Teddy Afro is known for his poetic and deeply patriotic lyrics, often using metaphors to describe the political and social state of Ethiopia. "Das Tal" (meaning "pitch the mourning tent") is a powerful lamentation for the country’s unity and heritage.
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| Teddy Afro's photo on the new album |
Here is the English translation of the song:
TEDDY AFRO - Das Tal (Ansaw) “Pitch The Mourning Tent” (English Translation Lyrics)
ዳስ ጣል ልቤ
(Pitch the mourning tent, O my heart)
ለይውስጤ ሀዘን ለቅሶ
(For the grief and weeping inside me)
ሰው አይችልህ ደርሶ
(No one can reach to help you)
አለ ጊዜ
(Time has passed)
ገና ነው እያልኩት
(While I kept saying "it is not yet time")
እራሴን በደልኩት
(I have wronged myself)
ለካ እንዲህ ነው ማለቅ
(So this is how it ends)
እህ እያሉ ነዶ
(Burning while sighing "Uhh")
ሀገር የሞተበት
(One whose country has died)
የት ያለቅሳል ሄዶ
(Where can they go to weep?)
ዳስ ጣል
(Pitch the tent)
ዳስ ጣል
(Pitch the tent)
አክሱም ላሊበላን
(Aksum and Lalibela)
በአንድ አለት አፅንቶ
(He solidified in one rock)
አልራመድ አለ
(It refused to move forward)
ሀገር ተለያይቶ
(The country having been divided)
ምሰሶው ዘመመ
(The main pillar has tilted)
ጣራውም ያፈሳል
(And the roof is leaking)
ሀገር የሞተበት
(One whose country has died)
የት ሄዶ ያለቅሳል
(Where can they go to weep?)
ባሳደገኝ ቀዬ
(In the village that raised me)
ባደኩበት መንደር
(In the neighborhood where I grew up)
ባይተዋር ሰው ሆኜ
(I have become a stranger)
እንደሌለው ሀገር
(As if I have no country)
ያቆምኳትን ሰንደቅ
(The flag that I hoisted)
ተፈትኜ በእሳት
(Tested as I was by fire)
እንዴት አቀርቅሬ
(How can I bow my head)
ባንዲራዬን ላንሳት
(As I lift my flag?)
አባይ ለዘዴው
(The Nile, for its own craftiness)
በአፍ ይቀድማል
(It leads with its mouth/talk)
አምኖ መከዳት
(To trust and then be betrayed)
እንዴት ያማል
(How much it hurts)
ወርቅ ያበደረ
(He who lent gold)
ደርሶት አለት
(And received a rock in return)
እንዴት ይችላል
(How can he possibly)
ዝም ማለት
(Remain silent?)
ከነገ ዛሬ
(Better today than tomorrow)
ይሻል ባልኩኝ
(I said to myself)
የራሴን ጩኸት ተነጠኩኝ
(But my own cry was snatched from me)
ተጣላሁና ከውንዜ አድባር
(I quarreled with the spirits of my river)
እንዴት ልታረቅ ከራሴ ጋር
(How can I reconcile with myself?)
አዲስ አበባ
(Addis Ababa)
አዶ ሸገሩ
(The beautiful Sheger)
እንኳን ሸገሩ
(Not just Sheger)
የሁሉ አይደል ወይ
(Is it not for everyone?)
ሞላው ሀገሩ
(The whole country)
በፍቅር ጠርተን
(We called out in love)
ከዳር እስከዳር
(From border to border)
መሀል ገቡና
(They entered the middle)
አቆሙን ከዳር
(And pushed us to the edge)
ባቆዩት ሀገር
(In the country preserved)
ጀግኖች በአንድነት በአርበኝነት
(By heroes in unity and patriotism)
እንዴት ይገፋ ኢትዮጵያዊነት
(How can "Ethiopianness" be pushed aside?)
ኢትዮጲያዊነት
(Ethiopianness)
ጀግኖች ሞተውላት
(Heroes died for her)
በመርዝ ጋዝ ነፍረው
(Blistered by poison gas)
ተንገብግበው በእሳት
(Searing in the fire)
ዘመን ተገላብጦ
(Times having turned upside down)
እንዴት አቀርቅሬ
(How can I bow my head)
ባንዲራዬን ላንሳት
(As I lift my flag?)
የኢትዮጵያ አርበኞች
(Ethiopian patriots)
የጥንት አርበኞች
(Patriots of old)
እነ አናብስቱ
(Those lions)
ሲረገጥ ባንዲራው
(When the flag is trampled)
ገና አሁን ሞት
(Only now is it death)
ካለቦታው ሲሆን
(When it is out of place)
ወርቅ አይደለምና ዝምታ
(Silence is not gold)
ለበግም አልበጃት
(It did not benefit the sheep)
አስራ ሁለት ሆና
(Though they were twelve)
አንድ ነብር ፈጃት
(One leopard finished them)
ተው ተው ተው ተው ተው
(Stop, stop, stop, stop, stop)
ዳስ ጣል ልቤ ደስ ጣል
(Pitch the tent, my heart, pitch the tent)
ከዚህ በላይ ሀዘን
(Grief beyond this)
ከዚህ በላይ መርዶ
(Tragic news beyond this)
ከወዴት ይመጣል
(From where would it come?)
ፍቅርን ብዬ እንጂ
(It is for the sake of love)
ተግቼ ለሰላም እኔስ መታገሴ
(That I diligently persevered for peace)
መች ከሀገር ይበልጣል
(When would it ever exceed the country)
እኔስ አንድ ነብሴ
(My own single soul?)
ወይድ አንተ አትንገረኝ ማንነቷን
(Begone! You, don't tell me who she is)
ምጥ አታስተምርም ልጅ እናቷን
(A child doesn't teach her mother about labor)
ወይድ አታስቆጥረኝ ደም አጥንቴን
(Begone! Don't try to count my blood and bones)
እኔ አውቀው የለም ወይ ማንነቴን
(Do I not know my own identity?)
ወይድ አንተ ላንሳበት ባንዲራዬን
(Begone! Let me lift my flag for her)
አረንጓዴ ቢጫ ቀይ አርማዬን
(My green, yellow, and red emblem)
ባንዲራዬን (አንሳው)
(My flag! - Lift it!)
በል አንሳው (አንሳው)
(Go on, lift it! - Lift it!)
ወደላይ (አንሳው)
(Upwards! - Lift it!)