Song - "ዓደየ ዓደየ" My Country by Yishak Tewoldemedhin
Song - "ዓደየ ዓደየ" My Country, My Country by Yishak Tewoldemedhin; a beloved children's song written by one of Eritrea's prominent educators
Memhr Yishak Teweldemedhin, one of Eritrea’s prominent educators during the Italian and British colonial era
This was a beloved children’s song written by one of Eritrea’s prominent educators during the Italian and British colonial era, [Memhr] Yishak Teweldemedhin. It was written in 1936 in the latter years of the Italian colonial era. A loosely translated English version is provided below.
The sentiment of the song lies in the የ (“ye”) suffix Memhr Yishak appended to the nouns and names of places within the lyrics. In the Tgrnya language, this sound has an endearing tone and is generally a sound of affection and love. It also adds a sense of closeness and belonging, as in saying “mine” or “my own.”
The melody of the song has typical Tgrnya lullaby-like notes, similar to how a mother would express her love for a child. Overall, the song creates a sense of delicate care as rendered by a loving parent to a young child.
Song - ዓደየ ዓደየ My Country, My Country by Yishak Teweldemedhin
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ዓደየ ዓደየ - እፈትወኪ ብልበየ
ክርእየኪ ብዓይነየ - ከልዕለኪ ኣብ ርእሰየ
ዓደየ ዓደየኣከለጉዛይ ምስ ሰራየ - ሓማሴን ሰምሃረየ
ደንከለይ ሰንሒተየ - መታሕት ባርካየ ዓደየ ዓደየዓደየ መዚኺ - ቁሊሕ በሊ ንምድርኺ
ኣምህሪ ደቅኺ - ‘ተባረሩ ህዝብኺ
ዓደየ ዓደየወለዲ ሓደራኹም - ኣምህሩ ንደቅኹም
ክፈትዉ ንኣኹም - ክትረኽቡ ጻማኹም ዓደየ ዓደየደቀየ ዕምበባየ - ተማሃሩ ኣሕዋተየ
ክትመርሕዎም ንዳሕሮትየ - ከተጽንዑ ናጽነትየ
ዓደየ ዓደየብምህሮ ዝሰልጠነ - ፍቕሪ ዓዱ ዝወጠነ
ብተኽስያን ዝዓጠነ - ይኸውን በዓል ቅነ
ዓደየ ዓደየ~~
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Loosely translated, it reads:
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My Country, My Country - I love you with [all] my heart
I cherish seeing you with my eyes - I want to put you above my head
My Country, My CountryAkeleguzay with Seraye, Hamasien with Semhar
Denkel with Senhit, the Lowlands of Barka
My Country, My CountryMy country, your responsibility [is to] Look over your lands
Educate your children - your exiled peoples
My Country, My CountryParents promise to educate your children
to gain their love - and rewards for your toils
My Country, My CountryMy children My flowers - Learn my brethren
To lead those that come after you - To sustain freedom
My Country, My CountryHe who is enlightened, who affirmed his love for his country
Who purified the church with incense, becomes the person of the times (also could be translated as “becomes a wiseman”)
My Country, My Country~~
Young Yishak Teweldemedhin