"1er Gaou" is a song by Ivorian

Zouglou Zouglou ( , ) is a dance oriented style of music originated from Ivory Coast during the mid-1990s. It started with students from a college of Gagnoa drawing on elements of other styles of music. Zouglou recounts the various social realities e ...

artists

Magic System Magic systems in games are the rules, limitations, abilities, and characteristics that define magic in a game. Magic points A magic point, sometimes known as a mana point, often abbreviated to MP, is a unit of measure that indicates either or ...

, taken from the album of the same name. The title literally means "First Fool" in urban

Abidjan Abidjan ( , ; N'Ko script, N'ko: ߊߓߌߖߊ߲߬) is the largest city and the former capital of Ivory Coast. As of the Demographics of Ivory Coast, 2021 census, Abidjan's population was 6.3 million, which is 21.5 percent of the overall population ...

slang called ''

Nouchi African French () is the umbrella grouping of varieties of the French language spoken throughout Francophone Africa. Used mainly as a secondary language or ''lingua franca'', it is spoken by an estimated 320 million people across 34 coun ...

''. The song contains an autobiographical account of lead singer Salif " A'Salfo" Traoré about his ex-girlfriend who tried to hook up with him again when he became famous. Originally recorded in 1999, it became smash indie hit in

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

three years later. The song meant the breakthrough of little-known Magic System.

Background

"1er Gaou" is based on autobiographical experiences of lead singer Salif "A'Salfo" Traoré. When he was an aspiring, poor artist, his girlfriend left him, but when he became a celebrity with Magic System, she tried to win him back, but Traoré turned her down. The song was first released in 1999 in their native

and was at first a hit in Ivory Coast and other African countries. When it was remixed in 2002 and released in

for Mélina Forthin, Magic System's song became a major indie hit there as well.

Lyrics

The lyrics tell the story of an aspiring musician whose girlfriend leaves him because of his poverty. After he becomes rich and she sees him on TV, she tries to win him back. He turns her down, saying her leaving him does not really matter; only if he took her back he would become a "fool once more". The lyrics feature a colorful

patois ''Patois'' (, same or ) is speech or language that is considered nonstandard, although the term is not formally defined in linguistics. As such, ''patois'' can refer to pidgins, creoles, dialects or vernaculars, but not commonly to jargon or sl ...

of French-Ivorian slang. This is especially evident in the refrain of ''"Et on dit premier gaou n'est pas gaou oh / C'est deuxième gaou qui est niata oh (ah)"'' ("They say that the first fool is not a fool / It is the second fool who is a fool"), which expresses that his first folly (her leaving him) is not really a folly at all, only accepting her back would be.

Music videos

There are two "1er Gaou" videoclips. The first one shows Magic System in their native

, with Traoré being left by his girlfriend at first before she comes back. This main plot line is interspersed by many scenes of daily life in Abidjan. In the second version, Magic System are in an expensive nightclub, again with Traoré left and then pursued by his girlfriend. This second version has a more posh look-and-feel than the first version.

Chart performances

The single topped at number four on the French charts and remained in the top 100 for 28 weeks, ten of them in the top ten and sold as many as 300,000 copies in France. "It was the number which opened the way for us. Even if we have hit after hit, I don't think there's a hit which can replace Premier Gaou because Premier Gaou came with a novice magic," A'Salfo said later.Success story of premier Gaou
The single was also a top ten hit in

Belgium Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. Situated in a coastal lowland region known as the Low Countries, it is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeas ...

(

Wallonia Wallonia ( ; ; or ), officially the Walloon Region ( ; ), is one of the three communities, regions and language areas of Belgium, regions of Belgium—along with Flemish Region, Flanders and Brussels. Covering the southern portion of the c ...

), peaked at number ten in its ninth week, and appeared in the top 40 for 15 weeks. In

Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...

, the single had a moderate success, peaking at number 30 and staying in the top 100 for nine weeks.

Track listings

* CD single # "1er Gaou" (original mix) (radio edit) — 3:04 # "1er Gaou" (

Bob Sinclar Christophe Le Friant (; born 10 May 1969), better known by his stage name Bob Sinclar (), is a French record producer, DJ, and remixer. He is the owner of the record label Yellow Productions. Musical career A native of Paris, Le Friant began D ...

le bisou edit) — 3:26

Charts

Peak positions

Zimbabwe Power FM top hits number 5 was in the charts for 4 months

Year-end charts

Zimbabwe end of year chats 2002 number 46

References

{{authority control 1999 songs Magic System songs