Au pays de Gandhi
MC Solaar Lyrics

Yo ! Au début c'étaient des vacances au Sénégal
The singer starts by telling that their trip had initially begun in Senegal as a vacation.

Ensuite on a décidé d'aller en Inde à Bopal
They decided to continue their adventure and travel to India, specifically to Bhopal.

Yo ! Tu vois la route avec nos sacs à dos
The singer draws attention to their journey on the road, carrying their backpacks.

Mais quand on a vu l'indienne on a dit : quel cadeau !
The group is excited upon spotting an Indian woman and considers it a delightful surprise.

Excellent, elle peut faire sauter les serpents
The woman is capable of controlling and even making snakes jump, displaying her prowess and skills.

Comme elle peut faire galoper les éléphants de Ceylan
She is also capable of making the elephants of Ceylon move at a faster pace.

Et quand elle marche, tout le monde la kiffe
Everyone admires her as she walks past them.

Même les chiens se retournent, qu'ils soient Droopy ou Pif
Even dogs on the street show interest and look back as she passes them by, regardless of whether they are animated or real dogs like Droopy or Pif.

Wep chérie, tu connais Pondichéry
The artist addresses the woman, calling her 'chérie' and asks if she knows Pondicherry.

Elle me dit je viens d'ici donc arrête tes supercheries
The woman corrects him, saying that she is from Pondicherry and tells him to stop making things up.

C'est étrange, elle a le karma d'un ange
The singer finds it strange yet impressive how the woman seems to have the good karma of an angel.

L'enjeu : lui dire que j'l'aime sur les bords du Gange
The artist's objective is to confess his love for her by the banks of the Ganges river.

Ennemi public numéro 700
The singer mentions being treated as the 700th public enemy, implying that he is not well-liked.

Mais j'dois faire la file indienne alors pour moi c'est vexant
However, he must still abide and follow the Indian custom of making a line, which he finds irritating and vexing.

Appelle-la diva, Shiva parc'qu'elle a plein de bras
The woman is titled a diva or referred to as Shiva because she seems to have multiple arms like the Hindu deity Shiva.

Rouge sur le front, j'te parle pas du Karma.
She has a red mark on her forehead from applying Kumkum, a powder worn by Hindu women, and the artist doesn't even want to begin talking about the concept of karma in Hinduism.

Le soir on arrive en boîte à dos d'éléphant
In the evening, they reach a club riding on elephants.

Sarouel, chapeau comme un sikh toujours élégant
The singer and his group are dressed in sarouels and turbans resembling the Sikh community, but they still manage to look stylish and elegant.

L'or sur la poitrine fait chling-chling
The gold jewelry on their chests creates a distinctive jingling sound.

Ou kling-kling c'est le bling-bling
The jingling sound is similar to bling-bling, a rap term for flashy and expensive jewelry.

On a quitté Candy pour l'pays de Gandhi
They left the town of Candy in Sri Lanka for the land of Gandhi, India.

Avec mes bandits d'Bondy on boit le Brandy
The artist and his group of friends from Bondy, a suburb of Paris, drink brandy in India.

On brandit les mains dans les airs le crew s'agrandit
As they dance, they raise their hands in the air and their group of friends keeps growing.

On est au Taj mahal où notre serpent s'agrandit
They are at the Taj Mahal and their group and party spirit are also growing exponentially like a snake.

Comme le dit la Compagnie c'est bon pour le moral
They agree with 'la Compagnie,' who sings that their merriment is good for the soul and morale.

Sache que ça sent l'encens et le bois de santal
The atmosphere is redolent with the scents of incense and sandalwood.

Et d'Hollywood à Bollywood, on peut noter very good
They compare Hollywood to Bollywood and consider the latter to be just as impressive and 'very good'.

Tout le monde les bras en l'air et que personne ne boude !
Everyone is dancing, and nobody is being sour and refusing to participate!

Et yo ! India, Nirvana, Himalaya
The artist lists iconic names and places associated with India - such as Nirvana and the Himalayas.

Goa, feu de Bengale à la Playa
He mentions Goa, the state known for its beaches and Bengalis, known for lighting up fires, and he compares those fires to the seaside or 'Playa'.

Etudes supérieures de Kama-sutra
He mocks the notion of higher studies of Kama Sutra, the ancient Indian text on human sexual behavior.

Banghra de Katmandou jusqu'à Sumatra
He highlights Banghra music, which is popular in Katmandu and Sumatra.

Le style est original, la vache est leur animal
He admires how Indians have their unique sense of style, and the cow is held in high regard as their holy animal.

Tu marches sans piédestal avec ta paire de sandales
He notes how Indians don't need any fancy footwear or pedestals to carry themselves with grace.

Si tu veux faire un scandale à dix roupies ou deux balles
Making a fuss or openly complaining is considered cheap and not worth it, whether it's ten rupees or two bullets.

T'emballe pas, sortie non violente à la mahatma
He advises people not to get too worked up over anything and reminds them of Mahatma Gandhi's non-violent approach.

Ca c'est pour Inde Pakistan Bengladesh Sri Lanka
These are the countries and regions that the song is paying homage to in this chorus line.

Sikh Tamoul Indou jusqu'au style inca
He lists various cultures, such as the Sikh, Tamil, Indian, and Inca, suggesting that all cultures have their distinct features deserving of respect.

Faut beaucoup d'amour, d'espièglerie
Ultimately, they believe in spreading love and mischievousness in life.

C'est le pays de Gandhi.
The song concludes that India is the land of non-violence, as epitomized by Mahatma Gandhi.

Tout le monde les bras en l'air et que personne ne boude !
The final line is a repeat of the same message that everyone should participate in the dancing and revelry without being grouchy or upset!