Arguably the greatest hit by a Senegalese musician, it was recorded alongside Swedish singer Neneh Cherry. Its lyrics are about the birth of a child. While Neneh’s vocals are in English only, N'Dour’s are in French and Wolof as well.
During 1994, the song topped singles charts in Finland, France, I...
[Verse 1: Youssou N'Dour]
Boul ma sene, boul ma guiss madi re nga fokni mane
Khamouma li neka thi sama souf ak thi guinaw
Beugouma kouma khol dal diné yaw li neka si yaw
Mo ne si mane, li ne si mane moye dilene diapale
[Verse 2: Neneh Cherry]
Roughness and rudeness we should be using
On the ones who practice wicked charms
For the sword and the stone, bad to the bone
Battle is not over, even when it's won
And when a child is born into this world
It has no concept of the tone of skin it's living in
[Chorus: Neneh Cherry & Youssou N’Dour]
It's not a second
We're seven seconds away
Or just as long as I stay
I'll be waiting
It's not a second
We're seven seconds away
Or just as long as I stay
I'll be waiting
[Post-Chorus: Neneh Cherry & Youssou N’Dour]
I'll be waiting
I'll be waiting
[Verse 3: Youssou N'Dour]
J'assume les raisons qui nous poussent de changer tout
J'aimerais qu'on oublie leurs couleurs pour qu'ils espèrent
Beaucoup de sentiments de races qui font qu'ils désespèrent
Je veux les deux mains ouvertes
Des amis pour parler de leurs peines, et de leur joie
Pour qu'ils leur aient des infos qui ne divisent pas—
[Chorus: Youssou N’Dour, Neneh Cherry & Youssou N’Dour]
Changez!
Seven seconds away
Or just as long as I stay
I'll be waiting
It's not a second
We're seven seconds away
Or just as long as I stay
I'll be waiting
[Post-Chorus: Neneh Cherry & Youssou N’Dour]
I'll be waiting
I'll be waiting
[Violin Solo]
[Bridge: Neneh Cherry & Youssou N’Dour]
And when a child is born into this world
It has no concept of the tone of skin it's living in
And there's a million voices
And there's a million voices
To tell you what you should be thinking
So you better sober up
[Chorus: Neneh Cherry & Youssou N’Dour]
For just a second
We're seven seconds away
Or just as long as I stay
I'll be waiting (Woah-woah)
It's not a second
We're seven seconds away
Or just as long as I stay
I'll be waiting
It's not a second (Woah-woah, yeah)
We're seven seconds away
Just as long as I stay
I'll be waiting
It's not a second
We're seven seconds away
Or just as long as I stay
I'll be waiting
It's not a second
We're seven seconds away
For just as long as I stay
I'll be waiting
7 Seconds was written by Jonathan Sharp & Booga Bear & Youssou N’Dour & Neneh Cherry.
7 Seconds was produced by Booga Bear & Jonathan Sharp.
Youssou N’Dour released 7 Seconds on Tue Jun 07 1994.
Wolof, a West African language.
Don’t see me from a distance, don’t look at my smile
And think that I don’t know what’s under and behind me
I don’t want you to look at me and think
What’s in you is in me, what’s in me is to help them