Rohff – Regretté (English lyrics)

I was born from the dirt and I’ll leave in the dirt
And the sun will rise at the same time as misery, brother
You left, you were right there in front of me talking to me about Ya Rabi
You had just started praying regularly
May god forgive your soul
Now life is different and the streets are losing their monuments
Losing their values, losing their principles
Losing it’s respect towards discipline in the under world
Sentences have gotten worst from court rooms to coffins
A front page article, a mother left grieving
With all the women from the family around to support her
Sadeness for the son that she saw born
To never return home
Gone too soon, without saying goodbye to the family, to the homies
A light goes out in the ghetto
Just a few pictures as souvenirs, it’s even sadder on video
Rival neighborhoods gather to pay hommage to you
List off your qualities, relate stories spent with you
I never realized how much you meant to me
And it’s always that way, your face and your voice are haunting me, brother
I miss your personality
we weren’t from the same background, you were older
Maybe that’s the reason why we got along so well
You were ready to do anything for me
To the point of having a car accident on your way to pick me up, I was the only rapper you listened to
I haven’t seen your family, may god protect them, shame on me
May god forgive me, SoubhanAllah how life’s obstacles can weaken a man
I regret, but I swear on the Coran that it was like I was there without being there
But that’s god’s will, speaking about you bring tears to my eyes
A dua for your soul, I hope to see you in heaven
You were a great man, respected even by the Police, courageous
Handsome just like your son, despite your poor living conditions you still took him horse riding
If no one refused you would give him everything
You didn’t know how to read, but we learned a lot with you
A reliable guy, just one look and we understood each other
Always level headed, never coward
You were real good at drifting, at wheeling, even when riding at two, from the 94 to the 92
I didn’t give a shit that walking with you could be dangerous because of all the beefs
You don’t insult a dead person whether good or bad
Whether he’s from my side or yours may he rest in peace
from where they are they don’t worry about life no more
and if they could return it would only be to win their place in heaven
we smoke each other but it’s the systems that sets us up against each other
I pay hommage to all the stand up guys like Arafat or Nordo
May god preserve them from the flames of hell
Knowing you’re going to die is worst when you can’t do nothing about it
When I would sense that weren’t okay and you were smoking blunts after blunt
I would kick a little freestyle that would get your spirit back up
I lost a lot of people, throught violence for the most part
Because of a disrespect or lack of money
or drunken accidents or overdose
Death settles everything up, makes you forget the reasons
either you rationalize, go crazy or give up on living
I’m not crying but my writing is salty
To all those that lost their brother, their sister, their father, their mother
Their kids under the ruins of an air-strike
Far from life in Paris everything is happenig just like the lord said it would
What shall the suffering be ? Death from illness

Uncle Ahmed, I saw you on your dying bed
It hurts to witness the agony of a golden man
Caring, you spoke to me like a friend
Always there to reconcile the family members
You tried hard to instil the right manners in us
To transmit to us the vertues, the richness of misery
The perfect father, you always spoke calmly
Despite the racket caused by your many offsprings
I never saw him complain
Came back from the mecca with the light, he left without turning it off
May god bless my aunt
Everyone will have his day and death has us all on a waiting list
From the jump we are all condemned, it’s hard to lose two sons in the same year
This is for Mamad’s mother, Bssirou Doucouré
Salam to Lassana Touré’s family
Real stand up guys,respect, since they left things aren’t the same, rest in peace

For Saïd, from Chevilly to Athis-Mons
Even in jail you needed to hear my music
And I would have really wished for you to listen to this one
You left us behind les barreaux en semi (???)
we don’t believe in suicide, the Imam that prepared you told us you were beautifull
your face was relaxed beacause your were a good person
You shared your hearth like a piece of bread
Without knowing you I smelt your aura like a perfum
you bought my albums by the 20s to offer them out in the streets
I still can’t realize that I won’t be seeing you anymore down here
On the days when I had a long face, you brought sun
I rememeber the laser Quest, vacations in Marseille
You would say “don’t worry Housni a lot of people love you
You give them strenght trough your freestyle and the subjects you rap about”
You always said Hamdoulillah even when everything was going wrong
That’s Saïd for you, everything was always normal
I learned about his death while I was recording this album
3 days before, we spoke about seeing each other again on the phone
Shows you how life is delicate, you’re never sure to be there tommorow
To make it home, wake up and go to work the next day
for all the sacrificed generation, repatriated bodies
The grieving mothers and all the praying men
For the dear ones that we no longer see
One day our turn will come and life goes on

From the bottom of my hearth, in all honesty
Farewell, I dedicate these verses to the people that are conscious about reality
I’m talking to you about the one we lived, the one we live, the one we’ll certainly live if we survive
To Mamadou, La goutte d’Or, the 18th arrondissment, brother, Allah y rahmou
To Kimbatou, Choisy, we miss you brother, Allah y rahmdou
Zohair, Dialla Coulibaly from Reims, we miss you brothers, Allah y rahmdou
Karim Zerouali, to miss Diakité, Allah y rahma
To all the dear ones that we lost
The list is long
Whether family members, friends, or even ennemies
Because death settles everything
Everything that we own, we’re actually renting it, even if we bought it
Because you don’t carry any of it with you
May god protect you…Of course if you have faith

I live everyday like it’s my last
And when my son smiles it’s just like it was his first
I thank all the misery for making me who I am
With everything that my hearth likes and everything that rejoices me
Everything that motivates me, that keeps me alive
Everything that makes me keep fate and helps me go through life
You can count back the days lived, you’re the addition
I’m here to brave the obstacles and man’s mentality
One day we’re strong, the other we’re weak
One day we remember, the other we forget
cousin, tommorow is today
Waiting on D day
Where you’ll only see me on a poster in front of candles
I hope you keep good memories of me
If I ever hurted you or did you any wrong forgive me
honestly, I’m here to exist the best I can
I work on myself in order to resist evil’s temptations
no ones perfect, you know it
I won’t stop advising you even if I’m no better myself, you know it
Time goes by and I can’t hold it back
Too much hearth, too much nerves and I can’t maintain myself
Two people make me suffer, my son and I we both came out from them
I’m not happy, whatever, that’s personal
That’s my destiny, I embrace it with open arms
The world has rotted my vision, that’s why I look at people side ways
I’m fed up with everything and I only like a few things
I get tired of women, passion fades away just like a rose
Feel like just dropping it all like Kayna Samet
A lack of good deeds, do a dua to help me
I know that god has something planned for me
And when I die
I know I won’t understand nothing, I won’t see it coming
maybe from the barrel of a gun or a riffle
or a blade held by the hands of jealousy
It’s getting way out of hand
Don’t talk about mercy, respect for human beings
survival insticts and honor, most definitely
It’s all about making the right choices or else it’s 10 years at best