Wes’ “Alane” Lyrics Meaning
First off let it be known that the lyrics of “Alane” are recited in a Bantu dialect, with Bantu being a language spoken in the southern-central part of Africa. What that basically means is that if you’re not from that part of the world, then you aren’t going to understand the lyrics therein.
Yet and still, “Alane” proved to be a major hit in Europe and especially in France. And that is because it is effective in relaying a feeling as opposed to a specific story, which is perhaps the ideological goal of all songs in the world music category. In other words, the producers of the track know that by all means it’s going to be put in markets where customers will not be able to interpret the lyrics worth a damn. So the least they can do is try to provide an enthralling product from a musical perspective. And the general consensus is that “Alane” realizes that latter goal.
Lyrics of “Alane”
And being that the song blew up almost exclusively in Europe, there aren’t many English translations floating about. But we did find a number of them during our research into this song. It is more-common knowledge that the title actually translates to the phrase “Love Song”. And yes, to some degree as translated, it does read like one of the amorous variety. For instance, even if only briefly, the vocalist does express a desire to “seduce” the addressee. But it is also arguable, taking the whole song into consideration, that he is most likely not referring to sexual seduction.
Indeed on a completely-different level, “Alane” sounds just as it means. That is perhaps the genius of this song, that you can understand it without understanding it. For verily it is one of those general-happiness, ‘we are the world’ types of tunes. And what the singer is most pointedly inviting the addressee to do is “dance in a love song”.
Or viewed differently, accepting his invitation to dance is akin to participating in a bonding ceremony via partaking of this “love song”. And Wes is not extending said invitation to a specific group of people. Instead it is one in which “everybody” can “share” in the “dance”. In fact it can even be argued that there’s some type of environmental subtheme underneath it all also, i.e. an appreciation of “the planet” as well as “nature” itself.
In Conclusion
So conclusively, it would appear that the “love” the vocalist is speaking of is the love of life in general. And yes, he is calling us to dance, which is, no pun intended, the most common theme of dance songs. But at the same time, this is a more-meaningful call to celebration than your usual fare. And why? This is because Wes is doing so not only to promote peace, if you will, amongst fellow human beings. But relatedly he also wants us, via “Alane”, to actively rejoice in the gift of life – nature and all.
Who is Wes?
Wes (full name Wes Madiko) is a musician from Cameroon, the country you find on the map just south of Nigeria. And accordingly the lyrics of “Alane” are recited in Duala, a Cameroonian variation of the overall Bantu language group.
Facts about “Alane”
“Alane” did very well in Europe, where it topped music charts in the Netherlands, Austria, Belgium and France. It also went on to achieve diamond certification in France in 1998, just a year after its 1 June 1997 release date. In fact as at 2012, it holds the distinction of being amongst the 20 top-selling songs in the history of France.
The director of this track’s music video is also a Frenchman by the name of Philippe Gautier. And the choreography was designed by Mia Frye, a lady born in NYC who also has a connection with France. And she also serves as a dancer in the clip, apparently the one in front with the yellow hair.
Overall, “Alane” charted in 20 countries, including peaking at number 11 on the UK Singles Chart. And the only nation outside of Europe where it charted was in Israel. Here, it reached number seven on the Israeli Singles Chart.
This song is the second track on the playlist of “Welenga”, which was Wes’s 1996 debut album. In the decades that followed he also dropped a couple of other full-lengths, including “Melowe” in 2010.
More “Alane” Facts!!!
In the year 2020, “Alane” became an international hit once again, this time as a collaboration between Wes and Robin Schulz. The latter is a DJ from Germany who served as co-producer of the remix, with the other being an entity known as Junkx.
And Junkx is a group of producers hailing from Deutschland consisting of musicians Stefan Dabruck, Dennis Bierbrodt, Guido Kramer and Jürgen Dohr.
The 2020 version of “Alane” hasn’t proven to be a chart-topper like the original. But it has been certified platinum in Austria, where the song also peaked at number three on the Ö3 Austria Top 40. And altogether it charted in a dozen nations, for the most part being relegated to Europe.
Wes and Robin Schulz put the remix together in Paris, the capitol of France.
The original version of “Alane” was written by Wes alongside Michael Sanchez, the latter of whom also acted as the track’s producer. And the labels behind it are Sony Music as well as another entity listed as Epic / St George.
Beautiful. This is so beautiful.