– This refrain came from a Yoruba tale told by the moonlight, about the child who had a misfortune, due to lack of agreement between her parents.
Alanteree o,
Anteree!
Alanteree o,
Anteree!
Iya ni npa’le de’un,
Anteree!
Baba ni npa’le de’un,
Anteree!
Mo mu’le mo pa ro’in,
Anteree!
Mo m’odede mo pa ro’in,
Anteree!
Iya ni nb’omi’le we’ra,
Anteree!
Baba ni nr’odo lo we,
Anteree!
Mo d’odo mo b’Oluweri,
Anteree!
Mo d’odo mo b’orisa meta,
Anteree!
Okan f’oju, okan y’aro,
Anteree!
Okan to’ku s’eti gboin,
Anteree!
T’e ba de’le o,
Anteree!
E ba mi ki iya mi,
Anteree!
E ba mi ki baba mi,
Anteree!
E so po d’arinako,
Anteree!
E so po d’oju ala o,
Anteree!
Alanteree o,
Antereeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!
(ENGLISH TRANSLATION BY DELE AJAJA)
Oh! Alantere,
Antere!
Oh! Alantere,
Antere!
Mother instructed me to polish the house,
Antere!
Father instructed me to polish the house,
Antere!
I polished and made the house shine,
Antere!
I glossed the lounge and made it shine,
Antere!
Mother requested me to bath with the water at home,
Antere!
Father insisted I should bath at the stream,
Antere!
I arrived and saw Oluweri (the river spirit) at the stream,
Antere!
There were three spirits at the stream altogether,
Antere!
One was sightless, the other was crippled,
Antere!
And the third was deaf,
Antere!
When you return home,
Antere!
Deliver greetings to my mother,
Antere!
Deliver greetings to my father,
Antere!
Say they could only see my apparition, henceforth,
Antere!
Say they could only see me in their dreams, hereafter,
Antere!
Oh! Alantere,
Antereeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!
IMAGE: Alantere (for illustration only.)
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