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.
Semberé
Teddy Afro Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
ከአካሌ ሳይጠፋ ሰምበሬ
ከአካሌ ሳይጠፋ ሰምበሬ
አምና ፍቅር ጎድቶኝ ከአካል ከልቤ ላይ ሳይጠፋ ሰምበሬ
ደግሞ ሌላ አገኘኝ አዲስ ገላ ለብሶ እዩትና /ይኸውና/ ዛሬ
ሰው መውደድ ዕርሜ ነው
እያልኩኝ ፎክሬ
ያንን ጉራ ሁላ
ከአካሌ ሳይጠፋ ሰምበሬ
ከአካሌ ሳይጠፋ ሰምበሬ
አምና ፍቅር ጎድቶኝ ከአካል ከልቤ ላይ ሳይጠፋ ሰምበሬ
ደግሞ ሌላ አገኘኝ አዲስ ገላ ለብሶ እዩትና /ይኸውና/ ዛሬ
አልደክምም ቃሌ ነው
እያልኩኝ ፎክሬ
ያንን ጉራ ሁላ
ቀን አራደው ዛሬ
ያን ጉራ ሁላ ጉራ ሁላ
ያን ጉራ ሁላ ትታ ነፍሴ
ወኔዬ ከዳኝ ወንድነቴ
ወድቆ ጨነቀኝ ኩራቴ
የቅብጥ /ቀበጥ/ ሐሳብ ጤዛ ነው ሲነጋ ረጋፊ
ወትሮም በአፍ ቃል ይፈጥናል ቀድሞ ተሸናፊ
ላያድን ቃል ብቻ
ምን ያደርጋል ዛቻ
ጉራ ብቻ
አዝማች
ያን ጉራ ሁላ ጉራ ሁላ
ያን ጉራ ሁላ ትታ ነፍሴ
ወኔዮ ከዳኝ ወንድነቴ
ወድቆ ጨነቀኝ ኩራቴ
ስማ
ስማ
ስልቻ ቀልቀሎ ቀልቀሎ ስልቻ………….ጉራ ብቻ
ቦታ ቢለዋወጥ ወጥ ላያጥም ጉልቻ…………ጉራ ብቻ
ልቤ ዛሬም ወደህ ልትሆን መተረቻ…………….ጉራ ብቻ
ታዲያ ምን አመጣው ያንን ሁሉ ዛቻ …………ጉራ ነው ከአካሌ
ከአካሌ ሳይጠፋ ስምበሬ
ከአካሌ ሳይጠፋ ስምበሬ
ታላቅና ታናሽ ምላስ እና ሰምበር ………….ጉራ ብቻ
ያስገምታል ስጋ ሞቶ ለሚቀበር …………. ጉራ ብቻ
ወርቅ የዘጋ ሳጥን ቁልፍ የሌለው መፍቻ ………….ጉራ ብቻ
ምን ያደርጋል ወድቀው አለሁ ማለት ብቻ ………….ጉራ ነው ከአካሌ
ከአካሌ ሳይጠፋ ስምበሬ
ከአካሌ ሳይጠፋ ስምበሬ
……………………….//………………………….
ግጥም ቴዎድሮስ ካሳሁን
ዜማ ቴዎድሮስ ካሳሁን
ሙዚቃ ቅንብር አቤል ጳውሎስ /ናደው/
The Teddy Afro song, Semberé, is a powerful piece about the resilience of the Ethiopian people. The opening lines speak of the strength of the Ethiopian spirit, able to withstand even the most trying of circumstances. The repeated refrain of "ጉራ ብቻ" (guar bicha), which translates to "pure heart," reinforces this idea of resilience and strength.
The verses of the song speak to the hardships faced by the Ethiopian people, from love lost to political turmoil. Despite these struggles, the singer of the song remains steadfast, determined to overcome whatever obstacles come their way. The use of traditional Ethiopian instruments and scales adds to the emotional impact of the song, creating a sense of both sadness and hope.
Overall, Semberé is a powerful tribute to the strength of the Ethiopian people and their ability to overcome even the greatest of challenges. Through its emotional lyrics and stirring melody, the song serves as a reminder of the resilience of the human spirit in the face of adversity.
Line by Line Meaning
ሰምበሬ
Hello
ከአካሌ ሳይጠፋ ሰምበሬ
Hello from far away
አምና ፍቅር ጎድቶኝ ከአካል ከልቤ ላይ ሳይጠፋ ሰምበሬ
My love gave me wings, from my house afar I say hello
ደግሞ ሌላ አገኘኝ አዲስ ገላ ለብሶ እዩትና /ይኸውና/ ዛሬ
But then I met another, with a new story to tell, and spent time with her instead
ሰው መውደድ ዕርሜ ነው
It's human nature to be fickle
እያልኩኝ ፎክሬ
I blame myself
ያንን ጉራ ሁላ
One cup for me
ገላ ናድው ዛሬ
Let's drink it all tonight
አልደክምም ቃሌ ነው
It's just a saying, a phrase
ቀን አራደው ዛሬ
One day it will be forgotten
ያን ጉራ ሁላ ጉራ ሁላ
One cup for me, one cup for you
ያን ጉራ ሁላ ትታ ነፍሴ
But my heart is divided
ወኔዬ ከዳኝ ወንድነቴ
I'm lost in my thoughts
ወድቆ ጨነቀኝ ኩራቴ
My heart's racing, I'm scared
የቅብጥ /ቀበጥ/ ሐሳብ ጤዛ ነው ሲነጋ ረጋፊ
This world is full of complication and confusion
ወትሮም በአፍ ቃል ይፈጥናል ቀድሞ ተሸናፊ
But sometimes, a simple story can be powerful
ላያድን ቃል ብቻ
It hits close to home
ምን ያደርጋል ዛቻ
What will happen next?
ጉራ ብቻ
It's all about the drink
አዝማች
Cheers!
ወኔዮ ከዳኝ ወንድነቴ
I'm lost in my thoughts
ስማ
His name
ስልቻ ቀልቀሎ ቀልቀሎ ስልቻ ………….ጉራ ብቻ
The melody repeats, all about the drink
ቦታ ቢለዋወጥ ወጥ ላያጥም ጉልቻ…………ጉራ ብቻ
The place is filling up, everyone's drinking
ልቤ ዛሬም ወደህ ልትሆን መተረቻ…………….ጉራ ብቻ
I should be heading home soon, but we're still drinking
ታዲያ ምን አመጣው ያንን ሁሉ ዛቻ …………ጉራ ነው ከአካሌ
What will happen next? It's all about the drink
ታላቅና ታናሽ ምላስ እና ሰምበር ………….ጉራ ብቻ
Rich or poor, man or woman, we all love to drink
ያስገምታል ስጋ ሞቶ ለሚቀበር …………. ጉራ ብቻ
It clears the mind and helps us forget
ወርቅ የዘጋ ሳጥን ቁልፍ የሌለው መፍቻ ………….ጉራ ብቻ
A toast to the one we love, with a glass in hand
ምን ያደርጋል ወድቀው አለሁ ማለት ብቻ ………….ጉራ ነው ከአካሌ
What will happen next? It's all about the drink
ግጥም ቴዎድሮስ ካሳሁን
Music by Teddy Afro
ዜማ ቴዎድሮስ ካሳሁን
Rhythm by Teddy Afro
ሙዚቃ ቅንብር አቤል ጳውሎስ /ናደው/
A song by Abel Paulos (Nadew)
Writer(s): Teddy Afro
Contributed by Alexis Y. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
asefu debalke alemayehu
ወይን አበባ መሳይ የወይራ ቀንበጥ አይቼ ሳልጠግበው አጣሁ መላ ቅጥ የሆዴን የልቤን የአንጀቴን የአንጀቴን ልንገርህ ሕመሜን ትዝታን ሀ ብየ መውደድ አቡጊዳ እሠፈረዋለሁ ፈቅደህ ብድር እዳ ማዘን በመተከዝ ሆነ ፋንታየ እንዴት አደርጋለሁ ይቻለው ገላየ ትዝታየ ትዝታህ ይጋፋል ትዝታየ እንደ ሐምሌ ወጀብ ትዝታየ እንዴት እከርማለሁ ትዝታየ በናፍቆትህ madona ትዝታየ ገና በልጅነት ትዝታየ በለጋነት እድሜ ትዝታየ ታየሁ ከመውደድ በር ትዝታየ ምርኩዝ ይዤ ቆሜ ብዙ ነው ብዙ ነው ብዙ ነው መንገዱ ብዙ ነው መንገዱ የመስተዋድዱ ብዙ ነው ብዙ ነው ብዙ ነው ነገሩ ብዙ ነው ነገሩ የመስተፋቅሩ የሆዴን የልቤን የአንጀቴን የአንጀቴን ልንገርህ ሕመሜን የወዳጅን ሕመም አዋቂው ወዳጅ ነው ለቀቅ ያደርገዋል ቀርቦ ሲዳብሰው የትዝታ ሲሳይ ሞልቶ በበራፌ እየቻለው ሆዴ ኣያወጣው አፌ ይችለዋል ሆዴ ባያወጣው አፌ
@sarahana7929
#ቴዶዬ ገና ያንተን ዘፈን 5 አመት እንሰማዋለን
ከአካሌ ሳይጠፋ ሳንበሬ ከአካሌ
አምና ፍቅር ጎድቶኝ
ከአካል ከልቤ ላይ ሳይጠፋ ሳንባሬ
ደግሞ ሌላ አገኘኝ
አዲስ ገላ ለብሶ እዩትና ዛሬ
ከአካሌ ሳይጠፋ ሳንባሬ
ከአካሌ
ሰው መውደድ ህልሜ ነው እያልኩኝ ፎክሬ
ከአካሌ
ያን ገራ ሁላ ገላ ናደው ዛሬ
ከአካሌ ሳይጠፋ ሳንበሬ
@oxqa
I’m from mars but I love Teddy Afro!
@MichaelWilliams-qt4cr
Oxqa Vexok 💀💀💀💀 best comment
@rabiwoloyawa8568
Kkkk
@abubakarmaigari4814
Oxqa Vexok
WOW, regard to your people out there.
@mawi5935
Sure you are from Mars
@naodmulu1080
is it true its Red out there ??
@VinzAmg98
Selam from Madagascar 🇲🇬
@sarahadera8443
selam brother
@rahelhatselassie4625
ሰላም :)