(Nigerian Comedy) Kabusa Oriental Choir- "The Corona Song" Part I video & lyrics

Edited by Azizi Powell

This is Part I of a two part pancocojams series on the Nigerian Oriental Choir's "The Corona Song".

Part I showcases this video and presents lyrics for that song from the video's captions. Part I also includes definitions of and explanations about some of those lyrics.

Click https://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2020/04/nigerian-comedy-kabusa-oriental-choir_69.html for Part II of this pancocojams series. Part II showcases the YouTube video "Kabusa Oriental Choir - The Corona Song" and presents some comments from that video's discussion thread.

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

All copyrights remain with their owners.

Thanks to Kabusa Oriental Choir for their cultural legacy. Thanks also to all those who are quoted in this post.

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SHOWCASE VIDEO -Kabusa Oriental Choir - The Corona Song



Kabusa Oriental Choir,Mar 22, 2020

#coronavirus #covid19
-snip-
Statistics as of April 27, 2020 at 9:54 AM EDT
Total # of views -343,835
Total # of likes -13K
Total # of dislikes -134
Total # of comments -650

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INFORMATION ABOUT KABUSA ORIENTAL CHOIR
Excerpt #1
From https://mybiohub.com/2019/07/kabusa-oriental-choir.html/
"Kabusa Oriental Choir is a comedy group of four men who rose to fame through their melodious voices by twisting Nigerian songs in Catholic choir format”...

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Excerpt #2
From https://punchng.com/we-would-rather-dance-in-robes-than-perform-sexual-skits-austin-of-kabusa-oriental-choir/
"The Kabusa oriental choir group is quite vibrant in the Nigerian digital space with about 225,000 followers on Instagram. Consisting of four young men – Austin, Victor, Ransom and Ozoma – the group makes their own versions of popular songs. Austin tells TOLUWALOPE KAREEM how their group launched into social media stardom.

How did your group form the name kabusa oriental choir and what is its relevance to your brand?

When we made our first video (our cover of ‘Yeba’ and ‘Baba’ by Kizz Daniel), it turned out to be very hilarious and we figured that we needed a name. We didn’t want something classy like ‘Wembley Choir’ or ‘Pittsburgh Choir’ but needed a name that would match the local ‘Naija’ choir theme we had created– a name that had a savage ring to it. Kabusa is not just a place in Abuja, it is also where the studio we recorded the song is located, so why not ‘Kabusa’? It sounds like a place where cavemen live and that’s what made it a perfect choice. It was not like we sat on a round table and placed the names before us for everyone to vote. This choice was made three minutes before the video was posted on Instagram because we needed to include it in the caption. We called it ‘Kabusa Oriental Mass Choir’ but it was too long, so we shortened it to ‘Kabusa Oriental Choir’.”...

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LYRICS- THE CORONA SONG
(Kabusa Oriental Choir)

Okoro be careful
Make you not catch coro
Okoro be careful
Make you not catch coro
Okoro be careful
Make you not catch coro
Okoro be careful
Make you not catch corona virus

Corona e no dey show for face
So wash your hands and say hello
Hello my neighbors
No more handshake
No more hugging
No more, until further notice

Corona e no dey show for face
Why don’t you
Cover that mouth when you are coughing
Even when you are sneezing
When you are yawning
And when you catch am o
Your name go change to aunty coro
Mama if you catch am o
Your name go change to Iya coro
Baba if you catch am o
Your name go change to baba coro
Okoro if you catch am o
Your name go change to O-coro

O my sister, sister Chimamanda
A.K.A. Mandy la choco
If you catch corona
Your name will change to Mandy la coro

O, my brother brother Segun Taiwo
A.K.A Shege Taiwan
If you catch corona
Your name will change to Segun la coro

Olapa
If you stop anybody
And they start to cough
You should know that water
Have pass garri
Kukuma escort them to General Hospital
Your life is precious, forget that 50 Naira

Aunty if you catch am o
Your name go change to aunty coro
Mama if you catch am o
Your name go change to Iya coro
Baba if you catch am o
Your name go change to baba coro
Okoro if you catch am o
Your name go change to O-coro

Protect yourself and protect Africa
COROnate yourself and COROnate Africa
simple

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DEFINITIONS OF AND EXPLANATIONS ABOUT SOME WORDS IN THIS SONG
These entries are given in order of appearance in this song and numbered for referencing purposes only.

Disclaimer: I'm an African American who doesn't speak any language but American English. I've learned a little bit about Nigeria, West Africa from some Nigerians (mostly Yorubas) I've met over a period of time in my adopted city of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Because I don't know any Nigerian languages and because I know very little about Nigeria culture, I may not have understood or fully interpreted these terms or sayings. Additions and corrections are welcome.

1. Okoro
From https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Okoro
"Okoro is a surname of Igbo origin meaning "the child of the freeborn man"."

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2. coro - abbreviation for "coronavirus"

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3. Corona e no dey show for face
This is an example of Nigerian Pidgin English that I think means "Corona [virus] is invisible.

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4. 0
From the explanation for "nawa Oh!* that is given in this article https://theculturetrip.com/africa/nigeria/articles/15-nigerian-pidgin-english-phrases-you-need-to-know/ 21 Essential Pidgin Phrases You’ll Need in Nigeria
"The ‘oh’ at the end is usually added to a lot of words and phrases, a kind of conversational tick to add emphasis."

*In the comments by Nigerians and other West Africans that I've come across online, "o" at the end of a sentence isn't spelled "oh", but is written as "o" or multiple "o"s and "nawa oh" is usually written as "nawao" and "na wa ooo". In those sentences "o" doesn't mean the same thing as that standard English word.

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5. Iya
"Iya" is a Yoruba word that means "mother" in English
https://www.wordhippo.com/what-is/the-meaning-of/yoruba-word-6c9f421cd46a32aed561635a745d824ffbcccefe.html

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6. Baba
In this song, "Baba" is a Yoruba word that means "father" in English

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7. Chimamanda
is a popular Igbo (Nigeri) name meaning "My God Will Not Fail"; A common contemporary nickname for "Chimamanda is "Mandy",

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8. Mandy la choco
My guess is that this is a reference to Mandy La Candy is a popular Nigerian transgender based in Canada.
https://www.informationng.com/2014/07/nigerian-transgender-mandy-la-candy-surfaces-follows-miss-sahharas-steps.html

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9. Segun Taiwo is a masculine Yoruba name
Segun
From https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Olusegun
"Olusegun (sometimes spelled as Oluwasegun or its diminutive form, Segun) is a name of Yoruba origin for males, meaning "God is Victorious"."
-snip-
I think that the "Se" in the name "Segun" is pronounced "Sh" as in the English word "shed".

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10. Taiwo
From https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taiwo
"Taiwo (variant forms: Taiye, Taye, Taiyewo)[1] is a name of Yoruba origin meaning "the first twin to taste the world." or the one who comes before Kehinde.[2] Although Taiwo is the firstborn twin, in Yoruba belief Taiwo is considered the younger twin, having been sent into the world by Kehinde to determine if it is the right time to be born. The names are associated with the Yoruba belief in Ibeji, sacred twins"

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11. Shege Taiwan
"Shege Taiwan" is a play on the name "Segun Taiwo".

From http://naijalingo.com/words/shege
"Shege
Definition:pronounce \'Shay-gay\' is a swear word
Example:Take Shege!, Shege! you idiot
-end of quote-

Taiwan is a nation in the world which is claimed by China.

"Shege Taiwan" alludes to the belief that Covid-19 originated in China.

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12. Olapa - police officer

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13. water have pass garri
From http://naijalingo.com/words/watar-don-pass-gari
" “Watar don pass gari
Definition:the water is more than the gari, so you can not eat it! Is used to refer to a situation gone bad.
Example:watar don pass gari, i hear sey police de come, I don clear!"

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14. Kukuma
From http://naijalingo.com/words/kukuma
"Definition :as well, at once, already
Example: as you dey submit your own kukuma submit my own "

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15. forget that 50 Naira
My guess is that this statement alludes to the bribes that Nigerian policemen take from people they stop to arrest.

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16. COROnate
This is a play on the English word "coronate"

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This concludes Part I of a two part pancocojams series on Kabusa Oriental Choir's song "The Corona Song".

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