What Does The Ghanaian Song "Tue Tue" REALLY Mean?

Edited by Azizi Powell

Anyone searching for a translation of the Ghanaian song "Tue Tue" (also known as "Tue Tue Barima" is bound to be very confused because there are widely conflicting translations of this song online.

As of June 29, 2012 there are ten YouTube videos of American [?] children singing "Tue Tue". There's also one video of a woman playing "Tue Tue" on the recorder. In all of these renditions of "Tue Tue" the tune is the same and the words vary only slightly. In most of these videos, "Tue Tue" is performed as a "round", and the tempo for a few of those renditions is faster than the tempo for other renditions.

Click http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2013/07/videos-of-song-tue-tue.html for a post which showcases five videos of "Tue Tue".

What all those posting videos & lyrics to this song agree on is that "Tue Tue" is an African song. All but one of the examples of this song that I've found to date indicate that "Tue Tue" is a Ghanaian song. That lone example is a version of this song entitled "Tue Tue Mareema" which purports to be from the Republic of Guinea. [Information about that song is found with Example #1 below.]

Some sites describe "Tue Tue" as a "traditional Ghanaian folk song" while others categorize it as a "Ghanaian children's song" - these song categories aren't always the same thing. Many websites which include lyrics for "Tue Tue" add the name of an arranger for that particular version of that song. No composer's name is given for this song which may suggest that it really is a traditional folk song. Also, I've yet to find information on how & when this song became known to English speaking people in the United States and elsewhere.

This post provides six text examples of "Tue Tue" that I've found on the internet, along with the meaning that those contributors gave to this song. Those meanings are given in italics to highlight that statement.

These examples are representative of the widely varying meanings that have been given to this song. I use the word "meanings" instead of "translations" because it's my sense that those adults who have taught this song were more interested in identifying a song that met their multicultural need for an African children's song with a lively rhythm & spirit than they were in determining what the individual words of the song might actually mean. That is fine if you believe that the words to the song have no actually meaning as is the case with Example #3 given below. But it seems to me that if the individual words of this song do indeed have a specific meaning in the Akan/Twi language from which the song is suppose to come, then we do children a disservice by "making up" a feel good meaning for those words & that song. Instead of using that opportunity to teach children something about a particular African language, teachers may be introducing or reinforcing the idea that Africans speak "gibberish".

Furthermore, if these examples are adaptations of a traditional Ghanaian song, then it seems to me that teachers should specify what the adaptations are. For example, since so many of these examples specify singing in a "round", children might believe that that style of singing is the way that song was traditionally sung in Ghana. But is that true? Also, accompanying this song with body pats might give children the impression that this song-and perhaps all African songs- are supposed to have such accompaniment. But is that true?

These concerns wouldn't be problematic if multiple examples of "African" songs were taught to children in American schools. However, that certainly isn't true. Given that "Tue Tue Barima" might be the only African song or one of very few other African songs that non-African children learn, it seems to me that we owe it to those children to make sure that the information shared about that song are correct. I believe that efforts should be made to ensure that the words of the song being taught are accurate. And indeed those words appear to be relatively consistent in the examples that I've found. But I'm far less concerned about getting the words "right" than I am about "fudging" a feel good meaning for this song, or indicating that the song is a nonsense song whose words have no meaning, if those particular words- or some of those words- actually do mean something in the language from which the song comes.

These examples are not presented in any order of preference. Notice that in each of these examples no English words are sung.

Example #1:
[These lyrics came from a person who identified himself or herself as Ghanaian]
"Mawuli wrote:
March 20th, 2010 at 7:47 am

My dear, l am a ghanaian from the EWE tribe of Ghana.and your request is an ASHANTI language which l speak very well.
the right sentence will be/—- DUE DUE BARIMA DUE DUE
ABOFRA BA AMA WA DA WA
DUE DUE.

Simply means SORRY SENIOR MAN SORRY, THIS SMALL BOY HAD MADE YOU FALLEN FLAT SORRY SORRY.

English translation:
1.DUE DUE means sorry sorry
2.BARIMA means a man/young man/boy–(simply a male.
3.ABOFRA BA means a young boy/young girl.
4.AMA WA DA WAA means you have fallen flat or helpless.

Source: http://www.mamalisa.com/blog/can-anyone-help-with-the-song-tue-tue-from-ghana/ [hereafter known as Mama Lisa: Tue Tue]

For what it's worth, the name "Mawuli" is a Ghanaian Ewe name which means "God exists".

On another page http://www.mamalisa.com/?t=es&p=3174&c=36, that site editor also credits Mawuli and wrote that "This song is spelled "Tue Tue Barima" or "Due Due Barima". The pronunciation is "doo-way doo-way".

On still another Mama Lisa page http://www.mamalisa.com/?t=es&p=3435&c=246, a contributor named Abi shared the very similar lyrics for a song entitled "Tue Tue Mareema". Abi also wrote that "I understand you have found a Ghanaian version of this song and you might find this information below of interest as well, as I know many versions exist of most African songs as it is, after all, the natural outcome of a mostly aural tradition.

...this is a song which accompanies the Moribyassa rhythm of the Malinke people from Northeast Guinea"."
-snip-
I'm not that concerned that there are slight changes in the lyrics of "Tue Tue" in the examples of that song that I've found online. What does raise my doubts about the African authenticity of the internet versions of this song that I've found- are the widely diverging meanings that have been given to this song's lyrics.

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Example #2:
..."anyone here know of the song/game Tue Tue? (pronounced "too-ay too-ay")

Tue Tue, barima tue tue (repeat)
Ambasa dow, ama dowa dowa tue tue (repeat)
Barima tue tue

(a little girl is selling rice cakes in the marketplace)

Children stand in a circle, performing a complicated hand clapping pattern:
clap twice
pat legs twice
clap twice
pat partner's hands twice
clap twice
pat legs twice
clap twice
pat neighbor's hands (person on the child's other side) twice

According to my source, this is done whilst side-stepping around the circle! My 5th graders can manage the patschen but only one group several years ago could add the footwork!

I learned this from Carolyn Parrott, director of the women's chorus Songweavers in Concord, NH. The year they performed this they had a woman from Ghana in the audience who came up to Carolyn after the concert with tears in her eyes, saying they had sung it exactly as she remembered it as a child. "
-Allison; 27 Jan 08 - 07:03 PM
Source: http://www.mudcat.org/thread.cfm?threadid=108069&messages=60#2246567 [hereafter known as Mudcat: Tue Tue]
-snip-
Notice that the Ghanaian woman indicated that the song was sung the same way that she remembered it. This might mean that the tune & the words [but not the performance movements] were the same. Also, the blogger didn't write that the Ghanaian woman agreed with the statement about the song's meaning.

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Example #3
"...With that, I'll leave you with the song that caused all the uproar among my students - Tue Tue, a nonsense song from Ghana.

Tue tue barima tue tue
Tue tue barima tue tue
Abofroda, ama dawa dawa tue tue
Abofroda, ama dawa dawa tue tue
Barima tue tue .... tue tue.

Consider adding two claps after the first and second lines. This song can also be sung in a round.
-Posted by MegMcelweeeatSaturday, May 26, 2007
Source: http://montessoribyhand.blogspot.com/2007/05/saturday-song-tue-tue.html

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Example #4
Tue Tue (A round from Ghana proclaiming gratitude for food at harvest time)
Tue tue barima tue tue (Repeat)
A maza bo amma dawa dawa tue tue
A maza bo amma dawa dawa tue tue
Barima tue tue Barima tue tue
Tue Tue (Ghana)
Tue tue Berima tue tue
[tue tue bE Ri ma tue tue]
Abofuma amanawae tue tue
[a bo fu ma a ma na wa ye tue tue]

Source: http://www.bluejamcumbria.com/public_html/vocalunion/info/tue%20tue%20notes.pdf

Example #5
Traditional Ghanaian folksong, arr. Rachel Wadham
Yam it up! Tue, Tue is a traditional Ghanaian song about harvesting. This would fit perfectly into Harvest Festival assemblies and can be used to explore food and farming in Ghana
Tue tue Tue tue
Tue tue Tue tue
Abo fra ba a-ma da wa da wa tue tue
Abo fra ba a-ma da wa da wa tue tue
Tue tue Tue tue
Tue tue Tue tue

English translation:
We are thanful for our harvest
Do you want to come down to Ghana
Do you want to come along, brother
As we travel we'll sing our happy song
Source: http://www.oxfam.org.uk/~/media/Files/Education/Resources/Sing%20up/7_Tue_Tue.ashx

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Example #6
"TUE TUE

Tue tue, barima tue tue

Tue tue, barima tue tue

Abofra ba ama dawa dawa

Tue tue

Abofra ba ama dawa dawa
Tue tue

Barima tue tue

Barima tue tue

Barima tue tue


There are many different languages spoken in Ghana. Although the words of this song come from a combination of languages and have no particular meaning, they are rhythmic and up tempo. It is important to sing this song with lots of energy and spirit."

Source: http://nyuchildrenschorus.wordpress.com/2012/09/19/lyrics/.
-snip-
If the words to "Tue Tue" are made up of a combination of languages from Ghana, what are those languages, and why would a song whose words have no particular meaning -as is noted above- need to be made up from a combination of languages?

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RESULTS OF ONLINE AKAN (TWI) TO ENGLISH TRANSLATION
It occurred to me that an online Akan to English translation feature could determine which -if any- of the translations given above for the song "Tue Tue" were accurate. Here's the results of my translation efforts using http://www.ghanaweb.com/GhanaHomePage/tribes/translate_english_to_twi.php
[The Akan/Twi word is given first followed by its English translation.]

tue - [no English translation]
due due - condolences
barima - young boy
abofra (bofra) - child
Ama (ama) girl born on Saturday
wa - yɛ (yɛ) was
waa (waa) strip
da wa – never strip
da - never; not, rarely, seldom etc
-snip-
These translations seemed to me to be close to Example #1's translation with the big exception of the line "Ama Wa Da Waa" (whose meaning the Ghanaian contributor Mawuli gave as "you have fallen flat or helpless".

I tried to find the Akan words for "helpless" and for "fall":
helpless - no English translation
fall - powbere
-snip-
I then looked up the Akan word for "weak" as I thought that was close to the meaning of the word "helpless".
weak - bosaa; guahaa; mberɛw
-snip-
I then looked up the meaning of the English word "strip":
http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/strip
"strip
transitive verb
1
a: to remove clothing, covering, or surface matter from
b: to deprive of possessions
c: to divest of honors, privileges, or functions
2
a: to remove extraneous or superficial matter
b: to remove furniture, equipment, or accessories
-snip-
If a word of that last line in this song means "strip", I wonder if "2a", does that line mean "removing all obstacles from the person's path?

I also didn't find any results for falling down or flatthat were spelled like the words in that line from Example #1.

I then looked up Akan words that pertain to the harvest, thanks food themes that are mentioned in some of the "translations" of "Tue Tue" that are given above:
Harvest – [no translation result]
food - eduane, ediban, eduan
rice - mo
cake - keeki
praise - ayeyi
thank - aseda
to thank (thank) { da ase } verb; show appreciation

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CONCLUSIONS
It seems that the translation given in Example #1 is the most accurate. However, the meaning of that last line "Ama wa da waa" is still unclear. If this is the "right" English translation for this song, and is this song "just" an apology to someone for making them trip & fall, or is this truly a nonsense song? I'm not sure, but from the results of those Akan to English translations, "Tue Tue" doesn't appear to be a song about selling rice cakes. Nor does those translations support the theories that "Tue Tue" is a harvest song about giving thanks. And does it matter that the meaning isn't as warm & feel good as those "harvest song, praise for food" type meanings? I wonder if the desire for such a "feel good" meaning was the impetus for the creation of another meaning for this song beyond what it may really mean.

The widely diverging meanings given to "Tue Tue" makes me question the authenticity of this song. Is "Tue Tue" a real African song? If so, how was it actually sung in Ghana and/or any other African nation which might have variant forms of this song?

Although I like the spirit & the sound of the song "Tue Tue", if I were a music teacher, I'd be reluctant to teach this song to children until I knew for certain just what the words of that song really mean.

I'd love it if any folks who know Akan/Twi & English would confirm [in English] what the Akan lyrics for "Tue Tue" really are and what that song truly means. Thanks in advance.

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Thanks to all those who I've quoted.

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