Growing up, I used to think Lionel Richie’s song “All Night Long” had a Kiswahili line, because what I used to hear was: “jambo nipe senti moja, eeeh kwa mpango…”
Man! Can you imagine the embarrassment if, in my honor and glory, I had sung that specific line to someone of the opposite gender, especially those who speak English impeccably and know the lyrics to almost every song?
Well, thank goodness last week I was listening to this podcast, and the conversation drifted to Lionel Richie and the making of the song “All Night Long.”
Lionel Richie is one of the greatest songwriters the world has seen. What endears his music to a wider fanbase worldwide are the simple, easy-to-remember lyrics. His music is used to teach English in some non-English speaking countries. In Shanghai, China, Richie’s music is part of the curriculum. Sample this: “Hello..”, “All Night Long”, “Say you, Say, Me…” “Endless Love..”
Now, specific to “All Night Long,” Richie had written the lyrics to a song and was struggling to find a hook. For three months, nothing he tried worked. He went on a vacation to Jamaica, and while there, he met his friend Lloyd Greg, a gynecologist, for dinner.
After dinner, and as they parted ways, Richie told Greig, “I am going back to work all night long…”
And that was the eureka moment. He paused and thought, “mmmmmm…all night long…”
Since a gynecologist was involved, did he probably tell Richie to build the golden bridge with the Mrs “All night long…” iiii weee….
Now, on that “Kiswahili” part of the song, well, it turns out that Richie had called his friend who worked at the United Nations, looking for inspiration on some African words he could inject into the song. His contact delayed in getting back to Richie, and since time was of the essence, he ended up concocting words that he thought sounded African:
“Tam bo li de say de moi ya….Hey Jambo Jumbo.”
Well, there is still some Kiswahili in the song, because we know in the first stanza Richie sings:
“We’re going to Party, Karamu, Fiesta, forever, Come on and sing along!
Isitoshe,
So you already know Richie’s United Nations contact was Kenyan, because who else talks about a party and calls it karamu!
May the day break
