New Music: Davido - Animashaun ft. Yonda (Lyrics & Translations)

New Music: Davido - Animashaun ft. Yonda (Lyrics & Translations)

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The term, "Animashaun," originates from the Yoruba language in Nigeria and it mainly refers to a person's name. It literally means "someone who has a lot of possessions and who is not stingy about sharing them."

The song, "Animashaun," by Nigerian singer-songwriter, Davido, comes from the artist's 2019 project, A Good Time. The charming tune features one of Davido's signed artists, Yonda, who can be heard delivering some of his best lyrics.

After the song was released in November 2019, it immediately went viral and currently has over half a million views on YouTube. "Animashaun" continues to show up on every Afrobeat playlist and you can't help but fall in love with its rich sound. Perhaps what's so captivating is the love-themed narrative where both singers assure a girl of enjoying the peace and serenity that is freely given by God if only the girl would choose to be with them.

Although the beat itself is enjoyable, because most of the song is in the Yoruba language, we present our translation behind the lyrics so that many more can listen and follow along. Enjoy!

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Disclaimer, this is not a full translation but we hope it is still helpful.

Lyrics & Translations:

Wo wo wo wo wo, Classic...

Yondrizzy,

OBO baddest,

Damn!!! Fresh

Animashaun ofe ni igbala,

[Animashaun salvation is free]

Gboro Oluwa,

[Hear the word of the Lord,]

Wa gba agbala itura, gboro Oluwa

[Come take/enjoy the garden/courtyard of relief, hear the word of the Lord]

Animashaun ofe ni igbala,

[Animashaun salvation is free,]

Gboro Oluwa,

[Hear the word of the Lord,]

Wa gba agbala itura, gboro Oluwa

[Come take/enjoy the garden/courtyard of relief, hear the word of the Lord]

Kate, your body language me relate

[Kate, I understand your body language]

Gbagbe gbogbo Mary Kay ati atike to wo

[Forget about the Mary Kay and the makeup powder you're wearing]

Me I no be Dauda wey no know say Mary Kay is a powder

[I'm not Dauda not to know that Mary Kay is a makeup powder. Dauda is a person's name, but is used in its 'funny' term here and refers to an 'illiterate' here.]

(??), Vannesa ma la e pa

[(??), Vanessa I will lick you to death ('to death' here is only literal and means 'so well')]

Nisi her head doing nini ni nini,

[Nisi's head is (working???)]

(??)

Baby please oya come be my fiancé, dey call me baby boy

[Baby please come and be my fiancé, and be calling me baby boy]

Pala-pala ilu apala, ewo ni fipa o

[Pala pala means 'Nonsense'; 'Apala' is a musical genre, originally derived from the Yoruba people in Nigeria. "Ilu apala" is the drumming style known as the "talking drum" style that accompanies the apala music genre. So our translation, 'The nonsense of "talking drum"...(ewo ni fipa o???)]

Kati-kati ma yapa l'enu akata

[Kati-kati means 'Nonsense' or 'gibberish'. Akata is used to refer to African-Americans. So our translation, 'The African-American’s mouth is full of gibberish']

Irukiru obe gbegiri pade ni igupa oo

[(??), no straightforward literal meaning/translation; however, obe gbegiri is a good type of Yoruba soup/sauce]

Lapa-lapa de yapa l'abe pata ah ah

[Literal meaning: There is a lot of ringworms (a skin fungal infection) under the pants (underwear). This is to say that someone has ringworms in their private area and/or buttocks.]

They call me Yonda, seresere

[seresere: playfully (literal)]

Animashaun ofe ni igbala, gboro Oluwa,

[Animashaun salvation is free, hear the word of the Lord,]

Wa gba agbala itura, gboro Oluwa

[Come take/enjoy the garden/courtyard of relief, hear the word of the Lord]

Animashaun ofe ni igbala, gboro Oluwa,

[Animashaun salvation is free, hear the word of the Lord,]

Wa gba agbala itura, gboro Oluwa

[Come take/enjoy the garden/courtyard of relief, hear the word of the Lord]

I say wait, duro na,

[duro means 'wait'; 'duro na' literally means 'wait first']

Baby let's take it back to the old school,

[Baby let's take it back to the old school,]

Those days when we dey shark Limca

[Those days we were drinking Limca]

With your short knicker

[With your short knicker]

Oh wait, I no wan read book,

[Oh wait, I didn't want to study,]

I use my leg waka comot school

[I walked away from school (I left school)]

Una dey laugh but una dey see me now,

[You were laughing, but you all see me now,]

Ma lo go, ma lowa o

[Don't dull it (or don't miss the point), don't come,]

Pala-pala, ilu apala, ewo ni fipa o,

['The nonsense of "talking drum"... (ewo ni fipa o???)]

Kati-kati ma yapa enu akata

['The Panther's mouth is full of gibberish']

Irukiru obe gbegiri pade bi gupa,

[(??), no straightforward literal meaning/translation; however, obe gbegiri is a good type of Yoruba soup/sauce]

Lapa-lapa de yapa l'abe pata eh

[There is a lot of ringworms (a skin fungal infection) under the pants (underwear)]

Davido dey here, Yonda baby boy, OBO dey here

[Davido is here, Yonda baby boy, OBO is here]

Animashaun ofe ni igbala, gboro Oluwa,

[Animashaun salvation is free, hear the word of the Lord,]

Wa gba agbala itura, gboro Oluwa

[Come take/enjoy the garden/courtyard of relief, hear the word of the Lord]

Animashaun ofe ni igbala, gboro Oluwa,

[Animashaun salvation is free, hear the word of the Lord,]

Wa gba agbala itura, gboro Oluwa

[Come take/enjoy the garden/courtyard of relief, hear the word of the Lord]

Pala-pala, ilu apala, ewo ni fipa o,

['The nonsense of "talking drum"... (ewo ni fipa o???)]

Kati-kati ma yapa enu akata

['The Panther's mouth is full of gibberish']

Irukiru obe gbegiri pade bi gupa,

[(??), no straightforward literal meaning/translation; however, obe gbegiri is a good type of Yoruba soup/sauce]

Lapa-lapa de yapa l'abe pata eh

[There is a lot of ringworms (a skin fungal infection) under the pants (underwear)]

Listen to more songs from Davido's A Good Time album on Spotify:

About the Author

Adeyemi A.


Adeyemi is a mathematician who enjoys writing about good music. To him, music is the best form of art.

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