It was the 80’s, a quiet suburb of Port-au-Prince, where thr… Read Full Bio ↴ZENGLEN
It was the 80’s, a quiet suburb of Port-au-Prince, where three friends who were destined to make history in Haitian music met. Every afternoon, a young Brutus would sit on his front porch and play the guitar. Garry Didier Perez, and his friend Patrick Martineau, often noticed him and one day invited him to come over Patrick’s house. They would meet every afternoon to listen to all genres of music and interpret their favorites. During one of their rehearsals, some beer bottles fell off an amplifier that was vibrating and shattered into a million pieces. The guys laughed at the fact that Patrick would have a hard time cleaning up the many tiny pieces off the granulated floor. They all exclaimed ZENGLEN (which means tiny pieces of broken glass) and from that day on this was their band's name.
In 1989, the trio recorded "Koule Tan" (the color of time). Once completed, they took some tapes to several radio stations where hosts and listeners would become fans and fall in love.
Zenglen became one of the wonders of the early 1990’s as they released the hit song "Fidel" off of the album "An Nou Alèz." In the song the band said that “change” is never easy and always faces obstacles, and resistance, but that they pledge to remain faithful (Fidel) to their mission which is to improve and modernize the Konpa rhythm.
The Konpa world was introduced to their new found stars like the guitarist and singer Brutus Derissaint and the lead singer Gary Didier Perez among others. In the song "Fidel" the band said: "Sé konsa se konsa se konsa la vi ya ye lè ou vle met chanjman reziztans tèt chaje." Unfortunately after a U.S tour most of the band’s members abandoned ship and the band broke up into pieces like a real Zenglen.
In Miami Brutus never stop caressing the dream of keeping some of the pieces alive and had moved on with some attempts like the Zenglen Plus and a few solo albums in the 1990’s. Many musicians tried to help him to collect the pieces, but they often moved with their own projects like the creation of the band D-Zine. Nevertheless Brutus never lost faith and still remained fidèl (Faithful) to his mission by hiring more talented musicians each and every time. At the end of the century the acquisition of the drummer Richard Herard (Richie) and then singer Gracia Delva took Zenglen to the level of a very competitive Konpa band in the demanding market as they released the album "Easy Konpa" with nothing but major hits song that were going to move the band to the front burner of the industry. Ever since that time Zenglen hasn’t looked back despite the so many changes of personnel that occurred.
The album "Easy Konpa" was introduced to the public with the release of the video of the hit song "5 Dwèt" which boosted Zenglen to the top of the konpa scene. The song "B.S Productions" got the attention of the public as the song talk about unqualified show producers damaging the reputation of the bands. On that same album the band touched some subjects until then taboo as they talked about lesbians in the society in the song "Flannè Femèl" and drug used in the song "Ti Poud."
In the following years Zenglen continued to amaze the Konpa fans all over the world with the releases of the albums "Let It Groove," "Do It Right," "5 Etwal." The latest album, "5eme Vites," sung by current lead vocalist Kenny Desmangles, touches subjects on society, relationships with top notch konpa, and proved again why critics have praised them as the Konpa University.
Over the years the Konpa observers have seen broken pieces that continued to break in even more pieces, but the band remains solid and true to their mission: Zenglen doesn’t change…Zenglen improve. Like they often say in their songs “Sé pa changé nou changé, se pi bon’n vin’n pi bon.”
Met Kay La
Zenglen Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Sa l′ genyen pèsòn pa konnen
Se pa de koze
W'ap tande
"Que pasa con la senora?"
Pa ka ri ni pale
Tout moun antrave
Se poze pou w′ poze
Paka ri ni pale
Tout moun antrave
Paka ri ni pale
Menm mouch pa sa vole
Chen jape, ap pran kout pye
Tout sak sou wout li antrave
Li dèyè moun pou geri bosko
Malèw se ou li jwenn
Tout soti gen limyè wouj
Kouri plim nan bouch
Paka ri ni pale
Tout moun antrave
Paka ri ni pale
Se poze pou w' poze
Paka ri ni pale
Tout moun antrave
Paka ri ni pale
Menm mouch pa sa vole
Mèt kay la leve byen fache matin an
Ti krik ti krak g'on lwa ki pran l′
Se pa de koze
K′ap pale
Madan m'
You vye chanson depi maten
Madanm ooh!
Sa l′ genyen pèsòn pa konnen
Madanm
Bare anwo, bare anba
Madanm ooh!
Sa ki konnen pa pase la
Madanm
Pawòl anpil la pa ko fini
Madanm ooh!
Zafèw pot tèt ou vini
Madanm
Sa ki fache kouri sou li
Madanm ooh!
L'ap tan po kann ak tout foumi
L′ap rele sou ti machann kap degaje
Jis lòtbò lari a yo ye
L'ap di twotwa tounen mache
Bliye si se la li sot achte
Se la tout moun bese leve
Ala madanm babye mesye (Defann tèt ou, w pa bèbè)
Madanm
You vye chanson depi maten
Madanm ooh!
Sa l′ genyen pèsòn pa konnen
Madanm
Bare anwo, bare anba
Madanm ooh!
Sa ki konnen pa pase la
Madanm
Pawòl anpil la pa ko fini
Madanm ooh!
Zafèw ou pot tèt ou vini
Madanm
Sa ki fache kouri sou li
Madanm ooh!
L'ap tann po kann ak tout foumi
The song "Met Kay La" by Zenglen speaks about the daily struggles of life that goes unnoticed. The track begins with the singer saying that he wakes up very angry in the morning, and no one understands the reasons behind it. People ask him, "Que pasa con la senora?" or "What's wrong with the lady?" as they don't know what is going with him. He feels frustrated and can't find anything funny to talk about. The entire world seems like a hurdle that continues to block every path, and even the fly can't fly in peace. The dog is barking and biting, and everything on his path is obstructed. However, he is asking people just to be still, breathe, and not talk because it might be the moment to pause and do nothing.
The song goes on to explain how life is tough, and the struggle is real. The lady in the story wakes up early in the morning and sees the light of day, which makes her face realty. She speaks to herself and always keeps herself busy. She is always up and down, dancing like a fool, trying to forget about her worries. She has many problems that no one knows, and she keeps them to herself. She knows that her words can't describe her struggles, and people might not understand it all. Nevertheless, she has her own way of handling things.
Line by Line Meaning
Byen fache matin an
Very angry this morning
Sa l′ genyen pèsòn pa konnen
Nobody knows what he's going through
Se pa de koze
It's not a joke
W'ap tande
"Que pasa con la senora?"
You hear "Que pasa con la senora?"
Pa ka ri ni pale
Can't laugh or talk
Tout moun antrave
Everyone is blocking
Se poze pou w′ poze
Just stay still
Menm mouch pa sa vole
Even a fly can't fly
Chen jape, ap pran kout pye
Dog barks, taking blows
Tout sak sou wout li antrave
Everything in his way is blocking
Li dèyè moun pou geri bosko
He's behind people to scare them off
Malèw se ou li jwenn
Misery finds you
Tout soti gen limyè wouj
Everyone's red light is on
Kouri plim nan bouch
Run slap in the mouth
Mèt kay la leve byen fache matin an
The landlord is angry this morning
Ti krik ti krak g'on lwa ki pran l′
Little by little, the law will take care of him
K′ap pale
Just talking
Madan m'
Mrs.
You vye chanson depi maten
She's been singing an old song since morning
Sa l′ genyen pèsòn pa konnen
Nobody knows what she's going through
Bare anwo, bare anba
Strip up, strip down
Sa ki konnen pa pase la
What you know doesn't matter here
Pawòl anpil la pa ko fini
Too many words, never ending
Zafèw pot tèt ou vini
Mind your own business
Sa ki fache kouri sou li
What bothers her is running on her
L′ap rele sou ti machann kap degaje
She's calling out the little vendors who are leaving
Jis lòtbò lari a yo ye
They are just across the street
L'ap di twotwa tounen mache
She's saying to keep it moving
Bliye si se la li sot achte
Forget about it, she didn't buy it there
Se la tout moun bese leve
Everyone stands still here
Ala madanm babye mesye (Defann tèt ou, w pa bèbè)
Look at the woman babbling, defend yourself, don't be a baby
L'ap tann po kann ak tout foumi
She's waiting, patiently, with all the ants
Contributed by Lucas J. Suggest a correction in the comments below.