Polio - a song from the DRC
Parents, please go to the vaccination center, Get your babies vaccinated against polio
Hi all,
Thank you for joining me for today’s song, “Polio” by the Congolese band Staff Benda Bilili. If you’d like to hear the song before you read about it, I’ve included a YouTube video below the article.
Below, you’ll find my interpretation of the lyrics which are written in italics. For Japanese students, vocabulary words in bold are provided in Japanese below.
✳️ Note: The level of this article is for students with a TOEIC of 550+, Eiken Pre-1, CEFR B2. For Japanese students, vocabulary words in bold are provided in Japanese below.
Listen to each article of Social Issues in Song on the Substack App. Download it here:
(554 words)
The polio virus is very old, but the sudden spread of the virus didn't start until the 1800s. People in Europe and the U.S. got very sick. By the 1910s, everyone was scared because polio was spreading so fast. In 1916, many children became ill and couldn't move or even died. Scientists started working on a vaccine to stop polio. They tested it on animals and then people. Finally, in 1953, a doctor named Jonas Salk made a vaccine. It worked by injecting a dead virus into people. The U.S. started using it in 1955. Soon after, fewer and fewer people got sick. By the 2020s, the virus didn’t affect people in most places in the world. But some places still have polio because people don't trust vaccines or don't have clean water. Scientists are still working to get rid of polio completely.
Today’s song is about polio. It was written and is sung by Staff Benda Bilili, a band from the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). They started as street musicians living near the zoo in Kinshasa, the capital of the DRC. Their music mixes soukous, an African dance style, with rhythm and blues and reggae.
The main band members are four older men who sing and play guitar. They cannot walk because they had polio as children. They move around in amazing tricycles they adapted themselves. Younger band members, who were once homeless kids, play drums and other instruments. The older members took care of them and made them part of the band.
I was born as a strong man but polio crippled me
Look at me today, I’m screwed into my tricycle
I have become the man with the canes
The hell with those crutches!
The members of the band ask parents to vaccinate their children so that the virus doesn’t affect them.
Parents, please go to the vaccination center
Get your babies vaccinated against polio
Please save them from that curse
My parents had the good idea to register me at school
Look at me now: I’m a well-educated person
Which enables me to work and support my family
The song also discusses discrimination. People with polio have faced discrimination just because they can’t do things that other people can.
Parents please don’t neglect your children
The one who is disabled is no different from the others
(Why should he?)
Treat all your children without discrimination
(Don’t throw anyone on the side)
Who among them will help you when you’re in need?
God only knows who
The band’s name, Staff Benda Bilili, comes from the Lingala language and means look beyond appearances. Their music and story inspire people worldwide.
Another writer on Substack, Mmerikani*, added some interesting information about the Lingala language. Lingala is also a Bantu language, and some words are shared between Lingala and Swahili, but it (Lingala) is recognized as its own language.” Also, she heard at 02:00 in video, “Mungu Baba” or “God our Father” which is the same in Swahili.
Polio has not yet been eliminated, but with the spread of vaccines, it is hoped that one day in the near future, no one will ever suffer from the effects of this virus, kama mungu akipenda (if God is willing).
Question
What diseases have been eliminated in your country?
Vocabulary
polio virus ポリオウイルス (virus is pronounced [ˈvīrəs]
vaccine ワクチン [vakˈsēn] vaccination 予防接種
inject 注射する
to cripple 身体を不自由にする
cane 杖
crutches 松葉杖
curse 呪い
discrimination 差別
disabled 身体障害者
eliminate 無くす
*Mmerikani has an excellent Substack that offers short quotes from a variety of writers. The quotes are in Swahili with an English translation. The quotes are inspiring, and you can learn a little about a most beautiful language, Swahili.
Sources
Encyclopædia Britannica, inc. (n.d.-b). How did The polio vaccine change the world? Encyclopædia Britannica. https://www.britannica.com/video/history-of-the-polio-vaccine/-280386 . Accessed 17 November 2024.
Palumbo, M. Polio and the salk vaccine. 20th Century History Song Book. https://20thcenturyhistorysongbook.com/song-book/the-fifties/polio-and-the-salk-vaccine/ . Accessed 17 November 2024.
Translators without Borders. (2022, July 6). Language data for the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). https://translatorswithoutborders.org/language-data-for-the-democratic-republic-of-congo-drc . Accessed 17 November 2024.
I believe that education should be free.
All of the articles about the songs will remain free for students to use. (We are all students, are we not?) However, if you find these articles useful and are in a position to make a small (or large) donation, I would be deeply grateful.
Louise, you are so kind to include a description of my Substack. Asante sana ndugu! This IS a really great song and even more so when I know the story behind it. Thank you for ALL of your Songs of Social Protest. I enjoy reading about their historical context and you give them new, proper life, these timeless songs. What a fun and engaging way to teach language (Japanese and English), culture, history, and humanity. You are a wonderful teacher!
Thank you, Louise, for the introduction of amazingly resilient musicians.
Just a thought of how they feel when they sing/play this song makes me feel sad and even suffocating because (I guess) they can’t sing/play this song (their own unreasonable experience) without recalling what they don’t want to recall (maybe I'm wrong about this, but right or wrong, they are super resilient).
By the way, I’ve never seen a four-string acoustic guitar (2:12). I was wondering it is another creative adaptation of theirs just like their tricycles.
Mitsuru Hiki