I’ve been getting sucked into Treme on HBO (and enjoying Patrick and Josh’s in-depth discussions), so thought I’d link to this interesting take on the meaning of the famous refrain “jacomo fi-na-ne.” The Grateful Dead and its fans rendered the song’s chorus as “Hey now, Hey now, Aiko Aiko all day,” but this is it in Louisiana Creole:
Ena! Ena!
Akout! Akout an dèyè!
Jacomo fi nou wa nan né
Jacomo fi nan né
Akout! Akout an dèyè!
Jacomo fi nou wa nan né
Jacomo fi nan né
Rough translation:
Hey now! Hey now!
Listen! Listen! at the rear!
Jacomo gave life to our King
Jacomo made it happen
Listen! Listen! at the rear!
Jacomo gave life to our King
Jacomo made it happen
Jacomo may in fact be Jacquemot, a diminutive for Jacques (like Pierrot for Pierre), or something like this. But no one really knows. More details — many, many, many more details — at the link.
One Comment
I like your translation. Why not the regular French (I hope I get it right.)
Akout! Akout an dèyè!
Ecoute Ecoute en derrière.
Jocomo fee nou wa nan né.
Jocomo fait notre roi un né.
Jocomo made our king a birth.
Jocomo gave life to our king.