The neighbors didn’t hear anything
The sky remained calm
No helicopters flew
Ayti (« the sea in the mountains ») fell asleep

A president stood waiting to die
All night drinking coffee
The door was smashed
Shooting stars lit up the sky

The ghost of a buccaneer
Reached out to the President
You could hear the commandos screaming
In Spanish and English

Or gen timoun (do you have children?)
The assassin spit his red saliva
On the carpet with golden bangs
A child tears a cardboard box in a street

Ki travay ou fe (what is your job?)
I am the President of Haiti
My soul is about to depart my body
The sky turns blue under the assaults of the fighter planes

M pa konprann byen, repete souple (I don’t understand well, please repeat)
The night rushes like a thief into the apartment
The wind tears away the hopes
The shot is gone quickly

The forest of the Hispaniola pines
Welcomes the armored vans
And the ghost of the president
Perched on a peregrine falcon

He travels the Caribbean island singing,
Kids play with rocks
One of them threw a stone in the sand
Red petals flew into the sky

Ne te tonbe pou yon ayisien (I fell in love with a Haitian woman)
Her face is reflected in the wise night,
She’s the president’s daughter, she’s shaking,
A ghost escorts her up the mountain

Mwen damou ou (I love you very much)
Take me away from political crimes
Far from the dirty wind, far from the unhealthy metal sheets
Let’s melt into the pink folds of twilight