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.

Syracuse
Malavoi Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

J'aimerais tant voir Syracuse
L'île de Pâques et Kairouan
Et les grands oiseaux qui s'amusent
À glisser l'aile sous le vent

Voir les jardins de Babylone
Et le palais du Grand Lama
Rêver des amants de Vérone

Au sommet du Fuji Yama

Voir le pays du matin calme
Aller pêcher au cormoran
Et m'enivrer de vin de palme
En écoutant chanter le vent

Avant que ma jeunesse s'use
Et que mes printemps soient partis

J'aimerais tant voir Syracuse
Pour m'en souvenir à Paris

Overall Meaning

The lyrics of Malavoi's song Syracuse express a deep longing for the beauty and diversity of the world. The singer yearns to see the far-off islands of Syracuse, Easter Island, and Kairouan as well as the majestic birds gliding effortlessly through the wind. He also wishes to witness the Hanging Gardens of Babylon and the palace of the Grand Lama, dreaming of the romantic love story of Romeo and Juliet atop the Mount Fuji. The singer even wants to visit the calm country of Korea and to catch fish with the cormorants, getting drunk with palm wine while listening to the wind sing.

Yet, amidst his reverie, the singer remembers that time is fleeting and that his youth will soon be gone. He wants to see Syracuse before his springtime ends, so he can cherish the memories once he returns to Paris. The song offers a nostalgic and wistful sentimentality that speaks to the universal desire to experience new and incredible things before it's too late.

Overall, Malavoi's Syracuse is a beautiful and evocative song that encapsulates the human need for exploration and appreciation of the world's wonders, while also recognizing the bittersweet nature of life's impermanence.

Line by Line Meaning

J'aimerais tant voir Syracuse
I would really love to see Syracuse

L'île de Pâques et Kairouan
The Easter Island and Kairouan too

Et les grands oiseaux qui s'amusent
And the big birds that play

À glisser l'aile sous le vent
As they glide their wings with the wind

Voir les jardins de Babylone
See the Gardens of Babylon

Et le palais du Grand Lama
And the palace of the Grand Lama

Rêver des amants de Vérone
Dream of the lovers of Verona

Au sommet du Fuji Yama
At the top of Mount Fuji

Voir le pays du matin calme
See the Land of the Morning Calm

Aller pêcher au cormoran
Go fishing with the cormorant

Et m'enivrer de vin de palme
And get drunk on palm wine