"" is a traditional '' Vodou'' folk song in

Haiti Haiti, officially the Republic of Haiti, is a country on the island of Hispaniola in the Caribbean Sea, east of Cuba and Jamaica, and south of the Bahamas. It occupies the western three-eighths of the island, which it shares with the Dominican ...

. In

Haitian Creole Haitian Creole (; , ; , ), or simply Creole (), is a French-based creole languages, French-based creole language spoken by 10 to 12million people worldwide, and is one of the two official languages of Haiti (the other being French), where it ...

, "" means "leaf", and the lyrics of the song describe a leaf falling from a tree. Like many traditional songs in ''Vodou'' folklore, the lyrics of "" can hold many meanings, both religious and political. At least two bands in the 1990s sang adaptations of the traditional song. A version first performed by

RAM Ram, ram, or RAM most commonly refers to: * A male sheep * Random-access memory, computer memory * Ram Trucks, US, since 2009 ** List of vehicles named Dodge Ram, trucks and vans ** Ram Pickup, produced by Ram Trucks Ram, ram, or RAM may also ref ...

1992 1992 was designated as International Space Year by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 – Boutros Boutros-Ghali of Egypt replaces Javier Pérez de Cuéllar of Peru as United Nations Secretary-General. * January 6 ** The Republ ...

was banned throughout Haiti during the remaining years of the Raoul Cédras military junta. In

1991 It was the final year of the Cold War, which had begun in 1947. During the year, the Soviet Union Dissolution of the Soviet Union, collapsed, leaving Post-soviet states, fifteen sovereign republics and the Commonwealth of Independent State ...

, a military junta headed by Raoul Cédras seized power in a coup d'etat, overthrowing the elected president,

Jean-Bertrand Aristide Jean-Bertrand Aristide (; born 15 July 1953) is a Haitian former Salesian priest and politician who became Haiti's first democratically elected president in 1991 before being deposed in a coup d'état. As a priest, he taught liberation theo ...

. RAM, a band in

Port-au-Prince Port-au-Prince ( ; ; , ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Haiti, most populous city of Haiti. The city's population was estimated at 1,200,000 in 2022 with the metropolitan area estimated at a population of 2,618,894. The me ...

, which had run afoul of military authorities before, first performed "" at the 1992

Carnival Carnival (known as Shrovetide in certain localities) is a festive season that occurs at the close of the Christian pre-Lenten period, consisting of Quinquagesima or Shrove Sunday, Shrove Monday, and Shrove Tuesday or Mardi Gras. Carnival typi ...

in Port-au-Prince, and then began to perform the song during their weekly concerts at the Hotel Oloffson. Despite no overt references to the political situation, a recording of the song was widely played on the radio and immediately taken up throughout the country as an unofficial anthem of support for Aristide. Playing or singing the song was soon banned under military authority, and RAM's leader, Richard A. Morse, was subjected to death threats from the regime.Shacochis, Bob (1999). ''The Immaculate Invasion''. New York, New York: Penguin Publishing. . pp. 3-12. In September, 1994, U.S. military troops arrived to oust the Cédras regime and restore Aristide to his presidency. "" was released on RAM's first album, ', in

1996 1996 was designated as: * International Year for the Eradication of Poverty Events January * January 8 – A Zairean cargo plane crashes into a crowded market in the center of the capital city of the Democratic Republic of the Congo ...

.RAM (1996). '. Cave Wall Records. ASIN B000008Q17.

Lyrics

"" is a traditional Haitian vodou folklore song, and as such the lyrics are in the

public domain The public domain (PD) consists of all the creative work to which no Exclusive exclusive intellectual property rights apply. Those rights may have expired, been forfeited, expressly Waiver, waived, or may be inapplicable. Because no one holds ...

. The Creole lyrics are as printed in the liner notes of RAM's first album, ', and the

English language English is a West Germanic language that developed in early medieval England and has since become a English as a lingua franca, global lingua franca. The namesake of the language is the Angles (tribe), Angles, one of the Germanic peoples th ...

translation is by Bob Shacochis.Shacochis, Bob (1999). ''The Immaculate Invasion''. New York, New York: Penguin Publishing. . pp. 47. Fèy yo gade mwen nan branch mwem, yon move tan pase li voye'm jete. Fèy yo gade mwen nan branch mwem, yon move tan pase li voye'm jete. Jou ou wè'm tonbe a, se pa jou a m'koule, jou ou wè'm tonbe a, se pa jou a m'koule. papa, le ya bezwen mwen kote ya jwenn mwen. Papa Bondye wo St. Nikola we, Papa Bondye wo St. Nikola we, yon sèl pitit gason m nan yo fè'l kite peyi a l'ale... I'm a leaf. Look at me on my branch. A terrible storm came and knocked me off. The day you see me fall is not the day I die. And when they need me, where are they going to find me? The good Lord, and St. Nicola, I only have one son And they made him leave the country.

Audio samples

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fey Haitian folk songs Censorship