Translation of the song lyrics Remember - IAM, Femi Kuti

Remember (original)

J’veux les miens libres, de voir et de dire
De pleurer, de rire, de tomber, de se relever et pouvoir repartir
Fini de subir, libre de choisir
De grandir, d’oublier et de redécouvrir
Bien au-delà de ce qu’on nous enseigne, doute et peur entrent en scène
Tant de cœurs, tant de chaînes
On dit que la vie est une chienne, il n’y a plus qu'à la dresser
Agressés de toutes parts, ils aimeraient voir nos fois s’affaisser
Nos poings se baisser, résignés comme l’oiseau blessé
Mais l’horizon appelle notre ADN, pousse à lui céder
A chaque instant obsédés
On recherche l’infini sans barrières, sans limites, sans matériel à posséder
Ils veulent fermer nos esprits, on fera sauter les scellés
On fera l’inverse de ce qu’ils disent, unis et pas isolés
La liberté c’est une chemise qu’on aimerait tous enfiler
Mais quand elle se change en armure, beaucoup pensent à se défiler
Vas-y, cours
Te retourne pas, cours
Fais comme le vent, cours
Les écoute pas, cours
Regarde devant, cours
Relève la tête, cours
Ouvre les yeux, cours
Embrasse le monde
Et sois ce que tu veux
Make we remember, these things Fela talk you
Oh Fela talk you
Make we remember, these things Kwame Nkrumah talk you
Oh Kwame Nkrumah talk you
On se souvient de ce que Malcom nous a légué
Et l’héritage que Martin Luther nous a laissé
Make we remember, these things Marcus Garvey talk you
Oh, Marcus Garvey talk you
Make we remember, these things Lumumba talk you
Oh, Lumumba talk you
Make we remember, these things Malcom X talk you
Oh, Malcom X talk you
Make we remember, these things Martin Luther talk you
Oh, Martin Luther talk you
Make we remember, these things Sankara talk you
Oh, Sankara talk you
Make we remember, these things Mandela talk you
Oh, Mandela talk you
Remember
Chacun de nos sons aiguisés
Scient des bareaux, dansent ensemble sur le carreau
On sait que la vérité n’est pas celle des gourous paros
Pourquoi je changerais?
Mon opinion est celle d’avant
On bouge tous à la même cadence, le but final c’est chiller
Mon assiette vide n’a pas rempli mon cœur de haine, non
Elle m’a montré le chemin pour défaire mes chaînes, bon
Seuls, libres, sans milice, je vois tous ces gens se fliquer
Cachés derrière un sobriquet, dire que le méchant c’est Mickey
Le crime est commis chez le doc, quand il gave l’ordonnance
On chie sur notre part de monde, pour avoir notre part de France
Et ils se paient le vivant, on sacrifie le vivre ensemble
En validant de la merde posés sur le divan
Ça mystifie la justice, la force devient l’héroïne
D’un exode sans peuple avec des milliers de Moïse
Des faux prophètes égoïstes lâches envers l’univers
Tout ça se finira sous un déluge d’astéroïdes
On court ensemble car seuls ils marchent pour le mauvais
On pense futur, sans vendre notre cul pour le progrès
On se souvient de ce que Mandela a légué
Et de ce que Bob nous enseignait dans ses reggaes
Make we remember, these things Fela talk you
Oh Fela talk you
Make we remember, these things Kwame Nkrumah talk you
Oh Kwame Nkrumah talk you
On se souvient de ce que Fela nous a légué
Et l’héritage que nous a laissé Marcus Garvey
Make we remember, these things Marcus Garvey talk you
Oh, Marcus Garvey talk you
Make we remember, these things Lumumba talk you
Oh, Lumumba talk you
Make we remember, these things Malcom X talk you
Oh, Malcom X talk you
Make we remember, these things Martin Luther talk you
Oh, Martin Luther talk you
Make we remember, these things Sankara talk you
Oh, Sankara talk you
Make we remember, these things Mandela talk you
Oh, Mandela talk you

Remember (translation)

I want mine free, to see and to say
To cry, to laugh, to fall, to get up and to be able to go again
No more suffering, free to choose
To grow, to forget and to rediscover
Far beyond what we are taught, doubt and fear enter the scene
So many hearts, so many chains
They say life is a female dog, all you have to do is train it
Attacked from all sides, they would like to see our times go down
Our fists drop, resigned like the wounded bird
But the horizon calls our DNA, pushes us to yield to it
Every moment obsessed
We seek infinity without barriers, without limits, without equipment to possess
They wanna close our minds, we'll break the seals
We'll do the opposite of what they say, united and not isolated
Freedom is a shirt we all wanna wear
But when she changes into armor, many think of slipping away
Go ahead, run
Don't look back, run
Do like the wind, run
Don't listen to them, run
Look ahead, run
Raise your head, run
Open your eyes, run
Embrace the world
And be what you want
Make we remember, these things Fela talk you
Oh Fela talk you
Make we remember, these things Kwame Nkrumah talk you
Oh Kwame Nkrumah talk you
We remember what Malcom left us
And the legacy that Martin Luther left us
Make we remember, these things Marcus Garvey talk you
Oh, Marcus Garvey talk you
Make we remember, these things Lumumba talk you
Oh, Lumumba talk you
Make we remember, these things Malcom X talk you
Oh, Malcom X talk you
Make we remember, these things Martin Luther talk you
Oh, Martin Luther talk you
Make we remember, these things Sankara talk you
Oh, Sankara talk you
Make we remember, these things Mandela talk you
Oh, Mandela talk you
Remember
Each of our sharp sounds
Saw some rungs, dance together on the tile
We know that the truth is not that of the paros gurus
Why would I change?
My opinion is that of before
We all move at the same pace, the end goal is to chill
My empty plate didn't fill my heart with hate, no
She showed me the way to undo my chains, well
Alone, free, no militia, I see all these people coping
Hiding behind a nickname, saying the bad guy is Mickey
The crime is committed at the doc's house, when he force-feeds the prescription
We shit on our part of the world, to have our part of France
And they pay for the living, we sacrifice the living together
Validating shit laying on the couch
It mystifies the justice, the force becomes the heroine
Of a peopleless exodus with thousands of Moses
Selfish false prophets cowardly towards the universe
This will all end in a deluge of asteroids
We run together 'cause only they walk for the bad
We think about the future, without selling our ass for progress
We remember what Mandela left behind
And what Bob taught us in his reggae
Make we remember, these things Fela talk you
Oh Fela talk you
Make we remember, these things Kwame Nkrumah talk you
Oh Kwame Nkrumah talk you
We remember what Fela left us
And the legacy left to us by Marcus Garvey
Make we remember, these things Marcus Garvey talk you
Oh, Marcus Garvey talk you
Make we remember, these things Lumumba talk you
Oh, Lumumba talk you
Make we remember, these things Malcom X talk you
Oh, Malcom X talk you
Make we remember, these things Martin Luther talk you
Oh, Martin Luther talk you
Make we remember, these things Sankara talk you
Oh, Sankara talk you
Make we remember, these things Mandela talk you
Oh, Mandela talk you