"Ya Foy" means "no problem" in Ouagalais dialect and it's one of the Burkinabè' favourite expressions. To me it attests to their way of accepting things and coping with the problems of life and society with a kind of can-do fatalism and also a tendency to downplay them. Sure there are problems in abundance. More than anywhere else you have to make the most of each passing day. Then there are things you talk about (health problems, the family, the cost of living, money, women, accidents etc) and things of which little or nothing is said (corruption at all levels of power, the assassination of Sankara, Sankara himself, violence against women and children, the oppression and lies of religion, the dictatorship in power, electoral fraud, the repression of the army mutiny in 2011, the collusion of foreigners with the powers that be, excision etc.

I used a Samogo rhythm when composing “Ya Foy” where you'll discover the riffs of Griot percussionist Zouratie Kone. The "Griots" (bards) in African culture are the keepers of the oral culture. This caste plays an essential role in the transmission of poetry, music and local history from generation to generation. In “Ya Foy”, Zouratie invites men, women and children to come dance and listen. He then chants a series of metaphors which resonate differently for each listener.

"All of you out there, come and dance with us (ter)
All of you right here, come and dance with us
All you men come close. Women all come close. Children all come close”.

“Listen to Zouratié Koné, he says
Everybody has to learn to walk on one foot because nobody knows what the future will bring.
The spirits are with you forever;
Never was a serpent bigger than the python;
May God grant you long life;
The Dawonson divinity protects you, of that there is no doubt;
The fools they carry many things but that don't make them merchants;
The buck (the Don Juan) likes the idea of having several mistresses but not the duties it brings”.

“Listen to me now:
For a woman to betray your love, it is not a fatality;
The truth is, tomorrow another woman will want you”.

“Listen to me now:
A man may die but he can't stop the council of the wise;
One brave man dies today, another one born tomorrow.”