If you have never been in love stop reading right now. You will never get it! Have ever felt pain? A pain caused by love! I once heard the below quote in a play:
I hold it true, whate'er befall;
I feel it, when I sorrow most;
'Tis better to have loved and lost
Than never to have loved at all.
A great poem, written over a hundred fifty years ago, to have loved and lost; a true lost love, it’s powerful and it’s painful but "Tis" worth it. You feel alive; it gives you a certain boost, as if there is more to life than eating and sleeping, then dying. Aye there is love!
I feel it, I feel the love, I feel the pain, I feel all types of emotions when I listen to her resonate. My beloved all time Ethiopian singer. For a couple of months, I have wanted to podcast a couple of Bizuyes songs. Three weeks ago I compiled all 23 songs I could get on MP3 into two CDs so that I could pick 2.
Well, after listening to them over and over and over. I couldn’t pick, I just couldn’t pick two. It’s everything, the lyrics, the turumba, her gurorro! And what a gurorro!
I think what he could have done to her for her to say those words.
EyeQeseQesekegn fikrehe, EyeQeseQesekegn fikrehe, sineQa aTegebe aTahuhe… Sal’emeh wuyey, Sal’emeh aderalehu.
When she finally does get some sleep, he comes in her dreams. Such brilliant cry, podcasted is EyeQeseQesekegn fikrehe.
Every time I go to an Ethiopian wedding, Tilahune Gessesse’s version of Yehiwote Hiwote is played. And I think how long could this marriage last! The lyrics claim the Ethiopian version of “till death do us part.” Ah, such an oxymoron, the only person I know to have been married more times than Elizabeth Taylor claiming life long commitment. Get a better wedding theme song; that is if you want your marriage to last more than four years.
1998 was the year my grandfather and my grandmother celebrated their 50th anniversary of their wedding. One song was played over and over during the event. Second song podcasted is EnDe’he nuew gabeCha.
Bizunesh Bekele to me great, singing about love. I think, no one could yearn like that without experiencing something truly significant. Another darling of mine podcasted is MinGnotegn ManyawQal. She continuously sings about money not being able to buy love.
So I found out that she is been married twice. One with whom she had four kids, he was a wealthy government official during Jah times. The other was a journalist with whom she was with till she passed away.
Fourth and final song podcasted is Be'birr aygezam.
“Ene wedehalehu atebel ezam ezam… ezam ezam, fiker enede sheQet be’birr ayegezam… be’birr ayegezam.”
Yes, so why do we measure the quality of a person with how much money they make?
Two of songs are only temporarily podcasted!
Published by November 3rd, 2006 in History and Music.
Nolawi, very amazing muziqa thank you. I love it.
you are an amazing person, your interest and opinions are very personal. Even the way you run your business is very personal, I love what you are doing and how you involve everyone….
The reason I love blogs is that its personal, not just static data!
I have been coming here for months and reading, and for once I wanted to say I appreciate and love what you are doing. So call this encouragement and write as much as you can, because I can’t get enough of you.
Sebebua, I totally agree, Nolawi is numero uno!
Oh love, it’s enough to live for, there is nothing like it. The tippy toe feeling and all. True better to have loved and lost, no matter how painful, then to have never loved. But what is love anyway? You know a good friend of mine once said to me, “to love someone is a very selfish act. You see when you’re around a person who makes you happy and gives you a reason to smile and allows you to make sense out of nonsense what else can you do but want more. It’s not the person you love it’s the feeling of being around the person. So love is a very selfish act.” I don’t how much of it is true but it helped me get over my first love.
It’s being shallow to measure the quality of a person other than for who they are. My father always says love is two people who get each other. Get as in connect mentally.
thank you!
is the best-est!
be’birr aygezam is Bill Holiday-ish. Too sad. It sounds she wrote the lyrics after her hubby went to the red light district, …or something.
Great post Nolawi! Thank you for the music. I couldn’t help but laugh about the Elizabeth Taylor and Tilahun Gessesse comparison. Definitely on point. Your grandparents are the perfect example of what marriage is all about. May God bless them both. As for the music you posted,I’m with ShalomShalom, “Mignoten ManYawqal” is by far my favorite. The entry to the song with the upright bass is phenomenal. The words are what most men want to hear in these materialistic times.
Ende ende ende
sebebua, Can i make you president of the Nolawi fan club.
thanks though
shalom i have to agree that part of the lyrics is my fav as well,
Mignoten ManYawqal is trully a great song…
i never could understand what
means?
but for some reason EyeQeseQesekegn just touched me…. I love it..
the thing is there are other songs that i wanted to post… in time i’ll podcast a few more…
thanks Ethio, esti aTitFa…
A couple of weeks ago I might have agreed with you. Tis better to have loved …yada yada yada… I just found out that the guy I was seeing for five years, off and on, is getting married. Unfortunately, not to me. So at this particular time for me it would have been better not to have loved his sorry a**. Great Music tho. Nolawi, love your blog, can I be vice president of your fan club since President is taken?
ere nominationssss
can roughly be translated into the following ghetto-esque english:
ayaGebaw… is used same way you use it inMin Agebah?
yizebariQal… as in zebarQay, etc…
it is nothing but chemical addiction…
Great Topic and classic songs Nolawi!!! Can I be the Director of your fan club?
It took me back when my mom used to play them in the house, specially Bizunesh Bekele.
EyeQeseQesekegn fikrehe; A friend told me, It was once characterized by a band member as a break up song, that is about making up as well (hence the lyric “EyeQeseQesekegn fikrehe, EyeQeseQesekegn fikrehe, sineQa aTegebe aTahuhe… Sal’emeh wuyey, Sal’emeh aderalehu….”). The song is well-known for its revolutionary love lyrics in the 60′s-70′s. As you all know in Ethiopian culture it was hard for a women to express her love towards a men in public… Hell, I remeber my uncle and his girl making love in the dark “Me-bratun Atfetew Be-chelema Fikir Siseru”
M&W
This short poem comes to mind about Painful Fikir!
I was running out of time
I didn’t even know
Now you’re not mine i don’t know were to go
We still talk, but it isnt the same
I feel as if it’s all my fault
I have myself to blame
M&W, you and Nolawi are spoiling us with the poems.
Nayala, are there detox centers for it? hahaha
celebratelife…. no choice but to go coldturkey which I think is the best way or simply surrender and become a prennial recidivist.
Nolawi
Great choice.Indeed we all love Bizuye .Hope to hear more of her’s and other songs from the Golden era of Ethiopian Music.
woy woy woy, ayzonsh kikiye, ayzosh… if you are in the dc area ena aslekash kasfelegesh, you know my email…
did i hear right, love is chemical thing…. if love was chemical, then they would have made steriod…
my junk mail would be filled with fall in love in ten days only 15.99!
ha i am so sure it aint chemical at all!
Hummmmm, Nayalasmoke, it’s a fact that LOVE is a chemical addiction!!! Eshi, Yehen Tereda!
Love (scientific views)
Man kind have tried to answer this for centuries… Where dose love lies in the brain? Specially the particulars of its chemical components…. Models of sex tend to see it as a mammalian drive, just like hunger or thirst. Current psychological theories view love from a more social and cultural perspective. There are probably elements of truth in both views — certainly love is influenced by hormones (such as oxytocin) and pheromones, and how people think and behave in love is influenced by one’s conceptions of love. Hence, from time immemorial, science, from naturalistic poetry to MRI neurochemistry, has since debated over the nature of love.
Throughout history, mankind has deemed the heart the center of love. Even my Mom used to tell me “Fikir Ke-Lib Neew” But scientists tell us love is all in our mind or brain. And fueled by chemicals and chemistry.
Celebratelife; When you find the “detox centers”, pleasee let me know!
Nolawi; If they made “steriod” out of love, we all be pumped up again to fall love.
So, NayalaSmoke, You theory is indeed correct! Bravo!!
M&W
Thanks, but I am on the other side of the country in Seattle. My girlfriends are trying to convince me to go for a drunken forget his trifling, cheating ass week end but all I want to do is listen to some depressing songs,(king of sorrow Sade, Love don’t love me Eric Benet, of course some Bizunesh etc..) and curl up and cry.
Nyala, So close to Thanksgiving, cold turkey?
M&W, Las Vegas is the best detox I know.
Hey kiki you’re close to Vegas girl gor for it. Keep in mind at least he’s no longer your problem. Go get yourself a rebound.
LOL I will meet you in Vegas celebrate… and will detox together!! LOL
Hey Kikiye, Yene Konjo, wish I can be there in person to explain this to you!
I think your X is veritable love junkie. He needs chemistry or this chemical excitement to feel happy about himself and he’s intoxicated by life. Once he get’s this initial rush of chemicals, his relationship crumbles. He is soon off again, becoming a detective seeking a quick fix to his forlorn feelings: another “CHEMICAL JUNKIE” and high from infatuation.
Keep looking for the real LOVE, or it will come to you unexpected.
M&W
Kikiye; One more thing… Me being the LOVE doctor! “Ye Fikir Doctor” Im suggesting “Chocolate” for your broken heart! Actually, chocolate is full of phenylethylamine, that chemical cousin of amphetamine. So, when we say we are in love with chocolate, there is a certain chemistry there! So, use it to heal yourself, and re-direct your love to Chocolate.
M&W
Nolawi,
thanks, for those lyrics of bezunesh, the favorite singer of my parents i hadn’t heard of for quite a while.For the first time, i really liked it.
Man, i guess i am guetting old.
Hey Kiki listen to Freud, there is a clear distinction between infatuation and love. When you’re in love there is nothing he can do to make you hate him. Infatuation on the other hand well when the sun rises…fake love is out the door. Save yourself the discomfort of seeing him somewhere with his new hubby…give yourself a good closure…if you don’t want to tell him how you feel, write him a good letter (less any abusive words) and put it to rest so you can move on. If you don’t already have a gym membership, get one, kick his ass in kick boxing. Also, add to your list of songs…Goodbye by Alicia Keys and if you really want to ball out of control, Time to say goodbye or So many things by Sarah Brightman. Breaking up is hard to do, have a fabulous weekend!
Once on a train I was really sad with a broken heart. A stranger next to me and I talked about why I was so sad and finally he told me something I will never forget. As I expressed my feelings I mentioned I felt indifferent towards the object of my affection. I was confused why I didn’t hate him. The man told me, “You really didn’t love him. People think hate is the opposite of love, but its not. You hate someone because you love them and they’ve hurt you. But to feel indifferent towards the person is the opposite of love; to feel nothing at all.”
love feels good and it can hurt so bad. it is sometimes simple, but can be complicated. it can be obsessive or carefree. it is everything we don’t understand, and still manages to make sense. i have found it very difficult to define or understand love.
i do know one thing for sure: everyone’s love is different and you can’t let others define your love for you.
Nolawi,
Great piece indeed! can’t quite say I was a Bizunesh fan but I must say I like the songs you posted.
And I second that…is the greatest…I love how it keeps it real!
Shalom…I love the translation…can’t even say … lost in translation…found myself really LOL.
KIKIYE….konjit, I second Celebrate’s idea, get yourself a gym membership and while you’re at it, get yourself busy with something that doesn’t involve staying at home or destructing yourself with anything…kick-boxing, running,a second job… I think the term is ….Channel your energy…may I add one juvenile song to your list…listen to “Leave (get out!) by Jojo…Plus, he may have wasted your 5 years but hell he ain’t gonna waste any more of your time, Plus, I second a trip out of Seattle to anywhere, or Vegas cos when you come back, it may give you a different perspective on things….a friend of mine says…if love hurts, try something else…like travelling
Someone correct me here if I am being the typical “habesha type” afkari. But I say the old saying ” melamed fikir new” holds true. All my major Fonkas were because of some sort of getting used to.So someone up there said it was a selfish act … I doubt it . Because we see a lot of unselfish acts in most relationships.
So lets go back to the wisdom of our mothres/fathers – a question to you is Melamed really love???
Hey kiki, i dont why somebody suggested jojo… come one man… I do love SADE one of my favorites…
If i had to pick a song to get me through a divoirce… it would be Sam Cookes "Sad Mood " so I've uploaded it for you to download. It is by far one of the best blue songs i know.
The other is "I am in a Sentiment Mood" by johnny coltrane I've posted that for download as well…. One of the best songs all time.
if all else I would put on Mejemeria Maweke Metewaweke… Fiqr Woy Fiqr… I dont have a copy
haha … do you guys want kiki to ball out crying? why would one listen to a sad song if they are trying to get over a sad mood? I say she needs some disco.
Hey guys thanks for all the kind words and advice. After many hours curled up in my gabi, (it rained all weekend here) crying and just thinking about life and love I do feel a little better. The thing that angers me the most is why I didn’t listen to people when they tried to tell me he was no good. I am now more angry at myself than I am at him. Why didn’t I see the signs? Why did I trust him so? Why didn’t I listen?I don’t feel anything for him at the moment. The music did help a lot. Nolawi, anything Sam Cook is great.
Al Green How could you mend a broken Heart
And how can you mend a broken heart?
How can you stop the rain from falling down?
How can you stop the sun from shining?
What makes the world go round?
How can you mend this broken man? (woman)
How can a loser ever win?
Please help me mend my broken heart and let me live again
Thanks for letting me vent guys.
Kiki
Fiker, fiker, fiker. I guess it is a good thing while it lasts but for sure would rather be alone than be played like Kiki.
Sorry Kikyee, I am sure a year from now you are going to look back and count your blessings. If a guy can decieve you for these many years, then God know what else he is capable of. You don’t need a liar and a cheater for the rest of your life.
I’m a sucka for the yeDerowcho amharigna musika…and ETV’s version of Music Videos…as Bizuye or Tilahun would croon as they swayed the Mic gemed with Tissat (Abay) as the background and somtimes the orange megareja (for a change..:-) )
And the bands with like l0 sax players at least two on guitar…..i love it !! so full of sound and live.
I would be greatfuel to anyone who can point me to where i can get those old songs of the legends. Especially Bizunesh, i only have one CD of hers.
anyhow nice selections, Nolawi
Nefsua, if you read it right, the selfish act theory is what got me thru my first love. I didn’t say I supported it 100% but that’s what I needed to hear, at that time, to make sense of my undying feelings, ok? Every act is a selfish act to some degree. Can you give me an example of a totally unselfish act involving fikir? You give love to receive love.
Now to go back to your question…melamed is not always love. You can melamed a friend, of the opposite sex, til kingdom come but it doesn’t mean you connect in mind, body and soul to keep the fire burning. You know the saying, “I love you but I’m not in love with you” there is some truth in that. Every fikir starts with having a common ground to stand on and the willingness of both parties and the rest is history! Melamed alone is not going to pay the bill.
love .. that little 4 letter word is so strong and can drive you in sane im so in love with this guy i dated and dont know howto tell him how i feel so i sit up and listen to all these love songs and i just bawl and bawl does anybody even have a tip to help me out by the way nolawi the songs you picked were betam konjo chow
oh oh, sahia, tell him just say it…
but be careful, not to tell him too soon, dsepends how long you have dated… also not telling him is not a good idea…
I have been on the other side twice, one girl could never muster up her strength to tell me how she felt. she would occasionally slip tell me she loves me… twoce in a yr… Now that is a turn off since woman you are emotionally unavailable is too much of a headache…
the other is someone that told me that she loved me after the weekend of hanky panky.. and that is also scarce.. just screams 3rd level CLINGER!
if you have dated for a while then tell him
Sahia, I don’t know if you have ever seen the show Girlfriends but one of the girls was having the same issue and her guy friend told her to whisper “Olive juice” into her boyfriend’s ear really slowly and if he says I love you too then you got your answer. If he says what? Then you reply with I’m craving olives….well this actually works when there is a director coaching both parties but you get my point. Don’t play games with your heart tell him straight up.
You say dated, as in the past, so that’s tricky if he’s currently seeing someone but if he’s single and ready to mingle lay it on him. From my experience guys don’t like playing guessing games they want to hear what you’re feeling just like we do. When you’re really ready to tell him nothing will stop you so dry your eyes and take him out for dinner or bowling or something, if he’s single (don’t overlap with another girl). True love is rare and should not be an uncomfortable feeling. You should feel free to tell him and not have to lock yourself up with sad music crying about it. Believe me if it doesn’t work out someone else will eventually come along and sweep you off your feet.
I say to all the playa pimps/pimpets out there (no naming names) you should give one of those warning talks before a weekend of hanky panky (like the commercials on tv for medication)….please consult with your doctor before gettin with me, the experience may cause a limp in your walk, dizziness, excessive salivation, heart palpitation, nose bleed, goose bumps, blurriness, clinginess and the urge to say I love you. You have been pre-warned do you wish to proceed…so the ladies or gentlemen are not caught off guard.
sahia, if it makes you bawl, it ain’t love.
love would have made you feel like a butterfly that would fly around non-stop admiring the beauties of the world, blurting out the many ways you love him, and yada yada yada.
.. and yea, if it is something that is overcome by pride, it ain’t love either. ‘love is strnger than pride’ says Sade, and she sho iz right.
so i say stop bawling listening to stupid songs, and start chilling with another thing that will make you bouncy.
PS:
Nolawi, how come you didn’t pick up the song that goes something like:
i don’t know about the band but i know the lyrics are NICE.
esti i’ll check on it!
SHalom Kalkidan Hize, i am gonna podcast today..
. melcam addis amet .for al ourfriends . fiker
until i oemt .test of ture love because im worth save to my life for eny riske .