Old Man-Youssou N'Dour

When I compose a melody The rhythmic imprint of mbalax, Our music, Courses through my mind. When I play my guitar In my mind's eye I see Now the kora, Now the xalam. And whenever I lift my voice to sing The image before me is of one person only: Youssou Madjiguène. Who is Madjiguène? He's the one who cleared the way. Who opened the road large for all of us, Calling us toward the horizon. When you go abroad you'll hear him called Youssou. Here at home the boys will holler "Hey, You!" He collected the gold record We were praying for So we all exclaimed "Madjiguène, go ahead!" Mbalax is ours, We own it. Let's take good care of it. If we do, it will surely hold its own in the world. Adja Ndeye Sokhna Mboup is your mother. El-Hadj Elimane Ndour is your father. You're Mamy's husband and Bouba's brother. Oh, Youssou Madjiguène, I sing your good name. May God protect you. Protect you for our sake. That's what we're praying for. "Madjiguène, go ahead!" You've done so much to help your friends. I'm sure God will reward you for that. What we own Is the sound of the sabar. Kit drums we borrowed from abroad. The electric guitar is not really of our tradition. What we own is the sound of the xalam. When I compose a melody The rhythmic imprint of mbalax, Our music, Courses through my mind. When I play my guitar In my mind's eye I see Now the kora, Now the xalam. And whenever I lift my voice to sing The image before me is of one person only: Youssou Madjiguène. "Madjiguène, go ahead!" "Youssou Madjiguène, go ahead!" "Madjiguène, go ahead!" "Youssou Madjiguène, go ahead!"