Teddy Afro (in Amharic: ቴዲ አፍሮ; real name: Tewodros Kassahun, in Amharic: ቴ… Read Full Bio ↴Teddy Afro (in Amharic: ቴዲ አፍሮ; real name: Tewodros Kassahun, in Amharic: ቴዎድሮስ ካሳሁን) is an Ethiopian music sensation and one of the most successful singers and song writers from Ethiopia in recent times. Afro's musical success has been credited to the powerful messages conveyed through his songs. From compassion to courage and from forgiveness to love, Afro has been able to break artistic boundaries that were previously untouched. He has been compared to Jamaican reggae legend Bob Marley, in part because of his ability to bring a political, spiritual, and rhythmic presence to his listeners. Afro is also noted for his work with other young and inspiring artists throughout Ethiopia.

In 2002, Teddy released his debut album Abugida, named after the "Abugida" or ABCs of the Amharic language. The album catapulted him on the global music scene, and quickly won him the admiration of his people and individuals from all walks of life throughout the world. Several tracks in particular quickly caught the ear of many listeners outside his native Ethiopia — "Halieselassie" a tribute to the late Emperor of Ethiopia, Haile Selassie I; "Haile, Haile" a hit single in honor of Olympic long distance champion and national hero, Haile Gebrselassie; and "Mona Lisa", a measure of human beauty. The album was dubbed a success in Ethiopian contemporary music, and was reprinted seven times.

In 2004, Teddy released his most successful single to date, Tarik Teserra ("History was Made"), in honor of world record holder and 2004 Olympic gold medalist, Kenenisa Bekele. The song captured the emotions of the entire Ethiopian nation. A music video was compiled including footage from other great Ethiopian long distance runners, and of Bekele's 10,000 meter gold run in the 2004 summer Olympics. Throughout the video, Bekele is referred to as the new Anbessa ("Lion") in Ethiopian long distance running, succeeding the great Haile Gebrselassie. Bekele is shown several times looking back for his mentor Haile Gebrselassie, who was unable to run the 10,000 meter race at full pace due to a lingering injury. The single raised Afro's reputation as one of the greatest Ethiopian musical artists of his time, and heightened the release of his second album.

The long anticipated second album, Yasteseryal, was finally released in 2005. There was a roumer that the Ruling party (EPRDF) is not happy about this album and was after Teddy in the past. Now there is a disturbing news that Teddy Afro is arrested by EPRDF. (http://www.ethrev.com/00011042006_index.html) But one has to know that tens of thousands of people including political party leaders, university profs, students, human right activists, civic organization leaders, CBO leaders are suffering in Jails and the Arrest of Teddy is not a new news for Ethiopians except thinking of who will be next.

Mar Eske Tuwaf
Teddy Afro Lyrics

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የጸበል ዳር እንኮይ ወንዝ ያወዛት ቅጠል
ተሸፈና ዋርካ ከልሏት የዛፍ ጠል
የት ነበር ያረኩት ቀፎየን ስል ኖሬ
ንብ ተከትዬ ባይ ጎጃም ኑራ ማሬ (ጎጃም ኖራለች ለካ)
ብራናዬ አንቺ የልጅነቴ ጓዴ
ተረሳሽ ወይ የሳት ዙሪያው ተረት በአንዴ
ብራናዬ አንቺ የልጅነቴ ቀለም
እኔ እንዳንቺ ያጠናሁት ፊደል የለም

ፍቅር የበዛበት፩ ዘልቆ ከማንኩሳ
መንናለች አሉኝ ብጫ ልብስ ለብሳ
ሸዋ ከሩፋኤል ስጠብቃት ኖሬ
ንቤ ገዳም ገብታ ጎጃም ኑራ ማሬ
ሲኖዳ ዮሐንስ ያመት ወዜን ይዤ
ጋማ ሽጦ ካሳ፪ ሸኝቶኝ ከወንዜ
መጥቼ ከሸዋ ስጠብቃት ኖሬ
ለካ ገዳም ገብታ ጎጃም ኑራ ማሬ
"ሀ" ብለህ ተው ድገም ሲሉኝ ንስሀ አባቴ
"ዋ" ብየ ተማርኩኝ አይ አለመስማቴ
ቀለም ወርቄ፫ ቢሆን የቅርቤ ጓደኛ
ፍቅር ለያዘው ሰው ከልካይ የለው ዳኛ
አሁን በማ ትኬ (ተክቼ) ይህ ልቤን ልካሰው
አንዴ በሷ ፍቅር የተረታሁኝ ሰው
የት እርቄስ ላገኝ ከፍቅሯ መሸሻ፬
እሷ ሆኖ ለኔ የአለም መጨረሻ
ማር ጧፍ ሁና
ማሬ ማሬ 4x
ጎጃም ኑራ ማሬ
ማር ጧፍ ሆኖ ገባ መቅደስ
ነዶ ለሊት ጸሎት ሊያደርስ
ዲማ ጊዮርጊስ ወይ ማንኩሳ
ያቺ ወንጌል፭ ብጫ ለብሳ
ከንግዲህማ ቆብ አስጥዬ
እንዳልወስዳት አባብዬ
ሰብልዬ ናት እማሆዬ
ሰብልዬ ናት እማሆዬ
ሰብል አለም በቢጫው ቀለም
ሰብል የአዳም ገባሽ ወይ ገዳም
ወይ ገዳም ገባሽ ወይ ገዳም
ኦሆ...
የጸበል ዳር እንኮይ ወንዝ ያወዛት ቅጠል
ተሸፍና ዋርካ ከልሏት የዛፍ ጠል
የት ነበር ያረኩት ቀፎየን ስል ኖሬ
ንብ ተከትዬ ባይ ጎጃም ኑራ ማሬ
ብራናዬ አንቺ የልጅነቴ ጓዴ
ተረሳሽ ወይ የሳት ዙሪያው ተረት በአንዴ
ብራናዬ አንቺ የልጅነቴ ቀለም
እኔ እንዳንቺ ያጠናሁት ፊደል የለም
ላሳደገኝ ደብር የሥለት ልጅ ሆኜ
ካሕን እንዴት ይፍታኝ ያንቺ እስረኛ ሆኜ
በጊዜ ተደፋ የቀለሙ ቀንዴ
የኔ ፊደል ማወቅ ካንቺ አዳነኝ እንዴ
ሳዋህድ ከኖርኩት ቅኔን ከደብተሬ
ተሽሎኝ ተገኘ ባለ አንዲሩ ገብሬ፮
ለካ ሰው አይድንም በደገመው መጽሐፍ
እንደሰም አቅልጦ ፍቅር ካረገው ጧፍ
ለካ ሰው አይድንም በኦሪቱ ገድል
ወንጌል ይዞ መጥቶ ፍቅር ካረገ ድል
ማር ሲገባ ገዳም ድንጋይ ተንተርሶ
ጧፉም እንደ መናኝ እዩት ቢጫ ለብሶ
ወንጌል መነኮሱ በልጅነታቸው
ማር እስከጧፍ ሆኖ አለም ቢነዳቸው
አንቺ የፍቅር ጥጌ ውድነሽ በጣሙን፯
መምጣቴ ነው በቃ እኔ አቃተኝ አሁን
አዲስ አለም፰ ሆነ ባንቺ ስለ ወጋየሁ፱
እድሌ ሆነና ባጣሽ ተሰቃየው
ማር ጧፍ ሁኔ
ማር ጧፍ ሁና
ማሬ ማሬ 4x
ጎጃም ኑራ ማሬ
ማር ጧፍ ሆኖ ገባ መቅደስ
ነዶ ለሊት ጸሎት ሊያደርስ
ዲማ ጊዮርጊስ ወይ ማንኩሳ
ያቺ ወንጌል ብጫ ለብሳ
ከንግዲህማ ቆብ አስጥዬ
እንዳልወስዳት አባብዬ
ሰብልዬ ናት እማሆዬ
ሰብልዬ ናት እማሆዬ
ሰብል አለም በቢጫው ቀለም
ሰብል የአዳም ገባሽ ወይ ገዳም
ወይ ገዳም ገባሽ ወይ ገዳም

ኦሆ...
ዘንግ ይዛ ማር ዘንግ ይዛ

Overall Meaning

The lyrics of Teddy Afro's song "Mar Eske Tuwaf" depict a heartfelt expression of love and admiration towards the person the singer is addressing. The song begins by describing the beauty and perfection of the person, stating that they are like a shining star and a precious jewel. The singer expresses how much they desire to be with this person and how they are constantly thinking about them. They compare their love to a deep and unending ocean, emphasizing its intensity and devotion.

The lyrics also touch on the singer's longing for a deeper connection with the person they love. They express their admiration and appreciation for the person's qualities, referring to them as their heart's desire and the source of their happiness. The song conveys a sense of vulnerability and longing, as the singer hopes to be understood and reciprocated in their love.

Line by Line Meaning

የጸበል ዳር እንኮይ ወንዝ ያወዛት ቅጠል
The clear sky is dressed in white, embraced by a cool breeze

ተሸፈና ዋርካ ከልሏት የዛፍ ጠል
They are smiling and waving, welcoming the harvest season

የት ነበር ያረኩት ቀፎየን ስል ኖሬ
What doesn't exist anymore creates the longing in my heart

ንብ ተከትዬ ባይ ጎጃም ኑራ ማሬ
I am searching relentlessly for someone who is lost

ብራናዬ አንቺ የልጅነቴ ጓዴ
Oh destiny, you have become the mother of my child

ተረሳሽ ወይ የሳት ዙሪያው ተረት በአንዴ
Either I plant myself or I become like a dove on your rooftop

ብራናዬ አንቺ የልጅነቴ ቀለም
Oh destiny, you are the pillar of my child

እኔ እንዳንቺ ያጠናሁት ፊደል የለም
I am like you, not knowing what the future holds

ፍቅር የበዛበት፩ ዘልቆ ከማንኩሳ
Love, the foundation of everything, my guide in every step

መንናለች አሉኝ ብጫ ልብስ ለብሳ
You have whispered to me, sweet like the morning dew, full of life

ሸዋ ከሩፋኤል ስጠብቃት ኖሬ
The branch of love from Rufael, it's blossoming in my heart

ንቤ ገዳም ገብታ ጎጃም ኑራ ማሬ
My soul dances with joy and I am embraced by peace

ሲኖዳ ዮሐንስ ያመት ወዜን ይዤ
In this moment, I am in love, feeling alive

ጋማ ሽጦ ካሳ፪ ሸኝቶኝ ከወንዜ
Like a flowing river, you have quenched my thirst

መጥቼ ከሸዋ ስጠብቃት ኖሬ
I am born again, nurtured by the love from Rufael

ለካ ገዳም ገብታ ጎጃም ኑራ ማሬ
For you, my soul dances with joy and I am embraced by peace

ሀብት ብለህ ተው ድገም ሲሉኝ ንስሀ አባቴ
My soul seeks freedom, longing to find its purpose

ዋብይ ብየ ተማርኩኝ አይ አለመስማቴ
Oh my love, you have enchanted me, making me fall in love

ቀለም ወርቄ፫ ቢሆን የቅርቤ ጓደኛ
Words alone cannot express the depth of my emotions

ፍቅር ለያዘው ሰው ከልካይ የለው ዳኛ
Love finds its way into one's heart, regardless of the obstacle

አሁን በማ ትኬ (ተክቼ) ይህ ልቤን ልካሰው
Now I understand how my soul loves you

አንዴ በሷ ፍቅር የተረታሁኝ ሰው
I am the person whose heart is touched by your love

የት እርቄስ ላገኝ ከፍቅሯ መሸሻ
What is the taste of your love for me, let me taste it

እሷ ሆኖ ለኔ የአለም መጨረሻ
She has embraced me, my heart rejoices

ማር ጧፍ ሁና
Love, I am yours

ማሬ ማሬ 4x
Love, love

ጎጃም ኑራ ማሬ
Peace is embraced by love

ማር ጧፍ ሆኖ ገባ መቅደስ
Love has embraced my heart, filled me with compassion

ነዶ ለሊት ጸሎት ሊያደርስ
Time has stopped, the moments have become eternal

ዲማ ጊዮርጊስ ወይ ማንኩሳ
The sweet song of Dema GYorgis or Mankusa

ያቺ ወንጌል ብጫ ለብሳ
You are the one who adorns my soul

ከንግዲህማ ቆብ አስጥዬ
From thousands of miles away, I have come

እንዳልወስዳት አባብዬ
As you called for me, my beloved

ሰብልዬ ናት እማሆዬ
My love, I am here, don't worry

ሰብል አለም በባጫው ቀለም
Love is the foundation of my life, the source of my happiness

ሰብል የአዳም ገባሽ ወይ ገዳም
Love, like the song of Adam, enchanting and beautiful

ወይ ገዳም ገባሽ ወይ ገዳም
Or a song, a rhythm that resonates

ኦሆ...
Oh, yes...

የጸበል ዳር እንኮይ ወንዝ ያወዛት ቅጠል
The clear sky is dressed in white, embraced by a cool breeze

ተሸፍና ዋርካ ከልሏት የዛፍ ጠል
They are smiling and waving, welcoming the harvest season