Happiness isn’t for tomorrow
It’s not hypothetical
It starts here and now
Down with violence, egoism
And despair, stop pessimism
Let’s pick ourselves up
Nature has given us
Extraordinary things
It’s not over yet, nothing’s decided
Let’s take advantage of the wonders
Of this continent at last
Intelligently in our own way
At our own rhythm
Like responsible men and women proud
Of their inheritance
Let’s build the country of our children
And stop taking pity on ourselves
Africa is also the joy of livings
Optimism, beauty, elegance
Grace, poetry, softness, the sun
And nature
Let’s be happy to be its sons and daughters
And fight to build our happiness
From Salif Keita, a wonderful and inspirational singer from Mali. Please check out his music on you tube here
embrace everyone 
Thanks so much for this – as we know from the recent Nobel prize for literature, musicians who sing about social justice using the most beautiful lyrics and tunes are also great literary creators and need to be heard by everyone! I’ve never seen translations of Salif Keita’s lyrics before though I’ve loved him for the music…
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