Story Behind The Song

New York Aug 12 2007 I remember the rehearsals at Bassekou Kouyate's house. We'd all be in his living room sitting in a circle with an old Roland head and two huge speakers in the middle. Everybody plugged into that, Ami even plugged in her wireless microphone that I had brought from New York (Yves, Ali Farka Touree's sound engineer, had told me that the wireless was every Malian singer's favorite toy). We started around four in the afternoon, because Bassekou would worry about me in the heat of the day, there was no AC the room would soon be filled with children and friends and relatives. Oumou my godchild would sit next to me and watch my hands and help me (she is very good at finding my pen and pick and reading glasses). Eventually she would fall off to sleep behind me on the sofa. She got up very early each day to go to school. On one of these days Bassekou's mother came into the room and sang with us. When she was young she was a famous singer, she knows so many Malian folk songs. Bassekou learned how to play the n'goni in her band. I loved listening to her. Bamake is one of her favorites. Everybody would laugh when she sang it, because it is usually sang by a very young girl. Bamake is a beautiful man, that cant make up his mind or maybe just doesn't want to make up his mind, about getting married. Bassekou sighed when I asked his mother to record with us, she is very very expensive

Lyrics

bamake i love you
bamake you're fine
bamake you're trouble
bamake you're mine
you're in my dreams at night
on my mind all day
you drive me crazy
i wanna leave
i wanna stay
it's getting late now night is falling
time is up, i need to know
bamake i love you
hold me close or let me go

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World - African	#7