Released in 2021 on Ashs The Best’s album Dibèer, ‘Gadaay’ aches with the loneliness of being overlooked. Crafted alongside Abdoulaye Sy, Obree Daman, and Olivier Delahaye, its raw repetition feels like watching someone shout to an empty room—pleading to be seen before it’s too late.
Released: February 19, 2021
Gadaay
Ashs The Best • From “Dibèer”
Gadaay Lyrics Translation – Dibèer Soundtrack
The singer asks, ‘You don’t check on me’ and ‘don’t call to wake me,’ painting neglect through small absences. Physical details deepen the hurt: a painful limp under scorching sun, water hard to find. Even as he begs his brother to ‘take me with you,’ hope fades like twilight falling without a guide.
Chiii Riii ReeeChiii Riii Reee.
Chiii Riii ReeeraaChiii Riii Reeeraa.
Ahhhhhhh YeaaaaaaahAhhhhhhh, yeah.
Ge’stu Woo MaYou don’t check on me.
Deglu Woo MaYou don’t listen to me.
May Laaj Lu XewI’m asking what’s wrong.
Gisu Loo MaYou don’t see me,
Te Gisoon Naa NiBut I had a feeling that,
Da Nga Reer Ma Lay Jeex Da Ma Fog NiYou’ve lost your way and I’m wasting away, and I thought,
Tayu Loo Ko Ndax Mbëggeel Defoon Na NiYou couldn’t handle it because love made it so.
Di Nga Changer Balaa Maa DemI thought you would change before I leave,
A’ndandoo BiThis bond of ours.
Ci Jamano JiIn these times,
Mën Na Xaar Ba BeneenI can wait for another day.
Xarit Woo MaYou don’t treat me like a friend,
Woo Ma Yee Su Fekee May Nelaw Fi Ñu To’llYou don’t call to wake me if I’m sleeping right where we are.
Kan Ngay Woolu Kudul Sa Xel Balaa Maa DemWho can you trust but your own mind before I leave?
Naa La Wax Ni Am Naa CoffeelLet me tell you, I have this love,
Coffeel Bi Ma Am Ci YowThis love that I have for you.
Waatt Naa Ni Doo Ko YëggI swear you won’t even feel it.
Wallaay Dang Ma MiinI swear, you’re so used to me,
Ba Doo Ma Yëgg Ba Maa Ngay DemThat you won’t even notice I’m here until I’m already gone.
Gestu Woo MaYou don’t check on me.
Gadaay GadaayGone, I’m gone.
Yëggu Loo Ma Yow Gadaay GadaayYou don’t feel me, now I’m gone, I’m gone.
Faale Wu Loo Ma Toppatoo Wu Loo Ma YowYou don’t care about me, you don’t look after me.
I Know Something’s WrongI know something’s wrong.
Doomu Yaay Mbaa Fate Wu Loo MaMy dear, I hope you haven’t forgotten me.
Woote Naa Te Wuyu Wu Loo MaI called out, but you didn’t answer me,
B’cause I Know Something’s WrongBecause I know something’s wrong.
I Know Something’s WrongI know something’s wrong.
Maa Ngi Dox Akk Ta’nku Ne’enI’m walking with a painful limp,
Ci Naaj Bu Ta’ng LoolUnder a sun that’s scorching hot.
Maa Ngi Mar Naan Ndox Mu Jafe LoolI’m thirsty, drinking water that’s so hard to find.
I KnowI know.
B’cause I Know Something’s WrongBecause I know something’s wrong.
Gilee Jëlsi Xarit Sama Doomu Yaay Fi Ma Toll Weet NaaMy friend, my brother, I’m so lonely where I am now.
Bilee Doomu Yaay Jëlsi Ma Xarit Sama Fi Ma Toll Weet NaaMy brother, take me as your friend, I’m so lonely right here.
Doomu Yaay Jëlsi MaMy brother, take me with you.
Xarit Sama Doomu Yaay Jëlsi Ma Mbaa Fate Woo MaMy friend, my brother, take me with you, I hope you haven’t forgotten me.
Doomu Yaay Jëlsi MaMy brother, take me with you.
Xarit Sama Doomu Yaay Jëlsi MaMy friend, my brother, take me with you.
Gëstu Woo Ma Lijënti Woo Ma YowYou don’t check on me, you don’t worry about me.
Faale Wu Loo Ma Toppatto Woo Ma YowYou don’t pay me any mind, you don’t look after me.
Gëstu Woo MaYou don’t check on me,
Xoolu Loo Ma Yow Yëggu Loo MaYou don’t look at me, you don’t feel me.
Faale Wu Loo Ma Lijënti Woo Ma Yow Moo Tax Gadaay NaaYou don’t care, you don’t worry about me, and that’s why I’ve left.
GadaayGone.
Fii Ku Fi Wac Sa’w And And Boo Dem Fekk Fa Sa Moroom Mu ToogHere, if you leave your companion behind, you’ll just go on to find another.
Xale Yaa Ngi GadaayThe young ones are all leaving.
Bu Ja’nt Sowee Timis MaaseWhen the sun sets and twilight falls,
Kulay Yobbaaleel Ndax Guddi Xaaj Na Fajar Waaj NaWho will guide you? For the night is half-gone and dawn is near.
Ëllëg Sooraaleel Reccu Wees Na Jëffëm Fe’eñ NaTomorrow is a long way off, the regret is gone, his actions are clear now.
Kookoy Diggaaleel LudulWhat else is there to advise,
Yalla Neen La Yeene Neeg LaBut that God says your intention is your chamber,
Nga Fay FanaaneAnd that’s where you’ll spend the night.
Gadaay Music Video
If you’re curious about the Gadaay lyrics translation, you’ll feel how abandonment echoes in Wolof and English alike. Ashs The Best makes a universal truth clear—love grows cold not with distance, but with silence.