Massi's music, which prominently features the acoustic guitar, displays Western musical style influences such as rock, country or the Portuguese fado, rather than traditional Algerian or Raï musical styles performed by most Algerian musicians. Massi sings in Algerian Arabic, French, and occasionally English and Kabyle (Berber language), often employing multiple languages in the same song.
Massi was born in Algiers, Algeria to a poor Muslim family of seven children. Encouraged by her older brother, she began studying music at a young age, singing and playing guitar. Growing up Massi immersed herself in American country and roots music, musical styles that would later heavily influence her songwriting. At the age of seventeen she joined a flamenco band, but quickly grew bored with the group and left.
In the early 1990s, Massi joined the Algerian political rock band Atakor, who were influenced by Western rock bands such as Led Zeppelin and U2. She recorded and performed with the group for seven years, releasing a successful album and two popular music videos. The band, however, with its political lyrics and growing popularity, became a target. Massi disguised herself by cutting her hair and dressing in male clothing, but she nevertheless became the target of a series of death threats. In 1999, she left the band and moved to Paris, France.
In 1999, Massi was invited to perform at the Femmes d'Algerie ("Women from Algeria") festival in Paris, which led to a recording contract with Island Records. In June of 2001, she released her solo debut album Raoui ("Storyteller"), which All Music Guide compared to 1960s American folk music. Sung mostly in French and Arabic, the album became a critical and commercial success in France. The following year she was nominated for "Best Newcomer" at the Radio 3 World Music Awards.
In 2003, she released her second album Deb ("Heart-broken"). The album's lyrics were more personal rather than political and it became one of the most successful North African albums worldwide. Three years later, Massi released her third album Mesk Elil ("Honeysuckle"). The album expanded on the themes of love and loss that had been explored on Deb and featured duets with Daby Toure and Rabah Khalfa.
Studio albums
* 2001: Raoui
* 2003: Deb
* 2006: Mesk Elil
* 2010: Ô Houria
* 2015: El Mutakallimun
* 2019: Oumniya
* 2022: Sequana
https://souad-massi.com/en/
Matebkiche
Souad Massi Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Je n'avais personne pour me le dire
Ne pense pas, ne pleure pas
J'aurais voulu quelqu'un pour me le dire
Quand tous les gens s'endorment
J'ai l'impression que le temps s'arrête
Quand toutes les lumières s'éteignent
Quelques personnes veillent encore
D'ici, j'entends leurs murmures
Le jour, ils me paraissent heureux
La nuit, dans leur solitude, ils pleurent.
J'ai peur lorsque je pose cette question:
" Pourquoi vit-on ? "
Parfois mon âme me retourne cette question:
"Avons-nous vraiment vécu un jour ? ".
The lyrics of Souad Massi's song "Matebkiche" speak to the profound feelings of loneliness and isolation that can arise when one is left to contemplate the purpose of life. The singer implores the listener not to think or cry, but reveals that she herself had no one to tell her the same. The sense of emptiness and confusion that can come with this kind of reflection is palpable as the singer describes feeling as though time stops and the night itself takes on a life of its own.
As the song progresses, the singer speaks of the few people she hears murmuring during the night, perhaps echoing her own sense of isolation. During the day, they seem happy, but in their solitude at night, they too cry. The singer then reveals her own fear when she asks the question of why we live at all, and her sense that perhaps we have never truly lived.
The lyrics of "Matebkiche" are hauntingly beautiful, as they capture the essence of what it means to feel disconnected from the world around you. The sense of solitude and the yearning for connection is palpable, and the singer's voice adds a layer of raw emotion that speaks directly to the heart.
Line by Line Meaning
Ne pense pas, ne pleure pas
Do not think, do not cry
Je n'avais personne pour me le dire
There was no one to tell me that
J'aurais voulu quelqu'un pour me le dire
I wish I had someone to tell me that
Quand tous les gens s'endorment
When everyone falls asleep
J'ai l'impression que le temps s'arrête
I feel like time stops
Quand toutes les lumières s'éteignent
When all the lights go out
J'entends la nuit respirer
I hear the night breathing
Quelques personnes veillent encore
A few people are still awake
D'ici, j'entends leurs murmures
From here, I hear their whispers
Le jour, ils me paraissent heureux
During the day, they seem happy to me
La nuit, dans leur solitude, ils pleurent.
At night, in their loneliness, they cry
J'ai peur lorsque je pose cette question:
I am scared when I ask this question:
"Pourquoi vit-on ?"
"Why do we live?"
Parfois mon âme me retourne cette question:
Sometimes my soul asks me this question:
"Avons-nous vraiment vécu un jour ?"
"Have we really lived one day?"
Contributed by Alyssa H. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
@TheMrDzmen
it is an Algerian dialect a mixture of several words of different language
Do not think, do not cry
I had nobody to tell me
Do not think, do not cry
I just want one special person to tell me this
When all the people are asleep,
God makes me feel time has stopped.
All people switch off the light,
I hear breathing of night.
Do not think, do not cry
I had nobody to tell me
Do not think, do not cry
I just want one special person to tell me this
Some people are still awake
I hear their voices
At the day they seem happy
At night they cry alone.
Do not think, do not cry
I had nobody to tell me
Do not think, do not cry
I just want one special person to tell me this
Sometimes I ask my soul
"Why do we live?"
Sometimes the soul asks me
"When did we really live?".
Do not think, do not cry
I had nobody to tell me
Do not think, do not cry
I just want one special person to tell me this
@serdarozdogan4736
أنا ما قالهالي حتى واحد
ما تخميش، ما تبكيش
كنت حابة يقولهالي كاش واحد
كامل الناس يرقدوا
جابلي ربي بلي الوقت حبس
كامل الناس يطفيو الضو
نسمع الليل يتنفس
ما تخميش، ما تبكيش
أنا ما قالهالي حتى واحد
ما تخميش، ما تبكيش
كنت حابة يقولهالي كاش واحد
كاين لي مازالهم سهرانين
من هنا راني نسمع صوتهم
فالنهار يبانولي فرحانين
فالليل يبكوا وحدهم
ما تخميش، ما تبكيش
أنا ما قالهالي حتى واحد
ما تخميش، ما تبكيش
كنت حابة يقولهالي كاش واحد
مرات نخاف كي نسقسي روحي
وعلاش رانا عايشين
مرات تسقسيني روحي
وقتاش كنا عايشين
ما تخميش، ما تبكيش
أنا ما قالهالي حتى واحد
ما تخميش، ما تبكيش
كنت حابة يقولهالي كاش واحد
Matkhmich, matbkiche
Ana ma9alha li hta wahed
Matkhmich, matbkiche
Kount haba i9olha likch wahed
Kamel anass ir9do
Y(d)jibli rabi bli lwa9t ahbess
Kamel anass itfiw ado
Nssme3 alil yatnefss
Matkhmich, matbkiche
Ana ma9alha li hta wahed
Matkhmich, omatbkiche
Kount haba i9olha likch Wahed
Kayn Li Mazalhoum Sehranin
Men hna rani nssem3 sudoum
F nhar, ibano li frhanin
F lil, ibko wahdehoum
Matkhmich, matbkiche
Ana ma9alha li hta wahed
Matkhmich, omatbkiche
Kount haba i9olha likch wahed
Mrrat nkhaf ki nse9ssi rouhi
W3lach rana 3aychin ?
Mrrat tse9ssini rouhi
W9ttach kouna 3awychin ?
Matkhmich, matbkiche
Ana ma9alha li hta wahed
Matkhmich, omatbkiche
Kount haba i9olha likch wahed
@lavieestmauvaise1780
لكل من يستمع وتستمع لا تبكو ولا تحزنو رفقا بابصاركم وبمناعتكم اخوتي اخواتي الصغار اعلم انكم تفتقدون لمن يسمعكم ويخفف ضغوطات ايامكم لكن تجاهلو قدر الامكان ما يزعزجكم ومن يحزنكم اذا مالقهالكمش كاش واحد راي قالتهالكم سعاد وقلتهالكم انا
@08H80
Moi, je suis du Québec et je suis tombé sur cette chanson par hasard. Mais quelle belle chanson, quelle belle voix et quelle belle fille ! Malheureusement, je n'y comprends rien.
@adjasmith6736
ibtissem abidi merci pour la traduction, suis ivoirienne et j'adore la chanson...maintenant plus encore parce que je sais ce qu'elle dit..
@gerardbertin3710
Merci!
@bolirane
don't think , don't cry , no one told me that don't think , don't cry , i wished someone told me that all people sleep at night , i feel like time stopped all people switch the light off , i can hear the night breathing some people are still awake , i can hear their voices from here during the day they seem happy , at night they cry all by themselves sometimes i get scared when i ask myself, why are we alive sometomes i ask my self when were we alive i did my best love u souad
@kacemzakaria2532
Good job bro
@juanitahernandez2485
Than you for the English translation of that beautiful song. The voice the music is so very beautiful.
@voodoochile57
Merci Nassim Nassim pour la traduction 🙏
@PAIN_H.K.Z
"Don't overthink" more accurate
@fabriziosoleri2959
"don't worry" is a better translation than "don't think"