N'Goma was first exposed to music by his father, a teacher and harmonium player. Although he took his first music lessons when he was eight years old, he began performing for audiences after moving to Libreville to attend school. While taking classes in accounting, he joined the Capo Sound, the school band, where he learned to play guitar. The group played at formal dances and balls, teaching N'Goma the art of performing on stage.
N'Goma was a poor student, devoting himself to music and cinema instead of his classwork. His love of film lead to a job with Gabon TV, who sent him to France in 1988 where he was trained as a cameraman. While spending a winter in Paris, he finished work on music he'd written in Gabon. He shared his music with Manu Lima, a well-known record producer for African music. Lima was impressed with the young man's work, and handled the artistic direction of N'Goma's first record Bane.
The album enjoyed modest success at first, until an African radio station began to play his songs. The title track scored large success in Africa, France, and the French West Indies, and continues to rank as a party anthem in those areas. It enjoys success comparable to Mario by Franco or Yeke Yeke by Mory Kante. The album is one of the best-selling African albums to date.
N'Goma released a second album, Adia in December of 1995, again working with Manu Lima. Five years later, his third album Seva debuted. A greatest hits complation, Best of Oliver N'Goma was released in 2004.
Betty
Oliver N'Goma Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
At the bottom of my heart
I don't know if you feel thoughts
If you feel it
Don't search
'Cause the person talking about you is me
In front of you
I become dumb
I can't get a word out
As soon as I find myself alone
I promise myself
That tomorrow I would have the courage to speak to you. .Betty
As soon as I see your face
The lyrics are blocked in the throat
Eh ... eh ... eh ... Ah ... yo .
Help me a little
Comfort me the body
So that i can align words
The mouth ...
That i was doing in front of you
I hide the love I have
Give me the strength
To tell you what burns my heart every day
Eh ... eh ... eh ... Ah ... yo
Eh ... eh ... eh ... accept
If you refuse
I don't know cmt I'll be baby
If you give me a chance
I swear you will not regret it
If you give me a chance
I would give you my love all life
Oh ... Betty
Eh ... eh ... Ah ... yo ...
Help me a little
Comfort my body
So that I can properly align the words
Accept my love please
I'm tired of hiding it.
In Oliver N'Goma's song "Betty," the singer expresses his frustration and desire for a woman named Betty. He starts by stating he is tired of keeping his feelings to himself and being unable to express them. He asks Betty if she can feel his thoughts, indicating that he is wondering if she feels the same way about him. He then reveals that the person he is talking about is, in fact, Betty. He goes on to say that when he is in front of her, he becomes speechless and cannot find the words to express himself. He promises himself that he will find the courage to speak to her in the future.
The singer is asking for Betty's help to give him the strength to align his words properly. He hides the love he has for her and pleads with her to accept his love. He is tired of hiding his emotions and is willing to give her his love for the rest of his life. The repetition of "Eh ... eh ... eh ... Ah ... yo" throughout the song emphasizes the singer's emotional state and his desperation to convey his feelings to Betty.
Line by Line Meaning
I'm tired of lamenting
I'm tired of feeling sorry for myself
At the bottom of my heart
Deep down inside
I don't know if you feel thoughts
I don't know if you understand what I'm thinking
If you feel it
If you feel the same way
Don't search
Don't look for the person talking about you
'Cause the person talking about you is me
It's me who's talking about you
In front of you
When I'm with you
I become dumb
I can't find the words to say
I can't get a word out
I can't speak
As soon as I find myself alone
When I'm by myself
I promise myself
I make a pledge to myself
That tomorrow I would have the courage to speak to you. .Betty
That tomorrow I will gather the courage to talk to you, Betty
As soon as I see your face
When I look at you
The lyrics are blocked in the throat
I get tongue-tied
Help me a little
Assist me
Comfort me the body
Calm me down
So that i can align words
So I can express myself
The mouth ...
My speech
That i was doing in front of you
That I was trying to do when I was with you
I hide the love I have
I conceal my feelings of love for you
Give me the strength
Give me the courage
To tell you what burns my heart every day
To express what troubles me every day
Eh ... eh ... eh ... Ah ... yo
Vocalization
Eh ... eh ... eh ... accept
Vocalization requesting acceptance
If you refuse
If you say no
I don't know cmt I'll be baby
I don't know how I'll react, baby
If you give me a chance
If you give me an opportunity
I swear you will not regret it
I promise you won't be sorry
I would give you my love all life
I will love you forever
Oh ... Betty
Endearing address to Betty
Accept my love please
Please accept my love
I'm tired of hiding it.
I'm tired of keeping my love for you a secret
Writer(s): Manu Lima
Contributed by Josiah D. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
@marcuselvard5922
lyrics translation (Oliver Ngoma_Betty) :
I'm tired of complaining
Deep in my heart
I don't know if you feel thoughts
If you feel it
Do not look
Because the person talking about you is me
In front of you
I become mute
I can't get a word out
As soon as I find myself alone
I promise myself
That tomorrow I would have the courage to speak to you. ..Betty
As soon as I see your face again
The lyrics stick to your throat
Eh... eh... eh... Ah... yo..
Help me a little
comfort my body
So I can line up the words
The mouth eh...
What I was doing in front of you
I hide the love that I have
give me strength
To tell you what burns my heart every day
Eh...eh...eh...ah...yo
Eh... eh... eh... accept
If you refuse
I don't know how I would be baby
If you give me a chance
I swear you won't regret it
If you give me a chance
I will give you my love for life
Oh...Betty
Eh...eh...ah...yo...
Help me a little
Comfort my body
So that I can align the words well
Please accept my love
I'm tired of hiding it.
@marcuselvard5922
soy gabonés. Gracias a usted.
traducción de la letra (Oliver Ngoma_Betty):
estoy cansado de quejarme
En lo profundo de mi corazon
No sé si sientes pensamientos
si lo sientes
No mires
Porque la persona que habla de ti soy yo
Delante de ti
me quedo mudo
no puedo pronunciar una palabra
Tan pronto como me encuentre solo
me prometo a mi mismo
Que mañana tendría el coraje de hablar contigo. ..Betty
Tan pronto como vea tu cara de nuevo
La letra se te pega a la garganta
Eh... eh... eh... Ah... yo..
ayúdame un poco
reconforta mi cuerpo
Así puedo alinear las palabras
La boca eh...
lo que estaba haciendo frente a ti
escondo el amor que tengo
Dame fuerza
Para decirte lo que me quema el corazón todos los días
Eh... eh... eh... ah... yo
Eh... eh... eh... acepta
si te niegas
no se como seria bebe
Si me das una oportunidad
Te juro que no te arrepentirás
Si me das una oportunidad
te dare mi amor de por vida
oh... betty
Eh... eh... ah... yo...
ayúdame un poco
Consuela mi cuerpo
Para poder alinear bien las palabras
por favor acepta mi amor
Estoy cansado de ocultarlo.
@DerickD35
Betty
I'm sick of lamenting
At the bottom of my heart
I do not know if you feel any thoughts
If you feel like it
Do not look for
Because the person who talks about you is me
In front of you
I become mute
I can not get a word out
As soon as I find myself alone
I make the promise
May I have the courage to speak to you tomorrow. " ..Betty
As soon as I see your face again
The lyrics are blocked by the throat
Eh ... eh ... eh ... ah ... yo ..
Help me a little
Reinforce me body
So that I can align words
The mouth eh ...
What I was doing before you
I hide the love I have
Give me the strength
To tell you what burns my heart every day
Eh ... eh ... eh ... ah ... yo
Eh ... eh ... eh..accepte
If you refuse
I do not know cmt I would be baby
If you give me a chance
I swear you will not regret it
If you give me a chance
I would give you my love all life
Oh ... Betty
Eh ... eh ... ah ... yo ...
Help me a little
Reconfort me the body
So that I can align the words correctly
Accept my love stp
I'm tired of hiding it.
@yedidialelano1938
2024 qui est là ? ☺️☺️☺️❤️❤️❤️
@celestinemoulongou7351
Moi❤
@fofanamaria2628
Il était de quelle origine.
Je n'ai jamais sû❤
@elsabibang4907
Gabonaise @@fofanamaria2628
@christinainnocent3240
Oliver hata sisi wa Tanzania tunakukumbuka na tunakupenda sana. Lala salama mikononi mwa Yesu. Amina🇹🇿🇹🇿🇹🇿🇹🇿🇹🇿🇹🇿🇹🇿
@iyren8799
Sisi wa Kenya twa hisi kama nyinyi marehemu Ngoma hato sahuaulika🇰🇪🇰🇪🇰🇪🇰🇪
@yvespatipe3088
Je suis encore là en 2023. Toutes tes chansons me pénètrent. Merci Oliver N'Goma, Merci Gabon 🇬🇦❤️❤️❤️
@anamariadossantos4252
❤❤
@grego59500
Même de France on aime 😉👌
@sheenadelarue
Même en vanuatu