This is a song about the great king Kelefa. Singnyaro jang jang bourai singnyaro (Good person’s title) (village @ Georgetown) Ba ba duale jabitay m’batu faama (His father’s prayers were accepted/the one jali praises) Massaneh L’eesey Darajo ate gogo b’ailelah sialah mu meh Popularity no matter how much prevent dying not possible

These are the lyrics to the Mandinka kora song “Kelefa Ba” and its rough translation into English. This is only part of the song, as the original is epically long. If you have additional lyrics to this song I would love to know – please contact me about posting them here. Verse 1 Jola Kelefa, [...]