with you and act as if everything is okay
I don't mind if you don't thrill me no more
I am okay if you no longer excite me
I'd rather die than say it's over
I would rather die than admit that our relationship is ending
It's too painfull to see love is gone
It hurts too much to acknowledge that our love has dissipated
So I'll stay here and pretend it's Alright
So I will be with you and act as though everything is okay
You don't care and you don't want me no more
You are indifferent and no longer interested in me
But it's hard to see the game is over
But it is difficult to accept that our relationship has ended
It's too stressfull to see love is gone
It is too emotionally taxing to recognize that our love is no more
So we'll stay here and pretend it's Alright
So we will remain together and act as if everything is okay
We don't need to go
We do not have to leave each other
We don't need to stay
We do not have to remain together
We don't want to know
We do not want to acknowledge
Love is gone way
That our love has vanished
We'd rather stay blind for a while
We prefer to remain ignorant for some time
It's Alright, it's Alright Padadadada (Chorus)
Everything is fine, everything is fine
It's Alright, it's Alright...
Everything is fine, everything is fine
Writer(s): Fanta Bocoum, Loic le Devehat
Contributed by Matthew G. Suggest a correction in the comments below.