Undel?

• By: Elida Almeida
• Album: Kebrada

Lyrics:

[]

[English]

Undê-l, mamá?

Where is he, Mom?

Undê-l, mamá, mamá?

Where is he, Mom, Mom?

Undê-l, mamá?

Where is he, Mom?

Undi omi di nha vida?

Where is the man of my life?

Undê-l, mamá?

Where is he, Mom?

Undê-l, mamá, mamá?

Where is he, Mom, Mom?

Undê-l, mamá?

Where is he, Mom?

Undi omi di nha vida?

Where is the man of my life?

Nhordés Nhu da-m un omi

Lord, give me a man

Ki ka ta bebi, ka ta fuma

Who doesn't drink, doesn't smoke

Nhordés Nhu da-m un omi

Lord, give me a man

Ki ka ta ranja rapariga

Who doesn't mess with other girls

Libra-m di tudu xulu

Deliver me from all scoundrels

Di bazofu petolu

From arrogant players

Libra-m di zangalion

Deliver me from womanizers

Ki ka bali ki ka npresta

Who are worthless and useless

Undê-l, mamá?

Where is he, Mom?

Undê-l, mamá, mamá?

Where is he, Mom, Mom?

Undê-l, mamá?

Where is he, Mom?

Undi omi di nha vida?

Where is the man of my life?

Undê-l, mamá?

Where is he, Mom?

Undê-l, mamá, mamá?

Where is he, Mom, Mom?

Undê-l, mamá?

Where is he, Mom?

Undi omi di nha vida?

Where is the man of my life?

Ami N ka mesti azaradu na nha vida

I don't need a loser in my life

Ami N ka mesti nin un xulu pa xula-m

I don't need even one scoundrel to play me

Pa mi rakola, [...]

For me to recover,

Pa ka bai pa-m fika li ta txora

So he doesn't leave me here crying

Nhordés Nhu da-m un omi

Lord, give me a man

Ki sabi entra, sabi sai

Who knows how to come and go well

Nhordés Nhu da-m un omi

Lord, give me a man

Ki ka ta rangui na mudjer

Who doesn't complain about women

Libra-m di tudu xulu

Deliver me from all scoundrels

Di bazofu petolu

From arrogant players

Libra-m di zangalion

Deliver me from womanizers

Ki ka bali ki ka npresta

Who are worthless and useless

Undê-l, mamá?

Where is he, Mom?

Undê-l, mamá, mamá?

Where is he, Mom, Mom?

Undê-l, mamá?

Where is he, Mom?

Undi omi di nha vida?

Where is the man of my life?

Undê-l, mamá?

Where is he, Mom?

Undê-l, mamá, mamá?

Where is he, Mom, Mom?

Undê-l, mamá?

Where is he, Mom?

Undi omi di nha vida?

Where is the man of my life?

Undê-l, mamá?

Where is he, Mom?

Undê-l, mamá, mamá?

Where is he, Mom, Mom?

Undê-l, mamá?

Where is he, Mom?

Undi omi di nha vida?

Where is the man of my life?

Undê-l, mamá?

Where is he, Mom?

Undê-l, mamá, mamá?

Where is he, Mom, Mom?

Undê-l, mamá?

Where is he, Mom?

Vocabulary in this song:

Vocabulary	Meanings
mamá /maˈma/ A1	noun - mom
omi /ɔˈmi/ A1	noun - man
vida /ˈvi.da/ A1	noun - life
bebi /beˈbi/ A1	verb - to drink
fuma /ˈfu.ma/ A2	verb - to smoke
rapariga /ʁɐ.paˈɾi.ɣɐ/ B1	noun - girl
xulu /ʃuˈlu/ Unknown	noun - scoundrel, bad person (context-dependent)
bazofu /baˈzo.fu/ Unknown	adjective - boastful, arrogant
petolu /peˈto.lu/ Unknown	adjective - similar to 'bazofu', meaning boastful
zangalion /zaŋ.gaˈli.on/ Unknown	noun - A cunning, deceitful person
azaradu /ɐ.zaˈɾa.du/ Unknown	adjective - Unlucky
rakola /raˈkɔ.la/ Unknown	verb - To pick up, to gather (context-dependent)
txora /tʃɔ.ʁa/ A1	verb - To cry
sabi /saˈbi/ A1	verb - To know (how)
mudjer /muˈdʒɛɾ/ A1	noun - Woman

Grammar:

• Undê-l, mamá?

  ➔ Interrogative sentence structure with ellipsis. Question word implied from context.

  ➔ The sentence directly translates to 'Where is it, Mom?'. "Undê-l" (likely a Creole word from Cape Verdean Creole) acts as 'where is it/he/she?'. The specific subject is understood to be the missing man.

• Undi omi di nha vida?

  ➔ Interrogative sentence structure using 'Undi' (where) to inquire about the location of 'omi di nha vida' (the man of my life). Possession is indicated by 'di'.

  ➔ This translates to 'Where is the man of my life?'. 'Undi' means where, 'omi' means man, 'di' indicates possession (of), and 'nha vida' means my life.

• Nhordés Nhu da-m un omi

  ➔ Imperative request/prayer structure. 'Da-m' is a contraction meaning 'give me'. 'Un omi' means 'a man'.

  ➔ This translates to 'Lord God, give me a man'. It's a direct plea to a higher power.

• Ki ka ta bebi, ka ta fuma

  ➔ Relative clause introduced by 'Ki' (that/who). Negative construction using 'ka ta' followed by the verb. Repeated pattern.

  ➔ This means 'Who doesn't drink, doesn't smoke'. 'Ki' introduces the clause, 'ka ta' is the negation, 'bebi' means drink, and 'fuma' means smoke.

• Libra-m di tudu xulu

  ➔ Imperative verb 'Libra-m' (free me) followed by 'di' (from) and 'tudu xulu' (all bad things/trash). 'Di' indicates separation/removal.

  ➔ This translates to 'Free me from all trash'. 'Libra-m' is a command to be freed, 'di' indicates 'from', and 'tudu xulu' means 'all the trash/bad things'.

• Ki sabi entra, sabi sai

  ➔ Relative clause with elided relative pronoun. 'Sabi' (knows) repeated for emphasis, followed by verbs of movement 'entra' (enter) and 'sai' (exit).

  ➔ This means 'Who knows how to enter, knows how to exit'. The repetition of 'sabi' emphasizes the importance of this quality. It implies someone who's capable and responsible.