The single stayed at #1 for 16 consecutive weeks on the French Singles Chart, which was the record of the most weeks at the top at the time, and also rose to #3 in the UK Singles Chart. The song was a track on N'Dour's album The Guide (Wommat), released shortly after the single. In 1996 it was included on the Neneh Cherry album Man.
Youssou N'Dour is a hugely successful Senegalese singer and percussionist. In 2004, Rolling Stone described him as, in Senegal and much of Africa, "perhaps the most famous singer alive." He helped develop popular music in Senegal, known in the Wolof language as mbalax, a blend of the country's traditional griot percussion and praise-singing with the Afro-Cuban arrangements and flavors which made the return trip from the Caribbean to West Africa in the 1940s, 50s, and 60s and have flourished in West Africa ever since.
Neneh Cherry (born Neneh Marianne Karlsson on March 10, 1964 in Stockholm) is a two-time Grammy Award-nominated and MTV Europe Music Award-winning Swedish singer-songwriter and rapper. Cherry is also an occasional DJ and broadcaster. Cherry blended hip hop with other influences, and experienced some moderate mainstream success with several of her recordings.
7 Seconds
Youssou N'Dour & Neneh Cherry Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Khamouma li neka thi sama souf ak thi guinaw
Beugouma kouma khol oaldine yaw li neka si yaw
Mo ne si man, li ne si mane moye dilene diapale
Roughneck and rudeness,
We should be using, on the ones who practice wicked charms
For the sword and the stone
Battle is not over
Even when it's won
And when a child is born into this world
It has no concept
Of the tone the skin it's living in
It's not a second
7 seconds away
Just as long as I stay
I'll be waiting
It's not a second
7 seconds away
Just as long as I stay
I'll be waiting
I'll be waiting
I'll be waiting
J'assume les raisons qui nous poussent de changer tout,
J'aimerais qu'on oublie leur couleur pour qu'ils esperent
Beaucoup de sentiments de race qui font qu'ils desesperent
Je veux les portes grandements ouvertes,
Des amis pour parler de leur peine, de leur joie
Pour qu'ils leur filent des infos qui ne divisent pas
Changer
7 seconds away
Just as long as I stay
I'll be waiting
It's not a second
7 seconds away
Just as long as I stay
I'll be waiting
I'll be waiting
I'll be waiting
And when a child is born into this world
It has no concept
Of the tone the skin it's living in
And there's a million voices
And there's a million voices
To tell you what she should be thinking
So you better sober up for just a second
7 seconds away
Just as long as I stay
I'll be waiting
It's not a second
7 seconds away
Just as long as I stay
I'll be waiting
It's not a second
7 seconds away
Just as long as I stay
I'll be waiting
It's not a second
7 seconds away
Just as long as I stay
I'll be waiting
It's not a second
7 seconds away
Just as long as I stay
I'll be waiting
The lyrics of Youssou N'Dour and Neneh Cherry's song 7 Seconds address the issue of racism and the need for unity and acceptance in the world. The song begins with lyrics in Wolof, a Senegalese language, which translate to “I’m writing to you to tell you my problems”. The phrase “boul ma sene, boul ma guiss madi re nga fokni mane” means “the society we live in is full of hidden secrets”. The songwriters use this language to emphasize the importance of culture in one’s identity.
The lyrics then discuss the problems caused by racial discrimination, suggesting that those who practice it deserve “roughneck and rudeness". The lines “for the sword and the stone, bad to the bone, battle is not over even when it’s won” indicate that the battle against racism is an ongoing one. The songwriters call for a change in attitude towards race, acknowledging that “a child born into this world has no concept of the tone the skin it's living in” and that “sentiments of race” lead to despair.
Line by Line Meaning
Boul ma sene, boul ma guiss madi re nga fokni mane
Roughneck and rudeness, we should be using, on the ones who practice wicked charms
Khamouma li neka thi sama souf ak thi guinaw
For the sword and the stone, bad to the bone
Beugouma kouma khol oaldine yaw li neka si yaw
Battle is not over, even when it's won
Mo ne si man, li ne si mane moye dilene diapale
And when a child is born into this world, it has no concept of the tone the skin it's living in, it's not a second
7 seconds away, just as long as I stay, I'll be waiting
I'll be waiting for you, even if it's just 7 seconds away and I have to stay put
J'assume les raisons qui nous poussent de changer tout, j'aimerais qu'on oublie leur couleur pour qu'ils esperent
I understand the reasons that push us to change everything, and I wish we could forget about their color so they can have hope
Beaucoup de sentiments de race qui font qu'ils desesperent, je veux les portes grandements ouvertes
There are many racial feelings that make them despair, I want the doors to be wide open
Des amis pour parler de leur peine, de leur joie, pour qu'ils leur filent des infos qui ne divisent pas, changer
Friends to talk about their pain and joy, to give them information that doesn't divide, change
And there's a million voices, and there's a million voices, to tell you what she should be thinking, so you better sober up for just a second
There are a million voices trying to tell you what to think, so you better take a moment to sober up
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Peermusic Publishing
Written by: Cameron Mcvey, Jonathan Sharp, Neneh Cherry, Youssou N'Dour
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@zamshire
Thank you Modou,
He used also French in this song between 1.44 and 2.08 :
J'assume les raisons qui nous poussent de changer tout,
J'aimerais qu'on oublie leur couleur pour qu'ils esperent
Beaucoup de sentiments de race qui font qu'ils desesperent
Je veux les portes grandements ouvertes,
Des amis pour parler de leur peine, de leur joie
Pour qu'ils leur filent des infos qui ne divisent pas
Changer
Very beautiful song, very difficult to translate in English
... And in Wollof, I heard about it today
Thanks one more time Modou, and happy to speak with all the world so easily
The peace could arrive by this way only !!!
@andrewherman2370
Beautiful song I used to listen to this in Africa when I was a Peace Corps Volunteer in Gabon.
J'assume les raisons qui nous poussent de changer tout,
J'aimerais qu'on oublie leur couleur pour qu'ils esperent
Beaucoup de sentiments de race qui font qu'ils desesperent
Je veux les portes grandements ouvertes,
Des amis pour parler de leur peine, de leur joie
Pour qu'ils leur filent des infos qui ne divisent pas
Changer
I assume why we push to change everything
I want to forget skin color for hope's sake
But too many strong feelings about race crush hope
I want to see the doors flung wide open
between friends to talk openly about all of their pains and joys
to let flow all information that (unites) won't divide us
The last line is very interesting. "let flow info that doesn't divide us" meaning "if we care enough to talk about our problems they won't be problems". The more we discourse the more we realize we are the same "au coeur". This is so true. The story of humanity is so sad, but it doesn't have to be this bad.
I feel my country is no longer deserving to lead the world as Trump supporters in America want to stop all serious discussions of race and actually strongly encourage anti-PC culture in order to "let flow the info that (divides us) won't unite us" .
@GreenredProductions
Classic composition!
@lrc9304
Nigga say wha'?
@bricomecanique5724
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCu97drfgz_72F2imhy-ux0A
@mariaaparecidadeoliveirada6192
Que clássico !Amo.
@MrAzamatbogotov
Its classic how much of a walmart employee you are ....
@chinomirabueno8483
Set me free
@GrandHotel.SeagullMagique
If you are listening to this song right now, your brain is functioning well and you have great taste in music. Congratulations! Kisses from Italy.
@MrsSlocombesPuddyCat
🙂 Nah. Not really. I am however rather drunk.....
@tamaraaranguiz6143
😂😂😂
@omario4823
Aawww thank you