
Lyrics - Ashanti
(Folk song from Ghana)
Tue tue barima tue tue
Abofra ba
Ama wa da wa
Tue tue.
English Translation*
Sorry man sorry,
This small boy
Has made you fall flat
Sorry, sorry.
*Translation is disputed. This meaning is from a source that states this language is Ashanti.
Hand-clapping
Formation: Students stand in a circle with each student standing next to their partner.
Repeat this pattern:
- 1 = Touch thighs 2x, Turn to partner and high five 2x
- 2 = Touch thighs 2x, Turn to person on the other side and high five 2x
- Repeat ms. 1 & 2 through ms. 7
- 8 = Touch thighs 2x, On “Hei!” suddenly put both hands up
- 9-11 = Repeat ms. 8, getting faster and louder each time.
Optional – If students sit on the floor, they can touch the floor instead of touching thighs.
See also
- Country: Ghana
- Activities: clapping
- Dynamics: loud & soft
- Harmony: one chord / Orff arrangements
- Melody: repeated tones / do / re / mi / so / low la
- Meter: 4
- Scale: pentatonic
- Tempo: fast & slow
- Tones: l,drmsl
- Source: The Musical Classroom: Backgrounds, Models and Skills for Elementary Teaching,Hackett, Lindeman, Prentice Hall, Inc. 1979
YouTube
- PDF of song with chords + Lesson ideas + Orff arrangement
- MIDI file
- Listen to the melody


2 thoughts on “Tue Tue”
This song is also a Fanti (Akan) song . According to your English translation:
‘Sorry, sorry’ in Fanti is Du-e, du-e
(NOT ‘Tue, tue’ )
‘’Tue” means a meal of ‘cooked rice balls’ and soup.
Your English translation is not consistent with your ‘Akan’ lyrics.
Thank you!