2020 was the year Welshy evolved enjoying a phenomenal reaction to his breakthrough track ‘Haiti’ (15 million streams, huge radio and streaming support, and certified PLATINUM in Ireland), Welshy’s follow-up ‘All For You’ picked up where Haiti left off.
Then followed the radio smash hit 'All Day' featuring Nonô (15 million streams, huge radio and streaming support, Irish Shazam Number 1 and certified PLATINUM in Ireland) and following 'All Day' came 2 more big singles
'Paranoid' and 'Used To Be'.
The Irishman has since moved to London where he is making a name for himself as one of the UK's most in demand music producers collaborating with the best in the business.
Haiti
welshy Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Sa map di lakay
Lé ma rive
Mezamni, mezamni
Sa map di lakay
Lé ma rive
Woy
Lé ma rive
Woy
Sa map di lakay
Lé ma rive
Mezamni, mezamni
Sa map di lakay
Lé ma rive
Woy
Sa map di lakay
Lé ma rive
Woy
Sa map di lakay
Lé ma rive
Mezamni, mezamni
Sa map di lakay
Lé ma rive
Woy
Sa map di lakay
Lé ma rive
Woy
Sa map di lakay
Lé ma rive
Mezamni, mezamni
Sa map di lakay
Lé ma rive
Woy
Sa map di lakay
Lé ma rive
Woy
Sa map di lakay
Lé ma rive
Mezamni, mezamni
Sa map di lakay
Lé ma rive
Woy
Sa map di lakay
Lé ma rive
Manman m voye m peze kafe woy
An arivan mwen sou potay
Yon jandam arete mwen
Manman m voye m peze kafe woy
An arivan mwen sou potay
Yon jandam arete mwen
Woy
Sa map di lakay
Lé ma rive
Mezamni, mezamni
Sa map di lakay
Lé ma rive
Woy
Sa map di lakay
Lé ma rive
Woy
Sa map di lakay
Lé ma rive
Mezamni, mezamni
Sa map di lakay
Lé ma rive
Woy
Sa map di lakay
Lé ma rive (mezamni)
Woy
Sa map di lakay
Lé ma rive
Mezamni, mezamni
Sa map di lakay
Lé ma rive
Woy
Sa map di lakay
Lé ma rive
Woy
Sa map di lakay
Lé ma rive
Mezamni, mezamni
Sa map di lakay
Lé ma rive
Woy
Sa map di lakay
Lé ma rive
The lyrics to Welshy's song Haiti read like a longing or a prayer for home. The opening lines, "Sa map di lakay / Lé ma rive / Mezamni, mezamni" which translates to "I am saying I am going home / When I arrive / Wake me up, wake me up" suggest that Haiti is home and the singer is leaving to go back, asking to be woken up when they arrive. The repetition of "Sa map di lakay / Lé ma rive / Mezamni, mezamni" throughout the song creates a rhythmic structure, allowing for the lyrics to oscillate between the call to go home and the reminder to wake up upon arrival.
In the middle of the song, there is a break in the repetition as the singer recounts a memory of being arrested by police for some unknown action. The lines "Manman m voye m peze kafe woy / An arivan mwen sou potay / Yon jandam arete mwen" which translates into "My mother sent me to grind coffee / At the doorstep, as soon as I arrived / A policeman arrested me" suggest a fraught relationship with authority in Haiti. However, the song quickly returns to the repetition of "Sa map di lakay / Lé ma rive / Mezamni, mezamni," which can be interpreted as the singer continuing to hold onto the longing for home despite any difficulties they may face once they arrive.
Line by Line Meaning
Woy
Expressing excitement or surprise
Sa map di lakay
I'm speaking of home
Lé ma rive
When I arrive
Mezamni, mezamni
Wake up, wake up
Manman m voye m peze kafe woy
My mother sent me to grind coffee
An arivan mwen sou potay
As soon as I arrive at the mill
Yon jandam arete mwen
A policeman arrests me
(mezamni)
Wake up
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: Ross Walsh
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Javan
Hmm there’s not much to translate. And the lyrics don’t necessarily make a statement you would say out loud. But that’s the beauty of a lot of music, huh? The whole is better than the sum of their parts.
Essentially the lyrics are saying:
“I’m so excited for what I am going to tell my home when I get there.”
Then there is an exclamation of “mezanmi” which essentially means to be incredulous or overcome with wonder/amazement, I guess. But the word doesn’t mean that, if that makes sense? Like how “my goodness” doesn’t mean good, but also some incredulity? Except the word is more... intensely expressive than that.
So like I said at the beginning, the words as structured together don’t mean much grammatically, and that’s even before you translate them.
But altogether it’s a really good feeling. I’m guessing the singer is saying how excited she is to go back to Haiti. Implying she has been away for longer than she’d wanna
ForwardTV
Love this song, heard it on Capital DANCE
Man get bun up Mr rtm
Same here that’s y I’m here 🙌🙌
pelvi3a
Me too, puts me in such good form at work when it comes on, up full blast lol
Julian Carter
Summertime tune just what we need
Tanya x
Lost my bestfriend 2 months ago & this was his favourite song still hits me hard everyday!😥
Jay R
Sorry to read this, the song is a banger and I hope it brings back some nice memories…
Tom Roberts
Sorry for your loss x
Wisdom tooth
Very well done on this one
Mark Bennett
Phew! A welcome Re-mix! Well done!!
Jon Harrigan
I have no idea what she is saying but it’s defo a banger!