Outlandish is a Danish hip-hop group with an international touch. Formed in… Read Full Bio ↴Outlandish is a Danish hip-hop group with an international touch. Formed in 1997, it consists of Isam Bachiri (born in Denmark and of Moroccan background), Waqas Ali Qadri (born in Denmark and of Pakistani background), and Lenny Martinez (born in Honduras). All three members are religious, with Isam and Waqas being devout Muslims, and Lenny being a catholic.

Their R&B/Hip-hop/Rap/soul music takes influences from their various backgrounds (Arab, Pakistani, and Latin music), and although their songs are primarily in English, they usually feature lyrics in Spanish, Urdu, Arabic, and Danish. All these influences make the music of Outlandish somewhat unique and this is easy to notice from the variety of genres covered in their albums. Outlandish often include themes about Islam and contemporary issues facing young Muslims in the west in their music, and sometimes their songs define a nasheed-like unique genre.

So far they have produced four albums: Outland's Official (2000), Bread & Barrels of Water (2003), Beats, Rhymes & Life (2004) and Closer Than Veins (2005).

Last November 2006 Outlandish won the MTV EMAs as a best danish act of the year, the same month as the creation of their new fan-site Elmoro4Life.com

Guantanamo
Outlandish Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

[Intro]
El sol calienta alla en lo alto
why la palma real nos alumbra
Orgullo de mi tierra cubana
Aqui no hay canto en vano

[Translation:]
The sun heats above

And the royal palm enlights us
With the pride of my Cuban soil
Here it can't be found
A song in vain

[Chorus]
Mi casa why su casa, Guantanamo
The grass is greener on my side, eh eh eh
And I got all my moros here, Guantanamo
Just me why my familia, eh eh eh

[Isam]
Ey chico!
Just idle the car while I run in to the super Mercado
Cop the Cuban bootleg compay Segundo
Gon' barbeque, ya know ill kebab
Only this time, no blues brother
The vibe is Cuba
Give twenties and couple of wise words to the kids
I'm an example to them, stay in school learn buiss'
Tell 'em, respect the whole nine
Respect them old folks
Take my dinner with the Don
Couscous with Parmesan
The sun is about to set
Hawaiian shirts, Havana cigars
Red sky, hot breeze, ladies like the guitars
And I can assure ya ass my pueblo is ghetto
Veteran cars ain't no flat tire, just hold on
Or we can lounge in Tangier
Not the one in Vegas, nah the one in Maroc
Cruise the Atlantic, from yours to my block
Mo' hot sauce, mo' sipping, mo' palmas, mo' bailar

[Chorus]
[Lenny]
El son de mi cuba
Me da los buenos dias
Desayuno why al salir
Todo el mundo ya esta arriba
Oye chico subele el volumen
Me encanta ese bolero
why esta cola para el pan
Le da la vuelta al mundo entero
Ahora ya en La Habana
Viejas calles con aire colonial
Los problemas no se ocultan
Pero hay dulzura al pasar
Las palmas como el Che
Orgullecen el paisaje
Voy cantando
De donde son los cantantes
Por mi isla mi compadre voy cruzando
Solo en shorts, con mis gafas
Mi chevy why el sol ardiente
Hoy es un dia especial
Porque hoy me voy para Oriente

[Translation]
The sun of my Cuba
Salutes me good morning
I take breakfast and come out
The whole world is already up
Hey chico turn the volume up
Cause I love this bolero
And this line to buy the bread, goes around the entire world anyway
Now picture La Habana
The old streets with colonel air
Problems can't be hidden
But you'll find sweetness at you pass by
The palms like El Che bring pride to the landscape
While I'm singing
"De donde son los cantantes"
Only in shorts with my sunglasses
My Chevy and the burning sun
Today is a special day
Cause today I'm on my way to the Orient

[Waqas]
A million degrees you can barely move
Plus la salsa making it hotter
In this Cohiva groove
Life is what you make it
It's that simple & plain
Sometimes you get sunshine
But 4 now we got no rain

[Chorus]

[Waqas]
Move it to the left
Back up a bit
OK hold it there
We gonna watch the game
Even though the signal ain't clear
Where I'm from they call it cricket
Around here it's pelota
That's 2 great games
Coming from two proud cultures
You've seen them play their part on the streets from the start
Some of the greatest came from here you know they got heart
Role models from the block deep down in the ditch
Then they switch hit a 6
A ball left man off the pitch

[Bridge]

Ouwee!
Lights out, ain't got no electricity for the rest of the night
We don't care, lighters up
Bounce to this beat, till the sun gon' come up
Mo hot sauce, mo sipping, mo palmas, mo baile
Mo sunshine

[Outro]
Esto va para Alamar why para el resto de mi Cuba

[Translation]
This goes out to Alamar and to the rest of Cuba

Overall Meaning

The song Guantanamo by Outlandish talks about the beauty and pride of Cuban life, highlighting the experiences and cultural significance of the people living there. The song starts with the singer taking pride in the beauty of the Cuban soil and how it can't be found a song in vain. The chorus talks about how the singer like to share their joyful life with their family and friends in Guantanamo, where the grass is greener on their side. Later, the song talks about how the singer enjoys the Cuban lifestyle and vibe, from buying bootleg Cuban music to barbecuing and lounging in Tangier. The song also describes the beauty of La Habana, with its old streets and colonial air and how despite the problems, there's sweetness to be found.

The song includes three verses from three different perspectives: Isam, Lenny, and Waqas. Isam talks about how he is an example to younger kids and how he wants them to learn and stay in school, while also appreciating the beauty of their culture. Lenny sings about his love for traditional Cuban music and how he enjoys the daily activities that sum up the Cuban culture. Waqas talks about the heat and how life is what you make it, and then shifts the focus to sports, specifically the games of cricket and pelota.

Line by Line Meaning

El sol calienta alla en lo alto
The sun heats above

y la palma real nos alumbra
And the royal palm enlights us

Orgullo de mi tierra cubana
With the pride of my Cuban soil

Aqui no hay canto en vano
Here it can't be found A song in vain

Mi casa why su casa, Guantanamo
The grass is greener on my side, eh eh eh And I got all my moros here, Guantanamo Just me why my familia, eh eh eh

Hey chico!

Just idle the car while I run in to the super Mercado

Cop the Cuban bootleg compay Segundo

Gon' barbeque, ya know ill kebab

Only this time, no blues brother

The vibe is Cuba

Give twenties and couple of wise words to the kids

I'm an example to them, stay in school learn buiss'

Tell 'em, respect the whole nine

Respect them old folks

Take my dinner with the Don

Couscous with Parmesan

The sun is about to set

Hawaiian shirts, Havana cigars

Red sky, hot breeze, ladies like the guitars

And I can assure ya ass my pueblo is ghetto

Veteran cars ain't no flat tire, just hold on

Or we can lounge in Tangier

Not the one in Vegas, nah the one in Maroc

Cruise the Atlantic, from yours to my block

Mo' hot sauce, mo' sipping, mo' palmas, mo' bailar

El son de mi cuba

Me da los buenos dias
Salutes me good morning

Desayuno why al salir
I take breakfast and come out

Todo el mundo ya esta arriba
The whole world is already up

Oye chico subele el volumen
Hey chico turn the volume up

Me encanta ese bolero
Cause I love this bolero

why esta cola para el pan
And this line to buy the bread, goes around the entire world anyway

Le da la vuelta al mundo entero

Ahora ya en La Habana
Now picture La Habana

Viejas calles con aire colonial
The old streets with colonel air

Los problemas no se ocultan
Problems can't be hidden

Pero hay dulzura al pasar
But you'll find sweetness at you pass by

Las palmas como el Che
The palms like El Che

Orgullecen el paisaje
bring pride to the landscape

Voy cantando
While I'm singing

De donde son los cantantes
De donde son los cantantes

Por mi isla mi compadre voy cruzando
Only in shorts with my sunglasses My Chevy and the burning sun Today is a special day Cause today I'm on my way to the Orient

A million degrees you can barely move

Plus la salsa making it hotter

In this Cohiva groove

Life is what you make it

It's that simple & plain

Sometimes you get sunshine

But 4 now we got no rain

Move it to the left

Back up a bit

OK hold it there

We gonna watch the game

Even though the signal ain't clear

Where I'm from they call it cricket

Around here it's pelota

That's 2 great games

Coming from two proud cultures

You've seen them play their part on the streets from the start

Some of the greatest came from here you know they got heart

Role models from the block deep down in the ditch

Then they switch hit a 6

A ball left man off the pitch

Ouwee!

Lights out, ain't got no electricity for the rest of the night

We don't care, lighters up

Bounce to this beat, till the sun gon' come up

Mo hot sauce, mo sipping, mo palmas, mo baile

Mo sunshine

Esto va para Alamar why para el resto de mi Cuba
This goes out to Alamar and to the rest of Cuba

Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: SAQIB HASSAN, ISAM BACHIRI, JEPPE BISGAARD, LENNY MARTINEZ, WAQAS QADRI, YADAM GONZALEZ CARDENAS

Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind

To comment on or correct specific content, highlight it

TRACKS