That was a song as well.
I want to extend my appreciation for providing us the platform to reminisce tizetachinen. As I was reading the articles in this bulletin it took me be back to the 1950‘s in the Ethiopian Calendar. Ene “Alemush Manbo sherebush whiskey jenenushe“ (???? ??? ???? ??? ????) Ene Woy Kalibso YeAmara Kalibso sew Keseraw yemeTal temeleso;” (?? ???? ???? ???? ?? ???? ???? ????) took me back to the yesteryears.
When Alchalukem by Tilahun Gessese was sung, it sounded like yeFiqir (????) song; he was lamenting how he couldn’t handle his lover. But, in actuality it was a protest song. It is SemNa Work; (??? ???) what he could not handle anymore was the incompetence and repression of the, then Government leadership. To say “Astedaderune alchalkume” (?????? ??????) followed right after by OuOuTa aYaskefame sileyu tewado kezihe yebelete keyete yemeta merdo" (???? ?????? ??? ??? ??? ???? ??? ??? ???); that song he was reiteration of peoples exhaustion of the leadership. He cried, he screamed and then came Mengistu Neway’s Coup d'état.
If one goes back to the song of the sixties, the song mentioned by Ethio jazz, Lomi tera tera by Telele Kebede where among the protest songs. Telela was arrested because of the song as well. The revolution occurred right after; these protest songs are not only telltales of the lives of our people, but also serve as a precursor of ensuing socio-political change of the country. “Tebale Ende & Ethiopia," by Tsehaye Yohannes, Almazen Ayechie, during Mengistu’s era; Zero Lezero, Yasteseryal during the EPRDF are indicative of the yearning of our people for social change. I hope people will pay attention to the SemNa Work (??? ???) nature of these songs.
Published by April 12th, 2006 in History, Music and Noteworthy.Send this post to a friend
A wonderful piece W/o Tedeneqiyalesh. So, it was Telela Kebede that sang “Lomi Tera Tera”? I did not know that. Telela Kebede was an amazing singer-her Qelemewa and YeTizita Roro are timeless. By the way who sings “Alemush Mambo”?
Thanks again!
Well, some ppl do pay attention to the seme&worke and some don’t. I personally didn’t pay attention the lyrics of songs till I remember 5 yrs ago or something…..I was given a ride by my friend’s close family(older couple) who were listening to Aster Aweke’s song. In one of her songs she said “….selesew selesew kedeje lelebesew…” meaing….I don’t care about what they say, I will do whatever kind of thing….and in another song she said “…ewedeshalhu belo alewedeshem bilegne enese meselogne neber lela yemayegne….” I thought she was so HILARIOUS; I couldn’t stop laughing to the point where the ppl thought I was some “Jele”…From that point forth, I started to pay attention to the lyrics of Amharic songs, and I found/find them to be fun and educational.
is Merawie Yohannes is the singer of “almazen aychie”? I’love that song. thanks for interesting take Ethiopian Music and History.
Thank you, W/o Tedeneqiyalesh and EthioJazz for gracing us with such great articles about the old Ethiopian talents and songs. yes, i feel compelled to say, among the young generation of abeshas, including myself, those great talents who pioneered and shaped Ethiopian music are almost forgotten.
I long to see other great articles about Kassa Tessema, Frew Hailu, Kennedy Mengesha (although he is not one of the oldies). Also, if any of you know the person who sung “enate’ sitwoldegn mech amakerechign” a song with a great message, please let me know. When I first listened to that song, I thought it was Tilahun’s voice. However, after putting it on rotation, I felt like someone else sung it.
Lasta: thank you for your kind words–I was extremely shoked when I found out that it was Muluqen Melesse that sang “Enate sitweldegn meche amakerechgn”–
Also to anwser my own question above-I found out that alemush manbo is part of a song titled “Qurtun Negerign” by Tezera Haile Michael and Tilahun Gesesse backed by The Imperial Bodyguard Orchestra.
Thanks W/o Tedeneqiyalesh and Ethio Jazz for bringing up Tellela Kebede. For some reason I was thinking to write/ask about Lomi-tera-tera, one of my favorite oldies. Though I don’t know very much about her I knew this particular song and it’s impact on me regarding music. The composing itself is moving, it has the powere to take you back in times and the the lyrics is GRAND. For some unknown reason many people from that time don’t seem to recall that song despite its content for that hot time. I am not sure, but my assumption is that the song was not given any coverage in the local media like radio because of it’s content for the time. It was recorded on a green 45rpm record. (I think I am vey visual oriented, that is why I relate my memories with appearance)
I don’t remember the entire lyrics, but I have these in mind:
Enate kand abat asrarat woldalech,
Mogzitm enatim hona asadigalech,
Tiwari bematatwa ahun taleksalech.
—–Kamakariw gara andand *dikala tesharko libela’
Enaten adirguat mongina telala.
*plaease correct me if I am wrong. I don’t want to mess up.
Regarding Tillahun’s Almazin Ayiche , I don’t have much of a say. It is really a great and wonderful song. I wonder who those three Almaz’s were. May I guess? Does the song refer to the three leaders (Teferi Benti, Atnafu Abate and Mengistu) after the revolution? Any explanation?
Thanks, erm
huh lasta; i do remember kenedy, what ever happened to him? is he alive? is he singing?
Hey Nolawi;
Unfortunately, Kennedy died at a ripe age, as a result of a sudden illness seven or eight years ago. At least in my opinion, He had the potential to become a great singer. I liked his voice as well as the content of his lyrics, although I am not sure if he was the one who wrote them.
I don’t have any of his songs to share with you. However, you can listen to them online by just clicking on this site:
http://www.ethiopianow.com/cgi-bin/Kenedey.pl
@EthioJazz;
Hey man, yeah its amazing to know that Muluqen was the one who sung the song, “enate’ sitwoldegn”. I first thought it was released in the sixties or the fifties. I was just astounded by the message behind the lyrics. I am sure at the time of its release, people related it to the then political situiation.
In addition, I feel it on a personal level. Is it possible for you to share it with us if you have it in your popular hard drive?
Thanks
Ethio Jazz – “qurtin negeregn” is the the song the lyrics Ale’mush Manbo. you were right that that Tezera and Tilahun sang it.
Erm- Telela’s Lomi Tera Tera the lyrics you were right but there is more, soon I’ll send the song to bernos so that it can be uploaded and heard by everyone. As Jazz mentioned yegitmu derasi, Getachew Debalqe, Asatami Dawit Yefru, Recording location Besrate Wongel Radio Station. Next to Bambis. Derg made it into Hezb dehnenet later on. Shekilauw yetatemew in Coprose Greece, they printed a lot in 66 and started selling it. and in the lyrics there was the words “diQala Tewoldo” thus they were arrested in 67.
I’ll get back to you about Almazen Ayche
Do any of you happen to have Tilahun’s “Yegermal”? The video used to be shown on ETV. The lyrics goes like this:
Yegermal Qoomena ena zala
Yegermal yetsegurwa zelela
T’roschwa awoy N’Tatachew
yegermal abeqaqelachew….
there is a beautiful abesha girl on the video.
the song is one of my favorites.
Thank you W/o Tedeneqiyalesh I really just can’t wait to listen to the song. It has been Soooooooo long since I listened to it the last time. AND it would be a good comparison for some people who didn’t have much chance to listen to a very critical song played and predicted what was going to happen in mid seventies.
Thank you, erm
A LONGSTANDING and extremely talented Ethiopian artist: composer, writer of lyrics and vocalist, all in one, capable of astonishing us by his fast, timely and frequent creations of his magical hat