EarCandy #6 - Duna Ma Yelema by Boubacar Traoré and Ali Farka Touré

Man, music is a feeling. Language has no boundaries when its words are surrounded by rhythm. Duna Ma Yelema by Boubacar Traoré and Ali Farka Touré is a perfect example of this. Duna Ma Yelema demonstrates the beautiful flow of music and words and how the world perceives them. 

The title: Duna Ma Yelema translates to The World Won’t Change. This struck me because the song does not give me the same feeling of despair and hardship. Then as I thought more, songs are made for beauty and satisfaction, revealing a level of acceptance and respect for the difficulties of everyday life. Though life is rough, we try our hardest to keep it smooth - and music is an example of that. 

After Duna Ma Yelema found its way into my shuffle, it opened some doors. Doors that I hope stay open after my excitement of finding a new genre of music has faded. Those doors are just the entrance to a big ass house: the house of Desert Blues. The name alone got me excited. Cause I love American blues. Though I’ve never really been to a desert, I bet the blues that come out of sand dunes are enough to fill a camel's back and water the cacti along the way to my front step.

I have noticed when I am sad, or mad, or anything but happy, I listen to music that reflects my emotion. It brings beauty to ugliness. It brings a feeling of companionship. Though hardships are common and exhausting, they are inevitable. This inevitability can be comforting following acceptance. Because following hardship is the inevitability of its rebound. A rebound to something better. And just as a lyric in the song suggests: “Duna ma yelema, bi ma de yelema,” Which means: “The world does not change, it is the people of today that have changed,”. I took this to mean, you’re in control of your life. If you do not like it, change it. 

If you look up the song on Youtube, I feel a yearning to be there. While they sit in a warm looking building, with the desert sun lighting the yellow brick behind them; strumming a melody that sings along to the lyrics, holding a cigarette in between the strumming fingers; you can feel though life is heavy, it is as light as you make it. The sand under their tapping feet feels the music. And though life doesn’t change, we do. 

We wake up, work, eat, and sleep. The cycle seems endless, and sometimes is tiring. But change does come with perspective. Music is made out of struggle; digging post holes isn’t too much fun until you build a fence out of them; seeing each baby cow take their first steps, jumps, and falls makes me laugh, even early in the morning; seeing each baby cow come so close to life, just to die during birth, is heart stomping. I try to walk lightly, and with humor, because when I step on a nail, it won't hurt as bad.

Duna Ma Yelema by Boubacar Traoré and Ali Farka Touré