I wish I could sing well. I have to settle, though, for singing through the oboe and using my voice only with students (poor things put up with me!) and at church, when not all are masters of the voice and yet we raise our voices in praise anyway. Meanwhile, I continue to listen and admire the human voice and I’m grateful for YouTube videos that make me both marvel and melt.

This will be today’s “marvel and melt” video (You will understand the title of this blog post if you read the lyrics.):

Westminster Chorus – GAGÒT by Sydney Guillaume (2014 ACDA Western Division Conference)

The text of “Gagòt” is written by Sydney’s father Gabriel T. Guillaume.. Here’s the complete text:

(English Poetic Translation)

Since I rose this morning I’ve gone through ups and downs,
Running around in circles like a crazy mad dog.
I speak, I sing, I sleep, I rise;
I pray, I scream, it’s mess upon mess.

It’s a mess here, it’s a mess there,
A mess up, a mess down,
Mess everywhere, it’s mess upon mess.

Messy are my thoughts,
Messy are my actions,
Messy are my words,
Messy is my vision.

Everything is entangled:
Pain and joy, doubt and faith,
Disgust and hope, good and evil.
My head is spinning and spinning,
Everything is entangled.
What a mess!

Morning after morning, I fight a battle;
The contredanse of life recommences daily.
I sing, I dance, I yell: “Hooray!”
Suddenly and swiftly I am back in a mess.

In the midst of this mess I decide to search,
To search for an understanding to what is happening.
I dig, I seek, and I finally find
In the very depth of my heart
The solution to this mess:

Life before death is a battle of every instant
That can not be won but one moment at a time.

After the night comes the day.
After the rain the sun rises.
After messes, after messes… the heart settles.
It’s striving in suffering that brings redemption.

Ah! So be it!

– – – – – – – – – –

Haitian Creole text:

Depi maten m’leve m’ape monte desann,
Mwen kouri toupatou tankou yon chyen ki fou.
Mwen pale, mwen chante, mwen dòmi, mwen leve;
Mwen priye, mwen rele, se gagòt sou gagòt.

Gagòt isit, gagòt lòtbò.
Gagòt anwo, gagòt anba,
Gagòt toupatou, se gagòt sou gagòt.

Gagòt nan lide mwen,
Gagòt nan zak mwen yo,
Gagòt nan pawòl mwen,
Gagòt nan vizyon mwen.

Tout bagay yo mele:
Lapenn ak lajwa, ledout ak lafwa,
Degoutans ak lespwa, le byen avèk le mal.
Tèt mwen vire, li vire,
Tout bagay yo mele.
Gad’on gagòt!

Maten apre maten, m’ap livre yon batay;
Kontredans lavi-a rekòmanse chak jou.
Mwen chante, mwen danse,
Mwen rele: “Viv lavi!”
Bridsoukou sanzatann mwen tounen nan gagòt.

Nan mitan gagòt sa mwen deside chèche,
Chèche, chèche konnen, konnen sa k’ap pase.
Mwen fouye, mwen mande, mwen fini pa trouve
Jouk andedan kè mwen
Solisyon gagòt sa:

La vie d’ici-bas est un combat de tout instant
Que l’on ne peut gagner qu’un moment à la fois.

Apre lannuit se la jounen.
Apre lapli solèy leve.
Apre gagòt, apre gagòt… se kè poze.
Se jefò nan soufrans ki pote delivrans.

Ah! Ainsi soit-il!