Lyrics:

O death; O death Death is so harsh Death is so cruel
Death who struck down Amadou Ba Guindo
But death spares no creature
Nothing can stop it
Not even fame
Or having many children
Great riches and many friends
Amadou is gone
And when I go to Douentza I will not see him again He will never be seen again in Bamako In Douentza Tenin OngoTna cries for you Whilst in Bamako Amadou cries for you As Adja' cries for you
Your widow Fanta cries for her missing husband For Guindo has disappeared, struck down by treacherous death
In Bamako your old friend Alou Tracre misses you
How bitter is death, how bitter separation
It is hard to break the links (of friendship)
How it is hard to be separated from one's people
Guindo
But death spares no one
The Grim Reaper of hope did not spare Amadou
Guindo
If it did not spare the Prophet Mohammed
Just as it struck down Amadou Cherif
Leaving his father Bouba in pain
May his soul rest in peace
How harsh is separation, how harsh death
And merciless death strikes without distinction
Villainous death crouches at a bend in the path
Lying in wait for us
May God preserve us from it
But death spares no one
It strikes in the prime of life
Perfidious death crouches at a bend in the path
O death; O death
You did not spare Guindo
No creature can escape you
0 death, O death, how you are cruel