
Lyrics - Fula
(Folk song from Mauritania)
O baynaa, o bay,
O baynaa, o bay,
Deyyu, Deyyu, Deyyu
Deyyu, Deyyu, Deyyu
Addii jaabel gootel
Addii jaabel gootel
Muccii e hakkunde laawol
Muccii e hakkunde laawol
Ferlii e hakkunde maayo
Ferlii e hakkunde maayo
O baynaa, o bay,
O baynaa, o bay.
English Translation - Your mother has gone to search for jujubes
O baynaa, o bay,
O baynaa, o bay,
Be quiet, don’t cry,
Be quiet, don’t cry,
She only found one,
She only found one,
She ate it on her way back,
She ate it on her way back,
She threw the pit in the river,
She threw the pit in the river,
O baynaa, o bay,
O baynaa, o bay.
Normally, the children go search for jujubes, so the mother in this song is acting childish. She throws the pit in the river to hide it.
See also
- Country: Mauritania
- Subject: foods
- Type: lullaby
- Harmony: chords i & VII
- Meter: 4
- Scale: tetrachord
- Tones: s,l,t,d
- Source: Songs from the Baobab: African Lullabies & Nursery Rhymes, Chantal Grosléziat, ‎The Secret Mountain, 2011
YouTube
- PDF of song with chords
- MIDI file
- Listen to the melody

