Teffera Mekonnen ተፈራ መኮንን: Born to Live for Music

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Tribute to the Music Master Teffera

Mekonnen ተፈራ መኮንን (1929-1982)
Part VI

Teffera, Timkehet
Related Articles uploaded on www.academia.edu

See also
Timkehet Teffera (2021). Tribute to the Music Master Teffera Mekonnen ተፈራ መኮንን
(1929-1982)_Part I

Timkehet Teffera (2021). Tribute to the Music Master Teffera Mekonnen ተፈራ መኮንን
(1929-1982)_Part II

Timkehet Teffera (2021). Tribute to the Music Master Teffera Mekonnen ተፈራ መኮንን
(1929-1982)_ Part III

Timkehet Teffera (2020). Kibur Zebegna Orchestra / Imperial Kibur Zebegna_የክቡር

ዘበኛ የሙዚቃ ክፍል.

Timkehet Teffera (2020). The Police Orchestra and Prominent Musicians (1950s-
1970s).

Timkehet Teffera (2020). Ethiopian Ground Force Band and Prominent Musicians
የኢትዮጵያ ምድር ጦር የሙዚቃ ቡድን እና ሙዚቀኞቻችን

Timkehet Teffera (2021). Tilahun Gessesse ጥላሁን ገሠሠ Life and Work (1940-2009).

Timkehet Teffera (2020). Shewandagn Weldeyes ሸዋንዳኝ ወልደየስ: Love Story

Immortalized Through Music.

Timkehet Teffera (2020). Life & Work of Artist Zewge Gebremedhin ዘውገ ገብረመድህን
(1945-2019).

Timkehet Teffera (2020). Life, Work and Legacy of Artist Girmay Hadgu - ግርማይ ሐድጉ
(1928 - 2018).

Timkehet Teffera (2020). Artist Sahle Degago - ሳህሌ ደጋጎ Short Biography of His Life
and Work.

Timkehet Teffera (2020). Lemma Demissew ለማ ደምሰው Life & Work (1940-2008).

Timkehet Teffera (2020). Life & Work of Bizunesh Bekele ብዙነሽ በቀለ (1936-1990).

Timkehet Teffera (2020). Ethiopian Music Commercialization 1960s-1970s: Amha

Records.
 Teffera Mekonnen ተፈራ መኮንን: Born to Live for Music

Musical Analysis: Artistic Legacy of Teffera Mekonnen

In this section Teffera Mekonnen’s music compositions have been taken into closer
consideration. This refers primary to the timeless songs created during the 1960s until
early 1972, when Teffera and his musician colleagues wrote Ethiopian popular music
history through their involvement in the famous Ras and Ghion Orchestras. The largest
part of the repertoire is however, attributed to the time at the Ras Band from 1961 to
1965. As a key figure in this regard, vocalist and Teffera’s long-time colleague and
companion, Bahta Gebrehiwot is worth mentioning. This period served to introduce the
most unforgettable tunes predominantly composed by Teffera Mekonnen. Hence, this
discussion gives due attention to a number of songs. These are analyzed from their
melodic and metro-rhythmic compositions, their stylistic preferences, arrangements as
well as their instrumentation. Additionally, the discussion also looks lyrical contents of
these songs, many of which go to the account of the multitalented artist and original Ras
Band member, Gibreab Teferi. Note must be made that the present study does not cover
the complete compositional works Teffera wrote. This does not only refer to Bahta
Gebrehiwot’s songs, but also to instrumental pieces that were either composed or
arranged by Teffera. Instrumentals belonged to the repertoire of the Ras and Ghion
Bands played live during lunch or dinner as entertainment and background music.
Therefore, the analysis below exclusively refers to the original music scores at my
disposal. These are presented and discussed in alphabetical order of the respected song
titles.
Bahita’s songs are primarily performed in Amharic language followed just a few tunes
in Tigrigna language105. The songs have been presented in tables the original script,
Amharic and its phonetic transliteration (italic) line by line. This is followed by the
English translation as demonstrated below:

Amharic transliteration
አሁንም እዚያው ነኝ የፍቅር እመቤቴ። Ahunəm əziyawu näɲə yäfəqər əmäbete

Translation
If you come to visit me, please make sure you don't miss my home-

105Besides Amharic tunes, the repertoire contains very few Təgriɲa tunes of Bahta created and
performed during the 1960s, when he was an active member of the Ras and Ghion Bands. Hence, they
do not exceed approximately 1%. However, in the decades to follow, Bahta sung a few numbers of
Təgriɲa songs. These are, among others, Rubay Adäy ሩባ ዓደይ, that was included in a joint music album
Bahta released on cassette album along with songs of legendary musicians Kiros Alemayehu and
Abraha Wedi Kokeb in 1985 Ethiopian Calendar (= ca. 1992 European calendar).
 Teffera Mekonnen ተፈራ መኮንን: Born to Live for Music

According to my experience, translation from one language to another is not an easy

task. Contrary to ordinary texts, I believe that song lyrics are more difficult. With
reference to Bahta’s tunes, their contents are easily understandable compared to lyrics
that consist of double meanings known as ‘wax & gold’ poetic form founded on two
semantic layers. In Amharic, it is called säm ina wärq.

…literally, wax is a natural secretion of gold that is produced in the process of

purification. It is an element that covers the gold; in order to get the purest gold, it
has to undergo the process of melting in fire. It is this metaphor, therefore, that is
applied to a literary system that is given as a compulsory course in secondary and
high schools in Ethiopia: Sen-ena-Werq (= wax and gold). As a literary system, the
wax and gold method play with double-layered meaning. While the apparent
meaning, on the surface, is known as sem (= wax), the underlying true, and, at
times, spiritual meaning, is known as werq (= gold)106.

Being the translator of all the lyrics displayed in this study, I was aware of my
responsibility to create a sense making translation, while simultaneously taking care of
its semantic context as well as its cultural meaning and understanding. I paid attention
to preserving the aesthetic beauty and valued the poetic language, which definitely
requires sensitivity.

In this regard, I may quote Angelsen et. al: “Both music and language are
contextually bound, but we may argue that the former travels more easily than the
latter; it is possible to appreciate or respond to the expressive dimensions of music
without a full knowledge of those contexts in ways that are more difficult in
language. Although the music and orchestration may be associated with a certain
genre, period or geographic location, the meaning of music is not conceptual in the
same way as the meaning of natural language is, and there is no clear division or
mutual intelligibility between different musical genres and traditions as there is
between languages. Thus, the textual or linguistic aspect of the song is more clearly
contextually bound: to a particular cultural context or geography (landscapes,
places), to attitudes, to people and to relations This may be expressed linguistically
by terms with a clear denotation (and connotation) or by deictic items such as
determiners and pronouns who is interpretation depends on the linguistic context.
The former type of expression can be a form of culture-specific item (e.g. place
names, non-standard language, words referring to local customs, etc.) and many

106Girma, Mohammad (2011). Whose Meaning? The Wax and Gold Tradition as a Philosophical
Foundation for an Ethiopian Hermeneutic. Open Access. Springer Link.
https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11841-010-0201-9. Last visited 24 June 2021.

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Timkehet Teffera

grounds the text firmly in a particular setting. The handling of such items in
translation obviously influences the interpretative potential of lyrics…107

The respected score follows the text (lyric) presentation and translation. The scores
mostly entail the main melody, namely that of the vocal part. In few cases, the staff
notation includes melodic introductions. For the sake of a better understanding and
analysis, I additionally wrote the staff notations using the MusicTime Deluxe music
notation software in order to present them along with the lyrics (refrain/stanza).
Accordingly, the re-written versions of the staff notation, demonstrate both the musical
and lyrical lines. Single and combined syllables and words (i.e. both Amharic along with
the phonetic transliteration given in Latin alphabets) are therefore, put under the
respected note/s. In the course of writing the notations in MusicTime, slight corrections
and/or alterations have been made primarily, aimed at bringing certain verse lines in
accordance with the respected melody and the endings on either an open or a close
cadence108.
For the sake of comparison, the original scores follow the notations with the text lines
(Amharic + phonetic transliteration). The figures show an extract of an original
composition followed by a reproduced music score including with the song text.

Figure 61a-b: Extracts of a melody line of original and reproduced scores with text
(lyrics)

A)

B)

107Angelsen, Anja K. and Domhnall Mitchell (2021). Various positions of a ladies’ man:
recontextualization in Norwegian Cohen covers. Song Translation: lyrics in contexts. Edited by Franzon,
Johan, Annjo Klungervik Greenall, Sigmund Kvam and Anastasia Parianou. Berlin: Frank & Timme.
pp. 157.
108Open cadences customarily end on a fifth chord (V-chord) making the impression that another
closing phrase follows, whereas a close cadence may often end on the departure note (or the basic/first
note) of the given scale.

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 Teffera Mekonnen ተፈራ መኮንን: Born to Live for Music

Since most of the songs analysed and discussed here commonly consist of refrain and
stanza parts with self-contained melodic and metro-rhythmic structures, the music
scores I reproduced, consider both parts.
All original scores are written for different instruments, for instance, saxophone and
trumpet. In doing so, parts of the vocal melodies, namely either stanza or refrain
melodies either partially or completely, often serve as intro. I cannot confirm with
certainty whether it was Teffera, who wrote the music scores for both vocal and
instrumental parts. In other words, even if one of the band members might have created
the melody, Teffera finally wrote it down in music scores. According to interview Bahta
gave, it was indeed Teffera’s task not only was to lead and administer the band, but also
being in charge in writing the music and distributing the respected parts to the different
instruments. Regarding the arrangement of the songs, saxophonist Getachew and
trumpetist Zewdu Legesse were intensively involved. Bahta quotes these two
musicians, whose professional ideas and creativities were very important to
complement Teffera’s main task and to give the music a good variety109.
With reference to the musical compositions, Teffera did probably not intend to provide
a complete music score that portray every detail of each musical instruments including
the vocal parts. I rather presume that the scores moreover served to capture the main
melodic-rhythmic lines that mainly reflect the vocal part. Based on the given melodic
and metro-rhythmic frame, the instrumentalists rehearse their respective parts and
giving them an individual flavour through improvisation primarily under Teffera’s
supervision. We should bear in mind that the music scores are, of course, do not entirely
represent the learnt and adapted behaviour of the Ethiopian musicians. Therefore, the
flexibility in terms of playing music by adding one’s own flavour gives the musicians a
better opportunity to embellish or ornament melodies individually. That is why, when
listening to the tunes, one notices slightly improvised melodic phrases or an entire flow
of lines in both the instrumental and vocal parts.
Except for Teffera and his colleagues who enjoyed formal music training in the army
bands, it is common that many Ethiopian popular musicians play instruments ‘by ear’.
Those naturally gifted and highly passionate musicians, often master a musical
instrument through intensive practise, i.e. rehearsing and performing music on frequent
basis. For instance, I may quote Girma Beyene, who first joined the Ras Band in the early
1960s as a vocalist. Girma’s love to music however, paved him a way to master the piano
and develop his artistic skills to the level that he also was one of the highly respected
music composer and arranger particularly after he created his own private band around
the mid-1960s and 1970s. Similarly, there are quite many amazing Ethiopian music

109Ethiopian TV (2012). Bahta Gebrehiwot: Arhibu Interview. Uploaded on YouTube 04 April 2012
under https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z087CY18xZM&t=912s; last visited 06 June 2021.

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talents, who made a difference in the sphere of popular music back then as well as today.
That is why for many, music playing by ear is as comfortable and as simple as a
conversation. On the other hand, I can imagine how Teffera and his band members feel
to have accessed formal Western music training, but also to be able to free themselves
from sheet music to a certain extent and experience the world of the amateur musicians
who use their ears. The experience of learning and adapting music by ear in the
Ethiopian context is in my opinion, also related with the oral tradition witnessed
throughout the country, transmitted from father to son since generations. As an integral
part of human tradition, musical traditions are also, learnt through active participation
in the everyday life of societies. At least, this refers to many traditional societies of
Ethiopia.
In the course of analysing the original staff sheets, I was able to encounter that the same
scale was not used. An obvious reason is that Teffera first composed his music in any
scale. Then the band would rehearse the scores and by the time of the vocal part sets in,
the band would adjust the scale to Bahita’s vocal range and accordingly transpose the
music to the appropriate level. This is without a doubt a simple task for experienced
musicians of the band. Therefore, knowledgeable musicians capable of reading staff
notation can easily understand my point when they listen to Bahta’s tracks and compare
it with written score.
The original music scores I accessed do not cover Bahita’s entire music repertoire
composed by Teffera during their time at the Ras and Ghion Bands. As long as this was
the case and there is no track to look at, I wrote down the melody out of memory. In the
case of a number of tracks in my possession, I transcribed the melodies from these tracks
accordingly. On the other hand, Teffera did not compose any of Bahta‘s tunes that were
produced after the Ghion Band dissolved around 1973 and every musician went his
own way. Therefore, this study does not include songs of this period, since they have
less relevant for the present discussion. This part of my job will be accomplished in the
future, when I give due attention to a comprehensive documentation and analysis of
Bahta Gebrehiwot’s personal and professional life.
After 11 joyful and very successful years at the Ras and Ghion band as a vocalist and
lyricist (a handful of songs), Bahta officially left the music world, bidding farewell to his
beloved artistic vocation. Consequently, he changed his precious and dived in the world
of accounting. He worked as top accountant for decades to come until his retirement
probably more than ten years ago. He no longer gave absolute priority to his music
profession. That is why only a handful of tunes carry his signature. Nevertheless, after
his retirement, Bahta got a second chance to revive all his timeless songs hence, bringing

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 Teffera Mekonnen ተፈራ መኮንን: Born to Live for Music

back all the beautiful memories of the 1960s up to the early 1970s with the legendary
Ras and Ghion Bands110.
Similar to many Ethiopian popular songs of the 1960s and 1970s, Bahta’s songs are also
a blend of Ethiopian traditional melodies accompanied by Western music instruments.
Accordingly, the basic vocal melodies use the traditional five-tone modes of central
Ethiopia. These basic melodies are harmoniously, fused with foreign music elements
that reflect the time of their creation, the 1960s. Genres of rock n’ roll, rhythm and blues,
jazz, funk, soul and swing represent Bahta’s tunes.
Many tunes of Bahta use 4/4 time, one of the highly favoured beats in Western popular
music as well. Teffera seems to have mastered this time signature, which paved him a
way on playing and creating signature songs, through which Bahta gained fame and
remains unforgettable until today. According to my metronome measures taken during
the process of re-writing the already existing scores, the tempo of the songs stretches
between 120 and 150 beat per minutes (BPM). Among them, songs titled

Anʧim əndälela ‚You also changed’ [አንቺም እንደሌላ]

Dägmo əndämən aläšə ‚How are you doing?’ [ደግሞ እንደምን አልሽ] and
Gizewun alawqəm ‚I don’t remember the time’ [ጊዜውን አላውቅም]

apply 4/4 beat. Based on the material at my disposal, I may suggest that just a handful of
songs composed in ¾ time. These are, for instance,

Aznalähu ‘I am sad’ (አዝናለሁ)

Bäletəm əndäqän ‘The night is like day time’ (በሌትም እንደቀን)
Yəhun bəläšə əmbi ‘You say yes and no again!’ (ይሁን ብለሽ እምቢ) and
Milas ‚Tounge’ [ምላስ]

With reference of the first three tunes, I only have the musical scores in my possession,
unfortunately not the sound examples as such. Even though the compositions were
prepared for instruments as explained earlier, they primarily, represented the main
(vocal) melodies. Accordingly, the extracts of the melodic-rhythmic flow of these songs
(shown below) are most probably, based on the vocal melodies. The following figures
demonstrate the extracts of the scores:

110For a couple of years, Bahta worked with young and passionate musicians such as Henok Temesgen,
bass guitarist, co-founder and music instructor at the African Jazz School in Addis Ababa. Henok is
furthermore, one of the key figures in the Ethiopian popular music scene. Bahta has therefore been a
frequent guest of the legendary JazzAmba lounge that entertains its audience at the historical Taitu
hotel.

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Timkehet Teffera

Figure 62: Extract of Aznalähu ‘I am sad’ (አዝናለሁ), Bäletəm əndäqän

Figure 1: Extract of Bäletəm əndäqän ‘Suffering day and night’ (በሌትም እንደቀን)

Figure 2: Extract of Yəhun bəläšə əmbi ‘You say yes and no again!’ (ይሁን ብለሽ እምቢ)

Although the 3/4 beat is given to write down these score (at least in the second score),
when listening to the tunes it may be interpreted either as such or as a 6/8 time. It just
comes down to the way we want to grasp, understand and feel with the music or the
way in which every individual recognizes the basic pulse/s. I am saying this, because
there are musical pieces, which match both time signatures and that switches between
3/4 and 6/8 time.
In case of Məlas ‚Tounge’ [ምላስ], a typical ballroom waltz rhytm is applied in the
composition, in which – based on the composer’s preference - three quarter notes play
the central role in each bar, whereas the first beat is stressed. The music score of this
tune and the lyrics is displayed as this discussion proceeds.
With regard to 2/4 beats, there are a number of songs written using this time signature.
Songs such as

Täfät’ro nägäräɲə ‘Nature informed me’ (ተፈጥሮ ነገረኝ)

Tazäbkušə ‘Shame on you’ (ታዘብኩሽ) and
Yätəɲaw näw dästa ‘What is joy?’ (የትኛው ነው ደስታ)

serve as examples.

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 Teffera Mekonnen ተፈራ መኮንን: Born to Live for Music

The large corpus of Bahta’s songs derives from the first 4 - 5 years of his career in the
Ras Band as already elucidated earlier. Although he worked for about seven years in
the Ghion Band, he did not surpass the number of songs produced in relatively short
time at the Ras Band. Music recording on studio level was at its infancy during the
abovementioned period. Hence, the chance for private bands to be studio recorded was
less or none than the relatively famous army bands like the Imperial Bodyguard who
possessed their own station (Tekil Radio) to record as well as broadcast their musical
products. As to Bahta’s songs, it is very likely that they were recorded in the Ethiopian
radio station on reel-to-reel tapes. In his interview with the Ethiopian national TV, Bahta
elucidates that the recurrent broadcast of his songs via radio played a significant role
for him and the Ras Band to gain fame in a short time111.
Besides the Ethiopian national radio, it is possible that Radio Voice of the Gospel might
have recorded Bahta’s music. Nevertheless, there is no relevant information pertaining
to recordings of Ras or Ghion Bands. My brother, Gultu Teffera, however, assumes that
Bahta’s songs were exclusively, recorded by the Ethiopian national radio station112. This
state-owned broadcasting institution provided a variety of programs including music
and entertainment hence, it was very active in disseminating great programs with
relevant information. I remember that Teffera possessed a collection of reel-to-reel tapes
containing various songs including a number of Bahta’s earliest tracks. These collections
were often, played in our house whenever we had guests or just enjoyed family time. I
have a vivid memory that my father, among others, highly favored Kassa Tessema’s
traditional solo songs accompanied by krar (lyre). In this regard, Gultu reminded me
that the copy of the reel-to-reels was accessed thanks to the kind cooperation of Teffera’s
close friend, who used to work at the Ethiopian national radio back then. Having said
this, Bahita’s tunes sold on the music market without his knowledge originate from
recordings made during the 1960s at the Ethiopian national radio station as Gultu
elaborated during our conversation113. Accordingly, I believe Ethiopian national radio
paid Ras and later Ghion Band for studio recordings so that a number of Bahta’s songs
are preserved in its archives. Contrary to this, there were no television recordings. Gultu
suggests notes that either the band members refused any recording with the Ethiopian
television studio, because the station offered them very little money that did not match
the amount they should have deserved or the station might probably have even
expected them to agree with the studio recording without payment114.

111Ethiopian TV (2012). Bahta Gebrehiwot: Arhibu Interview. Uploaded on YouTube 04 April 2012
under https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z087CY18xZM&t=912s, last visited 06 June 2021.
112 Personal communication with Gultu Teffera, telco 05 June 2021.
113 Ibid.
114 Ibid, 06 June 2021.

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Timkehet Teffera

Nonetheless, I wonder to what extent the national television was established during the
1960s. Based on my information, television was launched in Ethiopia for the first time
around the end of 1964 getting the name Ethiopian Radio and Television Agency or
ERTA115. It was a British company by the name Thomson, which facilitated the technical
assistance for the launching according to the information of the EBC online publication.
It describes that “Back then the broadcasting service operated within a radius of 170 km
of Addis Ababa and no longer than 3.5 hours on weekdays….. An Imperial Order
Negarit Gazeta, 1966 declared the Ethiopian Broadcasting Service ― an autonomous
public Authority within the Imperial Government and, while operating under the ―
direction, control and supervision of the Ministry of Information. The declaration
empowers the service ― Licensing and authorization powers are subject to The Imperial
Board of Telecommunication (1966). Finally, the government was involved in both radio
and television broadcasting in 1974. According to Negarit Gazeta 27th year number 15
June 1968, Ethiopian broadcasting service order number 50 of 1968 stated that ―The
Position of an Ethiopian Radio and Television Service (referred to as the Enterprise) was
established under the authority of the Ethiopian imperial government as the 1958 Order
of the Ethiopian Radio and Television Service.
This was the first national public broadcaster in the country. Its launching was a major
achievement of Emperor Haile Selassie’s government. It was one year after the
inauguration of the African Union (AU in 1963), that the government attempted to
guarantee the full coverage (recording) and document the historical moment the young
African Union summit.

At the time of the Ethiopian Television, most African countries were freed 32 from
their colonial masters and gained political independence. Since the 33 political
climate/s of the day was aimed at promoting Pan-Africanism and 34 fighting
apartheid, TV-free television was set up in Ethiopia and Liberia at the 35 time. The
Ethiopian broadcast media followed the emperor's diplomatic line 36 and became
the voice of Africa116.

Hence, bringing ERTA to life had a huge political implication. This particular moment
in history took place three years after the establishment of the Ras Band. Subsequently,
I doubt whether recording music in the television studio was a priority at all. Even if

115((EBC) Development Review (2021). Political History of Ethiopian Broadcast Media (1931-2020) in the
Case of Ethiopian Broadcast Corporation. Online Publication 2021-4158-AJMMC – 24 March 2021.
https://www.athensjournals.gr/reviews/2021-4158-AJMMC.pdf, last visited 25 June 2021; pp. 4-5).
116EBC Development Review (2021). Political History of Ethiopian Broadcast Media (1931-2020) in the Case
of Ethiopian Broadcast Corporation. Online Publication 2021-4158-AJMMC – 24 March 2021.
https://www.athensjournals.gr/reviews/2021-4158-AJMMC.pdf, last visited 25 June 2021; pp. 11).

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 Teffera Mekonnen ተፈራ መኮንን: Born to Live for Music

was given priority, I believe that due to the infancy of this station, there were various
reasons why no recordings took place at least in television studies. This is most
probably, related with limited budget and experience or knowledge.
Allow me to additionally, note that there were no private music labels run by Ethiopians
during the heydays of Ras and Ghion Bands. Until the first private music label appeared
in 1969117, only two foreigners (ca. 1950s and 1970s) controlled the music market. At first,
the Armenian businessperson Garbis Hayzagian may be cited to have played a vital role
referring to this point. He used to run a music shop called Grundig in the heart of Addis
Ababa and recorded music on reel-to-reel tapes during various live performances
primarily of the army bands, i.e. the Imperial Bodyguard, Police, Ground Force
Orchestras, etc. These events of musical performances took place at different venues of
Addis Ababa. Latest songs were performed live only on these opportunities and Garbis
recorded entire performances using his exclusive right118 and subsequently, sold their
copies. According to customer’s individual preference, Garbis would compile several
tracks on a reel tape. The French musicologist, Francis Falceto notes that Garbis’ started
with the music business around the mid-1950s based on a deal he had with Tefera
Shibeshi, the sound engineers of the Imperial Bodyguard Band back then. Garbis would
sell copies of all kinds of recordings of the institutional bands. Falceto additionally
points out that Garbis’ recordings started around 1956 and ended after he passed away
in 1976. The entire Garbis-collection contains about 212 reel-to-reel tapes. The list of the
content comprises more than 80 pages, although some songs appear repeatedly in
several reels119.
Did musicians of Ras and later Ghion Bands participate on such special events? In his
television interview, Bahita confirms that the Ras Band performed in rare cases on other
stages, for instance, at the Haile Selassie Theatre. If so, could Garbis also have recorded
these performances? Bahta notes that he and his musician colleagues were not aware of
copyright related violation during the early years of his career. He was too young to
understand the advantages or disadvantages of this issue. He was just happy to have a
well-paid job and a secured salary to enjoy his life as a musician working at the top
hotels of Addis Ababa. He recalls rumours about his songs apparently deriving from
live recordings offered as copies on the market120. Could Garbis prominent position have

117See Teffera, Timkehet (2020). Ethiopian Music Commercialization 1960s-1970s: Amha Records.
Online publication).
118Bochniak, Maciek (2017). Ethiopiques: Revolt of the Soul. Director: Maciek Bochniak. Production:
Mikołaj Pokromski for Pokromski Studio; Cinematography: Grzegorz Hartfiel; Animation: Tomasz
Van Bochniak; Editing: Ziemowit Jaworski; 70 min. IDFA Documentary Film.
119 E-Mail correspondence with Francis Falceto, 05 December 2013.
120Ethiopian TV (2012). Bahta Gebrehiwot: Arhibu Interview. Uploaded on YouTube 04 April 2012
under https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z087CY18xZM&t=912s, last visited 06 June 2021.

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allowed him to record Bahta’s songs and offer copies on the market? In my opinion,
Garbis had no recordings of the Ras or Ghion Bands. At least, for the time being, I have
no reliable information at my disposal.
I believe that in later periods, probably around the mid-1970s, namely after Ras/Ghion
Bands were already dissolved, the Ethiopian national television made music clips of a
number of Bahta’s well-known tunes. Colour TV was introduced to the country for the
first time around 1979. Therefore, the black and white footages were obviously, made
between mid- and end-1970s. In those days, it was common to film the singer outside
of the studio. For that, beautiful landscapes often served as scenery. Tracks pre-recorded
in the studio (radio) served as background sound for the filming and Bahta would
mime, since there was no band to accompany the songs live. The recorded footage
would then go through a process of synchronization and editing. Such music videos
were quite unique in those days. For middle class families of the then Ethiopian society,
who afforded to have a television in their households, it was a special moment to watch
various entertainment programs broadcasted on weekly basis. It was, among others,
such black and white footages with songs of great vocalists of the period, for instance,
performed by Tilahun Gessesse, Mahmoud Ahmed and Bizunesh Bekele from the then
Imperial Bodyguard Band. Bahta’s songs were an additional enrichment. Hence, the
Ethiopian national television archive preserves a handful of black & white footages of
Bahta’s tunes, for instance

Täräsahuɲ ənde? ‚Am I forgotten?’ [ተረሳሁኝ እንዴ?]

Anʧi ləğə wädädkush ‘I love you’ (አንቺ ልጅ ወደድኩሽ) and
Wädä Harar Guzo ‚Journey to Harar‘ [ወደ ሐረር ጉዞ]121.

Regarding the nature of the songs discussed here, almost all of them have 2.5 to
maximum 3 minutes long. Most songs consist of refrain and stanza parts with self-
contained melodic and metro-rhythmic structures. The reproduced music scores that
also contain the texts, both sections demonstrate both parts. The meticulous
compositions furthermore reveal a beginning (an intro) followed by the nucleus of the
piece (the middle part) and the closing section. The melodies are soothing, simple and
memorable, whereas the music arrangement and instrumentation match the lyrical
messages. These are the unique features when it comes to Bahta's tunes composed by
Teffera. Apart from Teffera’s well-thought compositions and arrangements, Bahita has
brought each song to life through his beautiful voice adding his own interpretation. This

121Cf. various YouTube uploads, for instance, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xyUKfPyLbB0&t=1s;

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z087CY18xZM&t=4109s;
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0EkYmyeav2w, last visited 25 June 2021.

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 Teffera Mekonnen ተፈራ መኮንን: Born to Live for Music

made all his tunes to signature and highly admirable and timeless pieces until present
day. Having stated this, let us know proceed to the analysis.
The first song to be discussed is titled Ahunəm əziyawu näɲə ‚I am still there’ [አሁንም እዚያው
ነኝ]. In the following figure, its lyrical content is presented followed by the music score
written along with the text and the original handwritten composition created by Teffera:

Figure 63: Ahunəm əziyawu näɲə ‚I am still there’ [አሁንም እዚያው ነኝ]; vocals: Bahta
Gebrehiwot; lyrics: ?; melody/arrangement: Teffera Mekonnen (Cf.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KcRpzaMtSf8)

Amharic
refrain
ምናልባት ስትመጪ እንዳይጠፋሽ ቤቴ፣
አሁንም እዚያው ነኝ የፍቅር እመቤቴ።
ጊዜን መስሏል ብለሽ ሐሳብሽ እንዳይጠም፣
እንኳንስ ፀባዬ ምግቤም አልተለወጠም።
stanza
እስቲ መጥተሽ አልሽ ናላሽ ይታዘበኝ፣
በእግሬ ካልሆነ በሌላው እዚያው ነኝ።
እኔን እንዳታሚኝ አድራሻሽ ስውር ነው፣
አንቺ ብትመጪ ይሻላል ያለሁት እዚያው ነው።
refrain
የፍቅር ማስታውሻሽ ልቦናሽ አስቦኝ፣
የመጣሽ እንደሆን አሁንም እዚያው ነኝ።
ጊዜን መስሏል ብለሽ ሐሳብሽ እንዳይጠም፣
እንኳንስ ፀባዬ ምግቤም አልተለወጠም።
transliteration
Mənalbat sətəmäʧ‘i əndayt’äfaš bete
Ahunəm əziyawu näɲə yäfəqər əmäbete
Gizen mäslwal bəläš hasabəš əndayt‘äm
Ǝnkwanəs ts’äbaye məgbem altäläwät’äm
Ǝsti mät’ətäš aläš nalaš yətazäbäɲə
Bä’əgre kalhonä bälelawu əziyawu näɲə
Ǝnen əndataməɲ adrašaš səwur näwu
Anʧi bətəmäʧ’i yəšalal yalähut əziyawu näwu
Yäfəqər mastawäša ləbonaš asəboɲə
Yämät’aš əndähon ahunəm əziyawu näɲə
Gizen mäslwal bəläš hasabəš əndayt‘äm
Ǝnkwanəs ts’äbaye məgəbem altäläwät’äm

Translation
If you come to visit me, please make sure you do not miss my home-
I am waiting for you, my beloved woman.
Do not think I changed with time; do not change your mind-
I am the same; even my food has not changed.
If you are already here, look at me-
I am still here waiting for you.

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Timkehet Teffera

You can’t accuse me, it’s your address that is a secret-

better you come, you know where to find me.
If you carry me in your heart; if you think of me-
If you wish to come, I’ll still be there for you.

Figure 63: Ahunəm əziyawu näɲə ‚I am still there’ [አሁንም እዚያው ነኝ]; vocals: Bahta
Gebrehiwot; lyricist: unknown; melody/arrangement: Teffera Mekonnen
(reproduced with MusicTime software in order to include the lyrics)

Figure 64: Ahunəm əziyawu näɲə ‚I am still there’ [አሁንም እዚያው ነኝ]; vocals: Bahta
Gebrehiwot; lyrics (?); melody/arrangement: Teffera Mekonnen (original
composition)

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 Teffera Mekonnen ተፈራ መኮንን: Born to Live for Music

Figure 65: Anʧim əndälela ‚You also changed’ [አንቺም እንደሌላ]; vocals: Bahta
Gebrehiwot; lyrics: Gibreab Teferi; melody/arrangement: Teffera Mekonnen

Amharic
refrain
የፍቅርን እንጎቻ ጣፍጦን ስንበላ፣
በቃኝ ትይ ይሆናል አንቺም እንደሌላ።
ደርበሽ ለብሰሽው የፍቅርን ቡሉኮ፣
አንቺም እንደሌሎች ካልሆንሽ አትጠይም እኮ።
stanza
አንቺም እንደሌላ እንዳትሆኚ፣
የፍቅርን ፀባይ ካሁኑ አጥኚ።
ሌላውን ሐተታ አልናገር ይቅር፣
እርሜ ነው ብያለሁ ካንቺ ወዲያ ፍቅር።
ዘወትር ይጎሰማል ልቤ እንደከበሮ፣
ይሮጥ መስሎኝ ፍቅርሽ ከጊዜ ጋር አብሮ።
Transliteration
Yäfəqərən əngoʧa t’aft’on sənəbäla
Bäqaɲ təy yəhonal anʧim əndälela
Därəbäš läbsäšəwu yäfəqərən buluko
Anʧim əndäleloʧ kalhonš atət’äyəm əkko
Anʧim əndälela əndatəhoɲi
Yäfəqərən ts’äbay kahunu at’ɲi
Lelawun hatäta alənagär yəqər
Ǝrme näwu bəyalähu kanʧi wädiya fəqər
Zäwätər yəgosämal ləbe əndäkäbäro
Yərot‘ mäsloɲ fəqərəš kägize gar abro

Translation
We have been eating together the bread of love-
I hope you won’t deny me and change like others.
You are wearing the love blanket one on top of the other-
if you are not like others, you will be appreciated.
Please don’t behave like the others-
Remember already now the essence of love.
I leave the details aside; I say nothing-
I swear that you will be my only love.
My heart always beats like a drum-
I'm afraid I'm losing you with time.

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Figure 66: Anʧim əndälela ‚You also changed’ [አንቺም እንደሌላ122]; melody composition
/arrangement: Teffera Mekonnen (reproduced with MusicTime software in order to
include the lyrics)

122Track is uploaded on YouTube, under https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A9dBrb5ZEEg, last

visited 07 June 2021.

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 Teffera Mekonnen ተፈራ መኮንን: Born to Live for Music

Figure 67: Anʧim əndälela ‚You also changed’ [አንቺም እንደሌላ123]; melody composition
/arrangement: Teffera Mekonnen (original composition)

In the instrumental introduction, a solo saxophone reproduces both refrain and stanza
lines of the vocal part. Whereas the saxophone continues accompanying the vocal lines
serving as the main melody instrument, short melody phrases played by a trumpet fill
the vocal rests hence, attracting listener’s ears. Unlike other vocal melodies mainly
performed in the təzəta qənət, this song uses the bati qənət.

Figure 68: Dägmo əndämən aläšə ‚How are you doing?’ [ደግሞ እንደምን አልሽ]; vocals:
Bahta Gebrehiwot; lyrics: Gibreab Teferi; melody/arrangement: Teffera Mekonnen

Amharic
refrain
ካላጣሽው አካል በልቤ ላይ ቁጭ ብለሽ፣
ታሰኚኝ ጀመረ ደግሞ ደግሞ እንደምናለሽ።
stanza
የሽንገላ መስሎሽ እንዳትሰኚ ቅር፣
ከዚህ የበለጠ ያናግራል እንዴ ፍቅር?
ጊዜን መች ያስለያል የፍቅር ሰላምታ፣
ደግሞ እንደምን አለሽ ጠዋትና ደግሞም ማታ?
የፍቅርን ሚስጥር አርገሽው እንደዋዛ፣
ጭራሽ እንዳትይኝ ይህ ሰላምታ ምነው በዛ።
Transliteration
Kalat‘ašəwu akal bäləbe lay quʧ’ bəläšə
Tasäɲəɲ ğämärä dägmo dägmo əndämən aläšə
Yäšəngäla mäsloš əndatəsäɲi qərə
Käzəh yäbälät‘a yanagəral ənde fəqərə
Gizen mäʧə yasläyal yäfəqər sälamta
Dägmo əndämən aläšə täwatəna dägmom mata
Yäfəqərən məst‘ər adərəgäšəwu əndäwaza
ʧ’əraš əndatəyəɲ yəh sälamta mənäwu bäza

123Track is uploaded on YouTube, under https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A9dBrb5ZEEg, last

visited 07 June 2021.

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ቅርብ ነው እሩቅ ነው አያሰኝም ፍቅር፣ Qərb näwu əruq näwu ayasäɲəm fəqərə
ደግሞ እንደምን አልሽ በየጊዜው በቀን ቁጥር። Dägmo əndämən aläš bäyägizew bäqän qutərə
በፍቅር መካከል አያሻም ይሉኝታ፣ Bäfəqər mäkakäl ayašäm yəluɲta
ደግሞ እንደምን አለሽ ጠዋትና ደግሞም ማታ? Dägmo əndämən aläš t‘äwatəna dägmom mata?

Translation
Occupying my heart as if there is no other organ to choose-
you keep me asking how you are doing.
Please don’t be offended, I am not joking
Can love make one babble so much?
A love greeting is not limited in time after all.
How are you in the morning and in the evening?
You pay no attention to the mystery of love-
Please do not ask why the greeting is repeated
You cannot determine the burden of love based-
How are you, I may ask again and again?
There is no shame in love-
how are you in the morning and in the evening?

Dägmo əndämən aläšə is among the first tunes composed by Teffera Mekonnen, if not
the first. This timeless love song has is made up of a simple and melancholic melody.
Its beautiful arrangement and its lyrical message make it unforgettable. Probably during
the 1990, a vocalist and keyboardist Teshome Assegid released a music album including
Dägmo əndämən aläšə without having asking the owners of the song for permission.
The 1980s and 1990s was the era of the keyboard that paved a way to the ‘one-man-
show’. During this period, many newcomers who joined the Ethiopian popular music
domain had no clue about the violation of copyright with reference to musical products,
mainly songs. Many would-be musicians who managed strum a few keys on a keyboard
appeared in nearly all-night establishments and recreational establishments and
performed "music". Provided you could afford a keyboard, you were automatically in
the music business. Chaos reigned and real musicians did not easily manage to prove
their skills. Teffera was no longer alive at that time. However, Gibreab Teferi, the lyricist
of this song, immediately acted on his own behalf and on behalf of his deceased
colleague to get the two due reward or payment. Thus, Gibreab Teffera's widow, my
mother Alemtsehay Worke contacted. Both filed the case with the court, which
surprisingly gave an immediate verdict. Teshome Assegid and the music label had to
pay 400 Birr to both victims, which was a high amount at that time. However, one must

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 Teffera Mekonnen ተፈራ መኮንን: Born to Live for Music

imagine how many victims were deprived of their rights every day. Such scenarios were
commonplace for decades. Nowadays, the situation has worsened due to brutal piracy
over the Internet, among other things.

Figure 69: Dägmo əndämən aläšə ‚How are you doing?’ [ደግሞ እንደምን አልሽ]; lyric:
Gibreab Teferi; melody composition/arrangement: Teffera Mekonnen (reproduced
with MusicTime software in order to include the lyrics)

Figure 70: Dägmo əndämən aläšə ‚How are you doing?’ [ደግሞ እንደምን አልሽ]; lyric:
Gibreab Teferi; melody composition/arrangement: Teffera Mekonnen (original
composition)

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Timkehet Teffera

Figure 71: Gizewun alawqəm ‚I don’t remember the time’ [ጊዜውን አላውቅም]; vocals:
Bahta Gebrehiwot; lyrics: Gibreab Teferi; melody/arrangement: Teffera Mekonnen

Amharic
stanza
ባንቺ ፍቅር ሰክሮ ልቤ እየዋለለ፣
እኔም እኔ አይደለሁ ቤቴም ቤት አልሆነ።
በመካከሉ ላይ አንድ እክል ሳይመጣ፣
አስበሽበት ነይ ከሃሳብ ነፃ ልውጣ።
refrain
የፍቅርሽን መልዕክት ሁሉን ያዝኩ እንጂ በልቅም፣
መቼ እንደምትመጪ ፍፁም ጊዜውን አላውቅም።
stanza
እንደዚህ ስሰቃይ በናፍቆት ???? ፣
በሩቁ ብትወጂኝ አይጠቅመኝም እኔ።
ፍቅርሽ ተዋሕዶ ከኔ ስጋና ደም፣
በቶሎ ካልመጣሽ ናፍቆቴ አልበረደም።
Transliteration
Banʧi fəqər säkro ləbe əyäwalälä
Ǝnem əne aydälähu betem bet alhonä
Bämäkakälu lay and əkəl saymät‘a
Asəbäšəbät näy kähasab näts’sa ləwt‘a
Yäfəqərəšən mälə’əkt hulun yazku ənği bäləqmə
Mäʧe əndämətəmäʧ’i fətsum gizewun alawqəmə
Ǝndäzih səsäqay bänafqot
Bäruqu bətəwäğəɲ ayt‘äqmäɲəm läne
Fəqərəš täwahədo käne səgana dämə
Bätolo kalmät’aš nafqote albärädämə

Translation
I kept every one of your love letters with me
I don't know exactly when you plan to come.
My heart is so drunk from your love; it swings back and forth-
I am no longer I; my home is no longer mine.
Before any problem arises in between-
Think it over and set me free me from my worries.
Suffering very much- your love from afar it does not help me much.
Your love should merge with my flesh and blood-
until you come soon I will continue longing for you.

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 Teffera Mekonnen ተፈራ መኮንን: Born to Live for Music

Figure 72: Gizewun alawqəm ‚I don’t remember the time’ [ጊዜውን አላውቅም]; lyrics:
Gibreab Teferi; melody composition/arrangement: Teffera Mekonnen (reproduced
with MusicTime software in order to include the lyrics)

Figure 73: Gizewun alawqəm ‚I don’t remember the time’ [ጊዜውን አላውቅም]; Lyric:
Gibreab Teferi; melody composition/arrangement: Teffera Mekonnen (original
composition)

119
Timkehet Teffera

Figure 74: ‚Hallo! Hallo!’ [ሃሎ ሃሎ]; vocals: Bahta Gebrehiwot; lyrics: Gibreab Teferi;
melody composition /arrangement: Teffera Mekonnen

Amharic
stanza
ስትመላለሺ ካከላቴ ክፍል፣
ሃሎ በአንጎሌ አትሂጅ የጠላሽ ይመስል።
ስትገቢ አየሁ እንጂ በዓይኔ ላይ ተስለሽ፣
አላውቅም ነበረ በኔ ላይ እንዳለሽ።
ሕዋሳቴን ስታዥ ይሰማኛል አረ፣
ሃሎ ጠቅላይ ቢሮሽ ወዴት ላይ ነበረ።
እንደምን ጠፋሽኝ አካሌ ውስጥ ሆነሽ?
ሃሎ ሃሎ ሃሎ ሃሎ ተይ ማነሽ።
refrain
ሕዋሳቴ ታዘዘልሽ፣ ወዳጄ ሆይ ሃሎ የት ነሽ?
ስለፍቅር ሳትቆጪኝ፣ ሃሎ ስልሽ መልስ ስጪኝ
Transliteration
Sətəmälaläšə kä‘kälate kəfələ
Hallo bä’angole atəhiğə yät’älaš yəmäsələ
Sətəgäbi ayähu ənği bä’ayne lay täsəläšə
Alawqəm näbärä bäne lay əndaläšə
Həwasaten sətazzə yəsämaɲal ärä
Alo t’äqlay biroš wädet lay näbärä
Ǝndämən t’äfašəɲ akale wust‘ honäšə
Hallo hallo hallo hallo täyə manäšə
Həwasate tazäzäləš wädağe hoy alo yät näšə?
Səläfəqər satəqoʧ’iɲ alo sələsh mäls səʧ’iɲ

Translation

You have been moving back and forth in my body-

don’t wander up and down in my head.
You have been moving back and forth in my body.
I imagined you rush past my eyes-
I did not know that you were with me spiritually.
I feel how you touch my soul-
where is actually your headquarters?
How could I have missed your presence in my soul-
Hallo! Hallo! Who are you?

120
 Teffera Mekonnen ተፈራ መኮንን: Born to Live for Music

My sensory organs obey you; my love, where are you?

Please do not scold me for love’s; answer when I say Hallo.
The song starts with a telephone ringing sound. After two times ringing, Bahta’s vocals
sets in. He utters ‘Hallo! Hallo!’ to answer the call and after that the intro sets in. In the
following two figures, the original score and the transcribed score with the main melody
and lyrics demonstrating the refrain and stanza lines are presented.

Figure 75: ‚Hallo! Hallo!’ [ሃሎ ሃሎ]; lyrics: Gibreab Teferi; melody composition
/arrangement: Teffera Mekonnen; (reproduced with MusicTime software in order to
include the lyrics)

Figure 76: ‚Hallo! Hallo!’ [ሃሎ ሃሎ]; lyrics: Gibreab Teferi; melody composition
/arrangement: Teffera Mekonnen (original composition)

121
Timkehet Teffera

122
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