Senegalese Children's Song "Fatou Yo" by Touré Kunda (information, lyrics, & YouTube sound file)

Edited by Azizi Powell

Revised December 14, 2017

This pancocojams post provides information about the Senegalese band Touré Kunda and showcases that band's hit children's song "Fatou Yo".

Information about the language that is used for this song is included in this post along with information about the name "Fatou".

The content of this post is presented for cultural, entertainment, and aesthetic purposes.

All copyrights remain with their owners.

Thanks to Touré Kunda for its musical legacy and thanks to all those who are quoted in this post. Thanks also to the publishers of these examples on YouTube.

Hat tip to Mrs Barnes from Pittsburgh Dilworth Pre-Kindergarten for teaching this song to my granddaughter and her classmates.

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SHOWCASE EXAMPLE: AFRICA Music /Best of all time : TOURE KUNDA: Fatou Yo



WitnessTheDevine, Uploaded on Jul 16, 2011

This is an african song , a little all , Almost every generation in Senegal loved it .....Every generation sang it , ,, and it still rocks ......

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INFORMATION ABOUT TOURE KUNDA
From https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tour%C3%A9_Kunda
"Touré Kunda is a Senegalese band noted for their musical versatility and political activism. Their 36-year career encompasses recordings in over six languages and collaborations with well-known musicians such as Carlos Santana and Talking Heads. They have had considerable success in Africa and Europe and are active in social causes such as Children's rights and advocates for the homeless.

Biography
Born twenty-two days apart in 1950 in Ziguinchor in Casamance, Senegal, Ismaïla and Sixu Tidiane Touré were introduced to music by their elder brother Amadou, a singer and musician.

They moved to Paris to complete their musical education. They worked their way up in the Parisian scene. The group sings in Soninké, Wolof, Fula, Mandingo, Diola, and Portuguese creole, reflecting the multilingual mixture of the people of Casamance.

Their first album, Ismaïla do Sixu, was released in 1979. It was followed by E'Mma Africa in 1980 and Touré Kunda in 1982. In 1985, following the death of their brother and mentor Amadou, Ismael and Sixu Tidiane toured throughout Africa.

Upon returning to France, they found considerable success and critical acclaim among the French music press. In 1992, they were invited to play for Nelson Mandela at the Courtyard of Human Rights.

In 1999 their album Légendes, a retrospective of their 20-year career, was released. Shortly thereafter, they participated in Carlos Santana's album Supernaturel and toured with him. A greatest hits album, Best Of, was released in 2006. Their most recent album, Santhiaba, came out in 2008.

Ismaïla and Sixu Tidiane Touré are members of the sponsoring committee of the United Nations' Decade for the Promotion of a Culture of Peace and Non-Violence for the Children of the World."...

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE SONG "FATOU YO"
Here's a summary of that song from Best Children's Music [website no longer available on December 13, 2017]
"Toure Kunda (TOUR-ray KOON-dah) / Senegal / Fatou Yo (I Am Fatou) sung in Mandingo*. Fatou is a little girl who lives in Senegal, a country in Africa. She likes to dance with the other boys and girls in her village, and dreams about singing with baby elephants and giraffes.

The song is a sikko (SEE-koh), a dance where people get in a line and hold their hands towards the sky or hold the waist of the person in front of them. Senegal is a country in Western Africa that borders the Atlantic Ocean. There are many different tribes and ethnic groups, each with a unique culture. Languages spoken include Wolof, Fulani, Serer and Mandingo, but the common language is French because Senegal used to be a colony of France."
-snip-
I reformatted this summary to enhance its readability.

*Here's information about the Mandingo language (correct term: Mandinka) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mandinka_language
"The Mandinka language (Mandi'nka kango), or Mandingo, is a Mandé language spoken by the Mandinka people of the Casamance region of Senegal, the Gambia, and northern Guinea-Bissau. It is the principal language of the Gambia.

Mandinka belongs to the Manding branch of Mandé, and is thus similar to Bambara and Maninka/Malinké. In a majority of areas, it is a tonal language with two tones: low and high, although the particular variety spoken in the Gambia and Senegal borders on a pitch accent due to its proximity with non-tonal neighboring languages like Wolof."...

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE NAME "FATOU"
"Fatou" [pronounced FAH-tu], a short form of the name "Fatoumatta" (also found as "Fatoumata").

"Fatoumatta" ("Fatoumata") is a female name from the Mandinka (language). That name is a form of the Arabic female name "Fatima".
http://www.vornamen-liste.de/female-arabic-first-names-f.html
"Fatou
Fatou is a female given name common in West Africa. In Gambia, he* is traditionally given to first-born daughters. The Arabic form of the name is Fatima."
-snip-
"he"= "it"

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Here's a quote from a website that includes the names Fatoumatta ("Fatou"):
http://resourcepage.gambia.dk/names.htm:
"Here is a more comprehensive list of names. This list of names was derived from the Mandinka dictionary*, but many of these names are common among the other major ethnic groups in The Gambia as well, such as the Fula, Wolof, and Jola."

*Mandinka Dictionary
by Ebrima Colley, Peace Corps, 1995; http://resourcepage.gambia.dk/ftp/mandinka.pdf
-snip-
Click for the related pancocojams post http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2017/12/lists-of-mandinka-west-african-language.html Lists Of Mandinka (West African Language) Given Names Ending In "Ou"

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LYRICS - FATOU YO
(performed by Touré Kunda)

Fatou yo si dia dialano
Fatou yo si dia dialano
Fatou yo si dia dialano
Fatou yo si dia dialano

Fatou faye faye fatou
Fatou kélémen dio
Fatou yo si dia dialano
Fatou faye faye fatou
Fatou kélémen dio
Fatou yo si dia dialano

Boutoumbélé boutoumbélé
Boutoumbélé boutoumbélé
Boutoumbélé boutoumbélé
Boutoumbélé boutoumbélé
Boutoumbélé o ma mi se ra
O Ma mycasse boutoumbélé
O ma mi se ra
O Ma mycasse boutoumbélé"

Source:http://www.mamalisa.com/?t=es&p=3134:
-snip-
mamalisa.com gives the language used in this song as "Balanta". I believe that that information is incorrect in part because "Balanta" is a language from the West African nation of Guinea-Bissau and the music group Touré Kunda is from Senegal, West Africa.

Also, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tour%C3%A9_Kunda indicates that "The group [Touré Kunda] sings in Soninké, Wolof, Fula, Mandingo, Diola, and Portuguese creole, reflecting the multilingual mixture of the people of Casamance."...
-snip-
In addition, the summary for "Fatou Yo" that is given above indicates that it is sung in Mandingo (i.e. Mandinka). I think that is the correct information.

These same non-English lyrics are found as subtitles in this YouTube sound file: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d-eEzPu6M-U.

Here's the English translation for "Fatou Yo" from that mamalisa.com website:

"I am Fatou, pretty Fatou,
I am Fatou, pretty Fatou,
I am Fatou, pretty Fatou,
I am Fatou, pretty Fatou.

Fatou oh, oh Fatou,
Like all the children of the world
I am Fatou, pretty Fatou.
Fatou oh, oh Fatou,
Like all the children of the world
I am Fatou, pretty Fatou.

I am happy and will surely grow up
I am happy and will surely grow up
I am happy and will surely grow up
I am happy and will surely grow up
I will grow up like everybody else
Like the little elephants and the little giraffes
Like everybody else
Like the little elephants and the little giraffes."
-snip-
UPDATE: May 13, 2018
Thanks to Carlos Alberto Teixeira for sharing the following karoake video of Fatou Yo! The sub-titles in that video correct the incomplete lyrics for this song that are given above.

FATOU YO-karaoke SUNITATINA.wmv



urregaraikt, Published on Dec 1, 2010

Touré Kundak sortutako kanta hau edonork entzun, kantatu eta entzuteko modukoa da

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