Prince Nico Mbarga - "Sweet Mother" (sound file, lyrics, comments)

Edited by Azizi Powell

This pancocojams post showcases a sound file of and lyrics for Prince Nico Mbarga now classic 1976 song "Sweet Mother". Selected comments from this sound file's discussion thread are also included in this post.

The Addendum to this post features a video of Nigerian vocalist Tilda singing Prince Nico Mbarga's song "Sweet Mother".

The contents of this post are presented for cultural, entertainment, inspirational, and aesthetic purposes.

All copyrights remain with their owners.

Thanks to Prince Nico Mbarga and his band Rocafil Jazz for their musical legacy. Thanks also to the publisher of these examples on YouTube and thanks to all those who are quoted in this post.

Thanks to all mothers and all mother figures who take care of children and who care for children.

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SHOWCASE EXAMPLE: Prince Nico Mbarga Sweet Mother



visualito, Uploaded on Apr 10, 2007

One of great african hits from 70's

This song is very popular in my city Barranquilla ( Colombia ) where is known as "mazuza".
-snip-
Click http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prince_Nico_Mbarga for information about Prince Nico Mbarga (1 January 1950 – 24 June 1997).

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LYRICS: SWEET MOTHER
(composed by Prince Nico Mbarga)

Sweet mother I no go forget you
For dey suffer we you suffer for me yeah [2x]

When i dey crry my mother go carry me
She go say my pikin wetin you dey cry yeah yeah
Stop stop! stop stop!! stop stop!!!
Make you no cry again oo

When i wan sleep my mother go pet me
She go lie me well-well for bed
She go cover me cloth say make you sleep
Sleep sleep my pikin oooo

When i dey hungry my mom go run up and down
She dey find me somthing we i go chop
Sweet mother eeeeee..sweet mother oooo..eee

When i dey sick my mother go cry cry cry
She go say instead wey i go die make she die
She go beg God, God help me, God help me, my pikin oo

If i no sleep, my mother no go sleep
If i no chop, my mother no go chop
She no dey tire ooo
Sweet mother i no go forget dey suffer wey you suffer for me yeah yeah
Sweet mother eeeeeeeeeeee
Sweet mother oooo....eeeee

interlude...instrumental...

You fit get another wife
you fit get another husband
but you fit get another mother? No!

interlude...instrumental...

when i dey hungry my mom go run up and down
she dey find me somthing we i go chop
sweet mother aaaaaa...sweet mother oooo..eee

when i dey sick my mother go cry cry cry
she go say instead wey i go die make she die
she go beg God, God help me, God help me, my pikin oo

If i no sleep, my mother no go sleep
If i no chop, my mother no go chop
she no dey tire ooo
sweet mother i no go forget dey suffer wey you suffer for me yeah yeah
Sweet mother aaaaaaaaaaaaa
Sweet mother eeee..ooooooo
Sweet mother aaaaaaaaaaaaa
Sweet mother eeee..ooooooo


Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3mecNrIaWOA by schompification schompye, 2014
-snip-
Profesor Jair posted the same lyrics in 2014.

Another commenter, ScottShuster, indicated that the word "stuffed" was sung instead of the word "stop" in the line given above as "Stop stop! stop stop!! stop stop!!!", with "stuffed" meaning "stuff your mouth with the mother's breast [the baby being breastfed]. Another commenter with a (Yoruba) Nigerian name AFOLABI ALADE agreed with him. However, "stop" is usually given as the word that is sung in that line.

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PIDGEN ENGLISH MEANINGS
Source: http://naijalingo.com Nigerian Pidgen dictionary

"i no go forget dey suffer wey you suffer for me" = I'll never forget your sufferring (sacrifices), the way you sufferred (sacrificed) for me

"pikin" = young child, baby, child

"When i dey hungry my mom go run up and down
She dey find me somthing we i go chop" = When I am hungry, my mom goes here and there to find me something to eat. [dey= to be, am]

"If i no chop, my mother no go chop" = if I don't have anything to eat, my mother doesn't have anything to eat (implying that his mother would give sacrifice eating for her child)

she no dey tire = she doesn't get tired

"she go say instead wey i go die make she die" = she says "Instead of me dying, make her die"

"fit" = can ("You fit get another wife
you fit get another husband
but you fit get another mother? No!") = You can get another wife, you can get another husband, bus can you get another mother? No!

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SELECTED COMMENTS
From https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3mecNrIaWOA

These comments are posted in relative chronological order with the oldest dated comments given first, except for replies.

I added numbers for these comments on May 12, 2019 for referencing purposes only.

1. visualito, 2006
[In response to a question about whether people in Colombia understood the Pidgen words in this song.]
"No, In Barranquilla many people only hear the lyrics thinkin in sapanish and name the sogns with an alias acording with a showy word, in this case, the singer says "ma-zuza" and somebody named the song "mazuza".
I know many song with these alias, and recently (10 years) I discover the real names."

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2. soukous70, 2007
in reply to visualito
"Thank you so much for sharing this information! I always wondered how the Champeta folks got a hold of this old african guitar music! They use it to great effect,I think they,in their own way,really pay respect to African musical tradition.This song has been made and re-made so many times,it is truly a classic,like 'guantanamera' in spanish language music..."

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4. Cynthia Emanuel, 2007
"Its the most beautiful African song I've ever heard. Its our Mother's Day Theme Song every year in St. Lucia, Caribbean. The African Caribbean connection is quite clear in this music."

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5. mber01, 2007
"This song is still played in most Caribbean countries, especially around Mother's Day. I am from the Caribbean island of St. Lucia and we grew up listening to The Great Prince Nico. Even today. Although we have migrated to other countries, we still paly his music."

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6. tulani99, 2007
"This song was a hit in Zimbabwe at one point. It also won a BBC poll of most popular African song. Way to go my broad"
-snip-
"my broad" probably means "my brother".

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7. fanniterrette, 2007
"This song was a big hit in a house full of suburban white Catholics in the Midwest (U.S.A.) who had had very little exposure to African music before I set the needle down on this pulsating number and the rest of the Nico Mbarga album, which shows how infectious the music is. Love to hear it again, thanks for posting!"

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6. ghanahumanright, 2007
"GHANA!! The time we are growing, this song accompanied us....now abroad, it let we remember our sweet mothers, God bless them"

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7. OmenDoomDeath, 2007
"I love this song since I was a littie girl growing up in Sierra Leone, Every time we have a party , every one dance's to this song I glad I found it on youtube. Isatu from Mahera"

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8. CKZIONLIBERIA, 2008
"The Sweet Mother and many more Primce Nico Mbarga songs were very popular back in the seventies in Mano River,Liberia .These songs brings back sweet memories instead of the uglyness of civel war!"

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9. willian de jesus padilla padilla, 2008
"hey you people, i,ve got to tell you: this music is very apeciated in cartagena, barranquilla, santamarta and all the towns in carribean coasts of Clombia Suramenrica. they love this classics as his own!"

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10. vixxy02, 2008
"All this bickering about where Prince Nicco was from is so childish! I'm Naija to the maxx and I love my country,and culture etc, but I must nay WE must give credit where credit is due.He was CAMEROUNIAN with a Nigerian mother.His music has elements of rhumba/makossa,as this is the popular music of Cameroun,as well as elements of Nigerian highlife,which epitomises Prince Nicco-unique and sweet just like his music!
Without his CAMEROUNIAN AND NIGERIAN heritage we would not have had such a LEGEND!"

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11. Ebony Dean, 2008
"He lived in Onitsha, Nigeria where he ran a joint called Nico Line at Old Market Road and was playing regularly there. He kept huge afro hair cut and rode a honda motorbike CD 195. I still remember clearly him riding around Onitisha those days. The beautiful yesteryears... anyho, I guess I am not off on a tangent."
-snip-
He kept huge afro hair= He wore his hair in a huge afro.

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12. stylishnene, 2008
"this is a CLASSIC
It can never fade

Love it"
-snip-
A number of commenters with Nigerian names wrote that this song is "evergreen". "Evergreen" means the same thing as "it can never fade".

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13. funkg, 2008
"this was a big tune in my household growing up in the east end of london"

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14. mikoquillero, 2009
"Greetings to all my africans brothers, his music was so huge that influence a lot our lives in the caribean region of Colombia, specially in my city Barranquilla, and others like Cartagena and Santa Marta. God bless mother Africa!!!"

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15. Brenda Mande, 2009
"well the mum is Nigerian,the dad is a Cameroonian,Mbarga is an Ewondo,name"

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16. peaches4you, 2009
"Just so i can put some few misconceptions to bed..Prince Nico Nbarga was a&struggling musician..he approached the owner of a new label with his master tape of SWEET MOTHER after being turned down by many companies..he was then offered 500 NAIRA(about$700 in those days..the 70"s) for the full rights of the album..as fate will have it the album became a monster selling over 10 million copies,but he had signed the rights away......."

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17. Paulette Sedegan, 2009
"You go boy!!!
Very original, llke most African songs. It reminds me of my days in Mali Africa during the 70's.
Ca me rapelle mes vieux jour au Mali durant les annees 70."

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18. AquaCherokee27, 2009
"There is no way you can finish a celebration, wedding, party whatever without this song. My husband has a CD with this song on it. It runs for 12 minutes. Happy times o."

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19. mtafiti, 2009
"i used to hear this song after the 1 pm news in the now Kenya Broadcasting Corporation, then Voice of Kenya. Now i know where it is coming from. Naija-Cameroon, oh yeah!! Good! But i never used to hear the Moda, it was mother to my ears. Being young is being innocent!"

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20. dfunk4real, 2009
"This song was voted as the best african song of all time followed by brenda fassie's "Vulindlela" and the Fela Anikulapo Kuti's "Lady""

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21. Traggy rambotee , 2009
"I was raised in zimbabwe , and this song is probably the best song to ever come from Africa .Even though most zimbabweans listens to south african music , this song is absolutely an african jewel . its sentimental song on the other hand it shows attachment , rapport . African heriage is homogeneous and it is music which embraces the spirit of african renaissance"

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22. Traggy rambotee , 2009
"Undoubtebly the best song ever to come from Africa , even to our generation born in the late seventies from the southern part of Africa Botwswana, Zimbabweand South Africa ;this is a well respected song ."

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23. Sandra Nwajiaku, 2010
"Sweet Mother I no go forget u - happy times - a traditional stalwart at all the Nijah do's I've been too.. a floor filler fo sho':
-snip-
Nijah= Naija (9jah) = contemporary way of saying "Nigeria"/"Nigerian"

"Nijah do's= Nigerian parties

"A floor filler fo sho'"= a record that is sure to get people up out of their seats and dancing.

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24. BajanC, 2010
"I love this song so much. It reminds me of my childhood watching my parents hosting house parties and everyone swinging to this one. I used to love hearing my older broher singing this (he has a great voice). I never knew it was Nigerian - I'm British born of Barbadian parents and we loved it. I used to think it was a sepcial type of calyso! Funny how all nationalities claim this as their own eh? All the same - the sentiment is spot on. My mum is the best and I'm blessed to have her."

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25. realhiphopnation25, 2011
"For all the people who keep trying to figure out which country has "ownership" of this man or song, just know that Nigeria and Cameroon used to be one country until the British separated us. This song is sung in Nigerian Pidgin but has a Cameroon melody. Embrace it, we are all one. Where Nigerians are, Cameroons are and vice versa. Africa unite!"

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26. vixxy02, 2011
"@Kenx95 His mother was not Igbo, she was Ejagham from Ikom in Northern Cross River State."

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27. Jehu Djuekou, 2011
in reply to realhiphopnation25
"@realhiphopnation25 I'm from Cameroon and this has been a major topic over and over again back home... Truth been told right here, we'all ONE!!! WORD UP"

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28. Henry Brown, 2012
"I remember this music as if it was just yesterday. But it is as far back as1975, and I remember just were I was when I hear this music on BBC (Focus on Africa). I knew this music would have change the WORLD and it did. OUR SWEET MOTHERS, WE WILL NEVER FORGET YOUR FOR THE LOVE AND SUFFERING THAT YOUR DID FOR US, AND CONTINUE TO DO."

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29. kelb57, 2012
"I can believe I've heard this song about every time I go to an Afircan party."

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30. Uche Ogbuji, 2012
"I wager that if you could truly survey all the people on earth, and not just those easily reachable by typical media and technological methods, Prince Nico's "Sweet Mother" would turn out to be the most popular song ever. It's amazing the stories I'v heard of how the song is loved in all surprising parts of the world. Truly a song for the people. What a loss was the premature death of prince Nico!"

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31. mdl11225, 2013
"My mother is Jamaican and played this song at ALL of her parties in North London in the 70s. I heard this song for the first time in 35 years last Saturday at a family gathering in North London. It was nice to see the dance floor full with ALL those friends and family members from the 70s that used to dance to this at my house when I was knee high to a grasshopper (LOL) and they knew ALL the words! The dj had to pull it up and start again. Good Memories, my mum would be happy. :-)"

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32. Harrison Nwozo, 2014
"#TBT!!!!!
Wey my Old Skool Nigerians at??
Ok...the Youngies suppose sabi this one......
-snip-
This comment appears to combine African American Vernacular English with Nigerian Pidgen:
"Where are the Nigerians that like old school music (music from the olden days/the past?
Ok. I suppose the young folks know this one" [sabi= to know something or someone]

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33. tracyfins, 2015
[response to Harrison Nwozo]
"Present sir !"

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34. mskayaz, 2015
"It's also popular in the Belizean community. One of my favorite jams too, :-)"

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35. Asedri Amin Amin, 2015
"Prince Nico was African born of Cameroonian and Nigerian parents. He was raised and lived in Nigeria until he died at the age of 47 in a motorcycle accident. Tilda successful sang lyrics of Prince Nico's songs despite she's a Cameroonian. The border between Nigeria and Cameroon has people that belong to same tribe divided into two separate countries by British colonial rule. Nigeria with the biggest Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in the entire Africa, needs her neighbors especiatially Ivory Coast which has the highest GDP in Sub Shaharan west Africa. For Africans, Fathers not only mean a lot, but also determine their African tribal race. Prince Nico been born with Cameroonian Father and retained his Mother's Nigerian Nationality says a lot about changing cultural norms in Africa."

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36. Asedri Amin Amin, 2015
..."I'm still in a state of s[h]ock myself to find out that this historical outstanding music was sung by a Nigerian! In my East Central African nation, this music went viral in early 80s and we had no info who the singer represent. Zaire been popular at the time, a lot of us assumed, he was a Congolese. Well, the chandelier just came crashing down! Nigeria has being rocking African world all along
Not only in music, one of the best literature book taught in African high schools is written by Nigerian Chenua Achebe titled "Things fall apart ", finally in 21st century, U.S. has acknowledged Achebe's literary academic work in some colleges. My calculations are, eyes on Nigeria!."

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37. Paula Rodriguez, 2015
"Nico left a song that will forever be played and remembered. My family would party to this song in the living room and I would peep out and see all those moves that I just had to learn. Boy, did I learn those dances."

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ADDENDUM: TILDA SWEET MOTHER



Rogers All Stars Channel Published on Jul 17, 2014

THE MOST SUCCESSFUL SONG IN AFRICA

Original song was by Prince Nico Mbarga.

"Sweet Mother" is a highlife song by the Nigerian and Cameroonian singer Prince Nico Mbarga and his band.

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Visitor comments are welcome.

Nigerian & Ethiopian Examples Of The Highlife Song "Sawale"

Edited by Azizi Powell

[Revised 6/2/2012 to include an additional example from Nigeria, and an example from Benin.]

This pancocojams post showcases one sound file & four videos of the highlife song "Sawale" or songs with another name that are based on "Sawale". 

This post also provides information about the song's composer, Nigerian Cardinal Rex Lawson, and information about the music genre "Highlife". 

The lyrics for the song "Sawale" with English translation & explanations about the song's meaning are also provided in this post.

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

All copyrights remain with their owners.

Thanks to Cardinal Rex Lawson for his musical legacy. Thanks to the other performers of this music and the producers of these videos, the uploaders of these videos, and the bloggers whose comments I quote in this post.

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FEATURED EXAMPLES
Example #1: Cardinal Rex Lawson - Sawale (Audio)[Nigeria]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dM7sqPCws00&ab_channel=AfricanBargains

African Bargains, Oct. 20, 2009
-snip-
This summary is from a YouTube sound file Uploaded by planetolusola on Feb 19, 2009 that is no longer available.
"The late Cardinal Rex Jim Lawson (c.1930 - 1971).

Cardinal Rex Lawson Article by John Beadle culled from www.onlinenigeria.com/music/Rex

Until his untimely death in the 1970s, Erekosima (Rex Jim) Lawson was a standard-bearer of the Nigerian highlife scene whose tunes achieved popularity across Africa. Of mixed Kalabari and Igbo parentage, he was born in the town of New Kalabar in present-day Rivers State, and got his start in Port Harcourt's Starlite Melody Orchestra, led by "Lord" Eddyson...

By 1960 he was leading his own group, the Nigeraphone Studio Orchestra of Onitsha and had played with the "big names" of Nigerian highlife - Bobby Benson, Roy Chicago, Victor Olaiya and others. With his second group, the Majors Band of Nigeria (variously called the "Mayors Band," and in later years the Rivers Men), he scored innumerable hits over the sixties and early seventies, notably "Jolly Papa," "Adure," "Ibi na Bo," and many others. Of these, the biggest was "Sawale," in pidgen English, which has become an African music standard and been remade numerous times by various artists. Lawson's fluency in various languages and dialects has only enhanced his appeal across class and ethnic lines in West Africa...

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Example #2: Flavour N'abania - Nwa Baby (Ashawo Remix) [Nigeria]



Uploaded by officialflavour on Jun 22, 2011

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Example #3: Baba Ken Okulolo & Kotoja - Super Sawale [Nigerian & American musicians]



Uploaded by babateye on Mar 3, 2009

Putumayo Presents Baba Ken & Kotoja

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Example #4: New Ethiopian Music Ziggy Zaga ft.Teddy Yo -Sawa Sewalegn 2012 [Ethiopia]

AddisLiveMusic, Published on Mar 9, 2012

http://www.addislivemusic.com/ AddisLiveMusic The Best Ethiopian Music Collection Website !
-snip-
[I believe that this video is no longer available on YouTube.]

This quote is from another video summary of this song:
"This is the Ethiopian (Amharic) version of the most popular African music of the time Sawa Sawa Sawale(Nwa Baby)(Ashawo)... This music popular in Addis and has took Addis clubs by storm. And now, it is reversed to Amharic... Enjoy and share it :)"

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Example #5: Stan Tohon - Ashao [Benin]



Uploaded by africouleur on May 7, 2009

Ashao est un des derniers singles du grand chanteur africain béninois Stan Tohon.

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LYRICS AND COMMENTS ABOUT "SAWALE"
(with English translation)- Flavour N'abania's version

Nwa baby, nye m efe gi (7x) (Baby girl, give me your 'thing)
Nwa baby, o kwa Nabania (Baby girl, it must be this night)
I don hammer no be small, now it's
time to chop money
Somebody say Nabania (Somebody say 'this night')
Na takwa ne fe omo wania (All this girls, enjoy yourself)
See the girls them plenty
Waka waka baby (oh yeah), wuru
wuru baby (oh yeah)
I go tell my mama, (oh yeah) I go
tell my papa (oh yeah)
And I go tell am say (oh yeah)
You be waka waka baby (oh yeah)
You be wuru wuru baby (oh yeah)
Corner corner baby (oh yeah)
Sango sango baby (oh yeah)
Para rara baby (oh yeah)
Oh baby sawaley
Sawa sawa sawaley (2x)
Ashawo
Kpokpotom kpomkpom, kporokotom
kpomkpom (2x)
Kpakolo kpa (3x), kpomkpom
Ojari kpokpo, ukwu nwa baby
Achukwu rege, kpom kpom
Ashawo, awusha
Awusha, ashawo
Ashawo, awusha, kpom kpom
Eh eh eh eh eh eh, kpom kpom
Oh baby Sawaley
Sawa Sawa Sawaley (2x)
Ashawo
Nwa baby, nye me fege (7x)
Nwa baby, wa Nabania
Na soso walka I come dey go
Everywhere I go, anai ti fe (Everywhere I go people will be Being Intimate)
All my guys where una dey
From here to saloon hotel
See the girls them plenty
Waka waka baby (oh yeah), wuru
wuru baby (oh yeah)
I go tell my mama, (oh yeah) I go
tell my papa (oh yeah)
And I go tell am say (oh yeah)
You be waka waka baby (oh yeah)
You be wuru wuru baby (oh yeah)
Corner corner baby (oh yeah)
Sango sango baby (oh yeah)
Para rara baby (oh yeah)
Oh baby sawaley
Sawa sawa sawaley (2x)
Ashawo
Kpokpotom kpomkpom, kporokotom
kpomkpom (2x)
Kpakolo kpa (3x), kpomkpom
Ojari kpokpo, ukwu nwa baby
Achukwu rege, kpom kpom
Ashawo, awusha
Awusha, ashawo
Ashawo, awusha, kpom kpom
Eh eh eh eh eh eh, kpom kpom
Oh baby Sawa lele
Sawa Sawa Sawale (2x)
Ashawo
Ala de no de, no de
Ala ala de no de, de no de, Ala
Ema na ala de no de, no de
Ala ala de no de, de no de, Ala
Ala mama
Wera kagi ji de a ala
Ala mama
Wero noge me jaya ala

Source: http://koralyrics.com/text.aspx?id=2579

-snip-
Comments from YouTube comment threads.

[WARNING! YouTube comment threads may contain profanity, racist language, sexually explicit references and other language that is inappropriate for children.]

The song is performed purely in Kalabari (Eastern Nigerian dialect) and pidgin English. The beat itself may have a trans-african flavor, since African highlife music of the 60's borrowed heavily from latin-cuban rythmn popular throughout the continent.
- planetolusola; http://www.youtube.com/all_comments?v=DBOXi3bJ7ug ; 2012

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"I do not speak Kalabari, but there is enough West African pidgin in there for me to pick up that he is admonishing a wayward girl who has become an Ashawo (prostitute). Corner Corner baby! Wuru Wuru baby! Suku suku baby! I will tell your mom! She will tell your dad! I will tell your sister etc."
-jimbimedia; http://www.youtube.com/all_comments?v=DBOXi3bJ7ug ; 2012

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From http://www.nairaland.com/nigeria/topic-589179.0.html

[Editor: I added spacing to make this comment easier to read.]

Re: What Is The Nwa Baby Ashawo Song By Flavour N'abania Talking About?
odumchi (m):

« #4 on: January 21, 2011, 02:39 PM »

"Adamma means beautiful first daughter.

The lines "I go tell my mama, oh yes, and I got tell my papa, oh yes, and I go tell am say you be waka waka babe, oh yes, wuru wuru babe, " basically mean that she is a corrupted and bad girl.

-snip-

Here's an excerpt on the same thread from http://gfpanorama.com/tag/nwa-baby-ashawo/
"Check dis out!

There is a popular Igbo Nigerian song on YouTube by Flavour N’Abania. It is called Nwa Baby. Anybody who has been listening to the increasingly amazing dance-worthy beats that are now emerging from Nigeria on a constant basis would not fail to have heard this particular song. Now, a lot of what Flavor and his friends were saying on the track were in the Igbo language, and while that has not stopped a lot of non-Igbo listeners from appreciating the song, I felt compelled to give a full translation of this song to English for the benefit of those who might be wondering exactly what was being said....

Oh baby sawa lee, sawa sawa sawa lee (2ce)… ASHAWO {the word “sawa’ or ‘sawam’ indicates the act of walking, or movement of the feet as in a dance. Here, Flavor is indicating that the girl in question is light-footed—walking around easily from place to place or of nimble gait. He concludes that she may be a call-girl with the word Ashawo}

Kpomkpotom kpomkpom; kporokotom kpomkpom; ikpomkpotom kpomkpom; kporokotom kpomkpom; kpakolokpa kpakolokpa kpakolokpa kpomkpom; ojarikpoko, ukwu nwa baby, achukurege kpomkpom {Here Flavour goes off the chain. Not finding words to adequately convey the height of his excitement, he lapses into a series of onomatopoeic renditions designed to communicate the supposed elegance of a seductively dressed temptress of a woman. These sounds are supposed to communicate the rippling movements of the girl’s body as she walks or perhaps dances—bosoms bobbing up and down; her buttocks jiggling as she walked or danced; the movement of her thighs; the swaying of her hips in movement etc}

Ashawo Awosha Awosha Ashawo Ashawo Awosha kpomkpom {the word Ashawo means call-girl or an escort. To differentiate a call-girl from a LovePeddler or a whore (akwuna), a call girl’s client makes an appointment usually by telephone. They (call-girls) are not usually randomly picked from street corners like LovePeddlers. A call-girl may be gainfully employed or may be in school, and then renders her intimate services discreetly to her clients in exchange for money or some other material incentives.

Here, Flavour twists the word Ashawo around artistically by saying Awosha. The effect was to remove some of the negative sting or punch from the word}
Eh—Eh—Eh—Eh—Eh—Eh kpomkpom {Yes—Yes—Yes—Yes—Yes—Yes. Clearly, if the girl he was addressing his song to was dancing or walking, Flavour appreciates the spectacle in front of him. He recognizes the silky sophistication of this Babygirl (Nwababy) even though he likens her charm to that of a call-girl’s.
And the baby sawa lele eh, sawa sawa sawa lee (2ce)…ASHAWO = And this baby is light-footed or nimble with her gait (2ce) as to be regarded a CALL-GIRL"....

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From http://www.youtube.com/all_comments?v=-rLa03jU2-Y,
"Most people don't realize that the beat to this song, including flavour's version came from an old Cuban roots rhythm called 'EL MANICERO - PEANUT VENDOR'. Search for it on youtube. Rex lawson, the original Nigerian composer of the 60's 'ASHEWO' hit borrowed heavily from latin/cuban influences. Flavour Nabania's SAWALE was a cover of Rex lawson's 60's version. I love this Amharic version also, untimately contributing to the dynamic history of a popular African musical style - HIGHLIFE."
-planetolusola; 2012

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From http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aZ7pzY4vQZ8

"Another tune of the same kind is in Zambia called " shala shala shalale."
-chalimanga81, 2012
-snip-
I haven't found that video on YouTube yet. If anyone knows that link or knows of any more YouTube videos of additional versions of "Sawale", please add a comment below. Thanks!

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A number of the comments on the viewer comment thread for the Ethiopian remix of this Nigerian Highlife song included the colloquial references for Nigeria and Ethiopia ("Naija" and "Ethio"). These informal referents are also found on other Nigerian and/or Ethiopian video threads. I just wanted to note it for the record (no pun intended).

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INFORMATION ABOUT HIGHLIFE
From http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Highlife:
"Highlife is a music genre that originated in Ghana in the 1900s and spread to Sierra Leone, Nigeria and other West African countries by 1920. It is very popular in Liberia and all of English-speaking West Africa...

Highlife is characterized by jazzy horns and multiple guitars which lead the band. Recently it has acquired an uptempo, synth-driven sound"...

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