Malavoi was a Martinican band consisting of Mano Césaire, Jean-Paul Soïme, … Read Full Bio ↴Malavoi was a Martinican band consisting of Mano Césaire, Jean-Paul Soïme, Christian de Negri, Denis Dantin and Marcel Rémion. They formed in 1972, naming themselves after a kind of sugarcane and a street on Gorée, a Senegalese island. Many of the members were part of the Merry Lads, a band from the Lycée Schoelcher, and many had been students at Colette Franz, a music school.

Malavoi's style mixes French Antillean music with modern influences from across the Americas, especially Caribbean and Brazilian music, as well as jazz. Their early popular singles included "Albé" and "En lè mon là". The band was soon expanded to include saxophonist Bib Monville and pianist Paulo Rosine. The singers alternated and included Raymond Mazarin, Pierre Jabert, Maurice Marie-Louise, Pierre Pastel and Julien Constance.

Malavoi's first album was Malavoi, released in 1978 and featuring singer Ralph Thamar. The band broke up soon after, however, and didn't perform again until re-uniting under Rosine's leadership in 1981. Rosine greatly expanded the fiddle section, first to ten performers, then down to four with Philippe Porry taking over for Dantin, and also added Jean-José Lagier on cello. Malavoi's fame soon spread across the Caribbean and abroad with the 1983 album Zouel, featuring Thamar on vocals along with Marie-José Alie. They played at the Printemps de Bourges in 1983 and at the Caribbean festival in Cartagena, and won the Caribbean music prize, the Maracas d'Or, as well as scoring the film Rue Case Nègres.

They continued touring widely into the late 1980s, in the United States, France, Japan, Russia, Brazil, Canada and Ecuador. Thamar was replaced by Pipo Gertrude in 1988. In the early 1990s, the band's popularity continued to grow, and the membership expanded with the addition of singer Tony Chasseur. Their 1992 Matebis included collaborations with numerous Caribbean musicians, including Jocelyne Beroard, Bethova Obas, Kali (musician), Edith Lefel and Tanya Saint-Val.

Malavoi's leader, Paulo Rosine, died in 1993. He was replaced by José Privat, while two French violinists, Jean-Luc Pino and Daniel Dato, also joined; the band's leader became Jean-Paul Soïme.

Gram é gram
Malavoi Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

Gran mè gran
La Divinité...

Gran la Divinité
Gran la Divinité
Gran la Divinité
Gran la Divinité
Gran!

Gran la Divinité
Gran la Divinité
Gran la Divinité
Gran la Divinité
Gran!

Gran mè gran,
Gran la Divinité gran,
Gran la Divinité gran
Mwen ka rèsté ici au prochain numéro

Voila pourquoi mwen pa ka mangé farine
Voila pourquoi mwen pa ka mangé farine
Voila pourquoi mwen pa ka mangé farine
Sé jèn fi dan bwa la ka pissé dan maniok

Gran mè gran,
Gran la Divinité gran,
Gran la Divinité gran
Mwen ka rèsté ici au prochain numéro

Ba mwen dlo ba mwen savon toilette,
Ba mwen dlo ba mwen violette di ri,
Ba mwen dlo ba mwen savon toilette
Jèn fille la minyin mwen, la peau mwen pwazonnin

Gran mè gran,
Gran la Divinité gran,
Gran la Divinité gran
Mwen ka rèsté ici au prochain numéro

Gran mè gran,
Gran la Divinité gran,
Gran la Divinité gran
Mwen ka rèsté ici au prochain numéro

Gran mè gran,
Gran la Divinité gran,
Gran la Divinité gran
Mwen ka rèsté ici au prochain numéro

Ou rayi mwen bèl mè mwen ou rayi mwen
Ou rayi mwen bèl mè mwen ou rayi mwen
Ou rayi mwen bèl mè mwen ou rayi mwen
Tèlman ou rayi mwen ou rayi désendan mwen

Gran mè gran,
Gran la Divinité gran,
Gran la Divinité gran
Mwen ka rèsté ici au prochain numéro

Manman mouton ka fouré ba ti mouton,
Manman kabrit ka fouré ba ti kabrit,
Manman mouton ka fouré ba ti mouton
Mwen sèl ki dan bwa a pa ka fouré ba an jèn fi

Gran mè gran,
Gran la Divinité gran,

Gran la Divinité gran
Mwen ka rèsté ici au prochain numéro

Overall Meaning

The lyrics of Malavoi's song "Gram é Gram" are complex and layered, highlighting themes of spirituality, social commentary, and personal experiences. The repeated phrase "Gran mè gran, la Divinité gran" speaks to a belief in a higher power, with the word "gran" emphasizing the greatness and magnitude of this divinity. The following lines touch on issues of food insecurity, as the singer explains why they cannot eat flour because it is contaminated with the urine of young girls who are forced to urinate in the cassava fields. The lines "ba mwen dlo ba mwen savon toilette" speak to the basic needs for water and hygiene, with a reference to poison ivy affecting the singer's skin.

The song then moves to a more personal level as the singer addresses someone who hates them "telman ou rayi mwen ou rayi desendan mwen" and a reference to a mother goat and sheep who take care of their young. There are also references to the singer's own experiences, such as waiting for their turn in something "Mwen ka rèsté ici au prochain numéro". Overall, the song carries themes of hardship and the need for the divine in difficult times.

Line by Line Meaning

Gran mè gran
Great grandfather

La Divinité...
The Divine...

Gran la Divinité
Great is the Divine

Mwen ka rèsté ici au prochain numéro
I'll stay here until the next number

Voila pourquoi mwen pa ka mangé farine
That's why I can't eat flour

Sé jèn fi dan bwa la ka pissé dan maniok
Young girls in the woods are urinating on cassava

Ba mwen dlo ba mwen savon toilette
Give me water, give me toilet soap

Ba mwen dlo ba mwen violette di ri
Give me water, give me violet essence

Jèn fille la minyin mwen, la peau mwen pwazonnin
The young girl who serves me, her touch poisons my skin

Ou rayi mwen bèl mè mwen ou rayi mwen
You hate me because I'm beautiful

Tèlman ou rayi mwen ou rayi désendan mwen
You hate me so much, you hate my descendants