Takoumba's Evening Sun…

[Slow melancholic country ballad in the style of Kenny Rogers. Warm husky male voice (Kenny Rogers style) on the English verses and choruses.

On the Arabic chorus only: female harmony duet with a high, emotional, crystalline voice like Dolly Parton. Very slow tempo (65-70 BPM), acoustic guitar, weeping fiddle, soft steel guitar, gentle desert atmosphere. Deeply sad, reflective and cinematic. Pure emotion and storytelling.]

Born in Sidi Ifni where the Atlantic winds blow cold

A town that time forgot, with dreams that turned to stone

No jobs on the horizon, no projects coming through

Just young men waking up to skies of endless blue

This is the life of Takoumba, son of a wounded land

Where hope gets swallowed by the sea and by the sand

He stayed behind with his old guitar and a heart full of rain

While all his friends took to the water, chasing life in vain

Oh Takoumba… my Takoumba

تَاكُومْبَا

شَمْسُ الْمَسَاءِ تَأْبَى الْغُرُوبَا

قَدْ نَسِيَهَا الزَّمَانُ وَهِيَ تَسْكُنُ الْقُلُوبَا

وَبَقِيتَ وَحْدَكَ كَحَجَرِ الْوَادِي

وَحِيدًا تُغَنِّي الْجُرْحَ الَّذِي لَا يُشْفَى

إِلَّا إِذَا غَنَّى إبْنُ الْجَنُوبِ

تَاكُومْبَا

His whole generation packed their bags in the dead of night

Climbed on fragile boats beneath the pale moonlight

Searching for the work, the hope, the future they never knew

Some never reached the other shore, lost beneath the waves

But Takoumba stayed, singing what the ocean couldn’t save

This is the life of Takoumba, son of a wounded land

Where hope gets swallowed by the sea and by the sand

He stayed behind with his old guitar and a heart full of rain

While all his friends took to the water, chasing life in vain

تَاكُومْبَا

شَمْسُ الْمَسَاءِ تَأْبَى الْغُرُوبَا

قَدْ نَسِيَهَا الزَّمَانُ وَهِيَ تَسْكُنُ الْقُلُوبَا

وَبَقِيتَ وَحْدَكَ كَحَجَرِ الْوَادِي

وَحِيدًا تُغَنِّي الْجُرْحَ الَّذِي لَا يُشْفَى

إِلَّا إِذَا غَنَّى إبْنُ الْجَنُوبِ

تَاكُومْبَا

The Tuareg know his name, the Songhai hear his call

But back in Ifni the streets stay silent, nothing changes at all

This is the life of Takoumba, a man who chose to stay

Holding the broken heart of Ifni every single day

Every note a quiet prayer for the brothers who sailed away

تَاكُومْبَا

شَمْسُ الْمَسَاءِ تَأْبَى الْغُرُوبَا

إِلَّا إِذَا غَنَّى إبْنُ الْجَنُوبِ

تَاكُومْبَا

Oh Takoumba… Takoumba's Evening Sun…

Style: Extremely melancholic, heartfelt, storytelling country ballad like Kenny Rogers. Warm husky voice, emotional delivery, sad and reflective atmosphere, slow tempo around 65-70 BPM, acoustic instruments only, no upbeat elements.