Kassav' was formed in 1979 by Pierre-Edouard Décimus, a long-time professional musician who worked with Freddy Marshall. Together, the two of them decided to take carnival music and make it a more modern and polished style. It was the leading band to emerge from the formative years of Zouk. They gave the style a pan-Caribbean sound by taking elements from kompa, salsa, and calypso, and became world famous. Their first album, Love and Ka Dance (1980), established the sound of zouk.
Kassav' continued to grow more popular, both as a group and with several members' solo careers, finally peaking in 1985 with Yélélé, which featured the international hit "Zouk la sé sèl médikaman nou ni" (meaning "Zouk is our only drug" in French Antillean Creole) With this hit, zouk rapidly became a widespread dance craze in Latin America and the Caribbean, and was popular in Europe, Africa, and Asia. Zouk performers became known for wildly theatrical concerts featuring special effects spectacles and colorful costumes.
Zouk-la-sé-sel Médikaman Nou Ni
Kassav' Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
y el alma entera
y se ha clavado aqui en mis huesos el dolor
con esta angustia y esta pena
usted, no sabe que se siente perder
no sabe que se siente caer y caer
en un abismo profundo y sin fe.
Usted se me llevo la vida
que alli esta pero no siente
usted, no sabe lo importante que fue
no sabe que su ausencia fue un trago de hiel
que se ha quedado clavado en mi piel.
Usted no sabe lo que es el amor
y el miedo que causa la desolación
Usted no sabe que daño causo
como ha destrozado a este corazon
que tan solo palpitaba con el sonido de su voz
con el sonido de su voz
Usted se me llevo la vida todas mis ganas
y me ha dejado congelada la razon
y viva la desesperanza,
usted, no sabe que se siente perder
no sabe que su adios fue morirme de sed
que desgarro en este cuerpo su ser
Usted no sabe lo que es el amor,
y el miedo que causa la desolación,
Usted no sabe que daño causo,
como ha destrozado a este corazon,
que tan solo palpitaba con el sonido de su voz,
con el sonido de su voz.
Usted no sabe de verdad como se ama,
usted no sabe como eh sufrido yooooo
usted es fria y su maldad me hiere el alma
usted lleno mi vida toda de doloooooooooooooooor
usted no sabe, no sabe
como ha destrozado a este corazon
que tan solo palpitaba
con el sonido de su voz
con el sonido de su...
vooooooz
The lyrics of "Zouk-la-sé-sel Médikaman Nou Ni" by Kassav' tells the story of a person who has lost everything because of a love that ended. The song begins with the singer expressing how this person took their life and soul away, leaving them with nothing but pain and agony. The singer describes themselves as being stuck in the depths of despair, continuously falling with no hope of finding a way out. They further confess that this person doesn't understand how it feels to lose someone, and that their absence has left a permanent mark on their heart.
The second verse continues the theme of pain and loss, with the singer comparing themselves to a rock that the ocean continuously beats upon without feeling anything. The person who left them doesn't understand how much they meant, and the feeling of their absence is like that of consuming poison. The chorus repeats the sentiment that the person who left them doesn't understand what true love is and the extent of the harm they have caused. They only know the sound of their voice, which kept their heart beating.
Overall, the song is a heartfelt ballad that expresses the sadness of losing someone you have loved deeply. It is a tribute to the pain and the emptiness that remains, long after the person who left is gone.
Line by Line Meaning
Usted se me llevo la vida
You took my life from me
y el alma entera
and my whole soul
y se ha clavado aqui en mis huesos el dolor
and the pain has been nailed into my bones
con esta angustia y esta pena
with this anguish and this pain
usted, no sabe que se siente perder
you don't know what it feels like to lose
no sabe que se siente caer y caer
you don't know what it feels like to fall and keep falling
en un abismo profundo y sin fe.
in a deep and faithless abyss.
Usted se me llevo la vida
You took my life from me
y aki me tiene como una roca que el oceano golpea
and here you have me like a rock that the ocean hits
que alli esta pero no siente
that is there but doesn't feel
usted, no sabe lo importante que fue
you don't know how important you were
no sabe que su ausencia fue un trago de hiel
you don't know that your absence was a bitter pill
que se ha quedado clavado en mi piel.
that stayed stuck in my skin.
Usted no sabe lo que es el amor
You don't know what love is
y el miedo que causa la desolación
and the fear that causes desolation
Usted no sabe que daño causo
You don't know the damage you caused
como ha destrozado a este corazon
how you have destroyed this heart
que tan solo palpitaba con el sonido de su voz
which only beat with the sound of your voice
Usted se me llevo la vida todas mis ganas
You took my life and all my desires
y me ha dejado congelada la razon
and left me frozen in reason
y viva la desesperanza,
and long live the despair,
usted, no sabe que se siente perder
you don't know what it feels like to lose
no sabe que su adios fue morirme de sed
you don't know that your goodbye was like dying of thirst
que desgarro en este cuerpo su ser
that tore apart your being in this body
Usted no sabe lo que es el amor,
You don't know what love is
y el miedo que causa la desolación,
and the fear that causes desolation,
Usted no sabe que daño causo,
You don't know the damage you caused,
como ha destrozado a este corazon,
how you have destroyed this heart,
que tan solo palpitaba con el sonido de su voz,
which only beat with the sound of your voice,
Usted no sabe de verdad como se ama,
You really don't know how to love,
usted no sabe como eh sufrido yooooo
you don't know how much I've suffered
usted es fria y su maldad me hiere el alma
you are cold and your wickedness hurts my soul
usted lleno mi vida toda de doloooooooooooooooor
you filled my whole life with paaaaaaain
usted no sabe, no sabe
you don't know, you don't know
como ha destrozado a este corazon
how you have destroyed this heart
que tan solo palpitaba
which only beat
con el sonido de su voz
with the sound of your voice
con el sonido de su... vooooooz
with the sound of your... vooooooice
Writer(s): Georges Decimus, Jacob Desvarieux
Contributed by Nicholas O. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
Vi
on Mwen di ou awa
I Tell You Now / I Am Telling You Now