He has collaborated with many musicians, including Fela Kuti, Herbie Hancock, Bill Laswell, Bernie Worrell, Ladysmith Black Mambazo, and Sly and Robbie. In 1998 he recored the album CubAfrica with Cuban artist Eliades Ochoa .
His Soul Makossa is often considered the first disco record (Jones and Kantonen, 1999). Prominent and loved by his country, he just celebrated his 50th musical anniversary in Cameroon, where he was greatly supported by the wife of the president of Cameroon.
Manu Dibango was the sole African who exposed African traditional music to the western world. His style took the world by storm when the American superstar, Michael Jackson took Manu's Soul Makossa which featured in Jackson's album in You wanna be startin' Something.[i/] This same hit today vibrates the music chart which featuresAkon. Obviously, Jackson lost the suit and had to pay the African Saxophonist for Damage.
He has influenced so much Africans and buyam sellam has been modeled in an eclassified. cameroon jobs,accomodation, www.buyamsellam.org
A La Claire Fontaine
Manu Dibango Lyrics
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À la claire fontaine m'en allant promener
J′ai trouvé l'eau si belle que je m'y suis baigné
Il y a longtemps que je l′aime jamais je ne l′oublierai
Il y a longtemps que je l'aime jamais je ne l′oublierai
Sur la plus haute branche un rossignol chantait
Il y a longtemps que je l′aime jamais je ne l'oublierai
Il y a longtemps que je l′aime jamais je ne l'oublierai
Je voudrais que la rose fût encore au rosier
Et que le rosier même fût encore à planter
Il y a longtemps que je l'aime jamais je ne l′oublierai
Il y a longtemps que je l′aime jamais je ne l'oublierai
Chante rossignol chante toi qui as le coeur gai
Tu as le coeur à rire moi je l′ai à pleurer
C'est pour mon ami Pierre qui ne veut plus m′aimer
Manu Dibango's version of the traditional French folk song "A la claire fontaine" tells the story of a person who finds beauty in nature and laments the loss of a friend's love. The first stanza describes how the singer goes for a walk and finds a stream so beautiful that they swim in it. However, the lyrics take a melancholy turn in the next stanza when the singer sits under an oak tree to dry off and hears a nightingale singing. They express their undying love and say that they will never forget their beloved.
The third stanza expresses the singer's desire for things to remain unchanged, specifically for a rose to remain on its bush and for the bush to stay rooted in the ground. This could be interpreted as a desire to preserve the beauty of nature, or it could be a metaphor for the singer's desire for their friend's love to remain constant.
The final stanza brings the singer's melancholy to a head. They tell the nightingale to keep singing because it is happy, while they themselves cannot help but cry. The singer dedicates the song to their friend Pierre, implying that the reason for their sadness is the loss of his love.
Overall, Manu Dibango's version of "A la claire fontaine" is a poignant exploration of love, loss, and the beauty of nature. Its folk sound and poetic lyrics have made it a beloved song in France and beyond.
Line by Line Meaning
À la claire fontaine m'en allant promener
I went for a walk to a clear spring
J′ai trouvé l'eau si belle que je m'y suis baigné
The water was so beautiful that I bathed in it
Il y a longtemps que je l′aime jamais je ne l′oublierai
I have loved it for a long time and will never forget it
Sous les feuilles d'un chêne je me suis fait sécher
I dried myself under the leaves of an oak tree
Sur la plus haute branche un rossignol chantait
A nightingale sang on the highest branch
Je voudrais que la rose fût encore au rosier
I wish the rose was still on the rosebush
Et que le rosier même fût encore à planter
And that the rosebush itself could still be planted
Chante rossignol chante toi qui as le coeur gai
Sing, nightingale, sing – you who have a happy heart
Tu as le coeur à rire moi je l′ai à pleurer
You feel like laughing, but I feel like crying
C'est pour mon ami Pierre qui ne veut plus m′aimer
It's because my friend Pierre doesn't want to love me anymore
Contributed by Joseph F. Suggest a correction in the comments below.