Chaghaybou from Emmaar by Tinariwen

God can bear witness when I think of Chaghaybou,

The pain in the stomach that takes hold of me

Has no other remedy than a heart-to-heart with him late a night.

I love him and I love those he loves, into the life beyond.

I pine for those handsome and brave wearers of double turbans!

Amongst them Ahmad, Hamad Ahad and their friend, Chaghaybou:

The same who dine on grilled ram.

When I glimpse him dressed in his beautiful robes

Smelling of a mixture of perfumes…

His headdress crested, giving him the air of gazelles

That race through dunes strewn with desert gourds.

If only I could become a stand in his mother’s tent,

That way I would never miss a moment he inhabits

Especially those when his mother is teaching him Tifinagh

In the sand.

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