G on Jan Pou Ye

$2.95

_____________________________________
for SATB Chorus & percussion
(2023)
Duration: 4:40 minutes
_____________________________________

Note: It is a breach of copyright law to make more copies than the amount purchased. Please order the number of copies needed for every member of the ensemble, including the conductor and the accompanist.

Description

The phrase “G on jan pou ye” has been a popular idiom in the Haitian community in recent years, similar to how “You do you” has become popular in the United States. Although the colloquial phrase is often used by someone who’s playfully boasting, or subtly “throwing shade”, the text offers a reflective take on that phrase, and the music keeps it witty.


 

English Text:

There’s a way you oughta be.
There’s a way we must be.
We all have a destiny, we all have a path.
Seek and search for the right path to take.

In this thing called life where many are lost,
One must stay vigilant to avoid predicaments.
You may be a ruler, you may be arrogant,
There’s a way you oughta be.
There’s a way we must be.

Nature has a way of settling everything.
If we remember that, we won’t have turmoil.
All prayers have an amen.*
All bottles have a cap.
Principles and justice are the remedies for trouble.

Those who are smart follow the rules.
Those who don’t want to dance must not get in the circle.
Kindness and wisdom are the best virtues.
There’s a way you oughta be.
There’s a way we must be.

Even identical twins don’t share the same fate.
We all have a destiny, we all have a path.
We must search for which path to take.
There’s a way you oughta be.
There’s a way we must be.

Click Here for complete Haitian Creole Text and English Translation


 

Recording

 

G on Jan Pou Ye – rehearsal recording:
Hudson High School Chamber Choir
March 1, 2023

 


 

 Perusal Score

 

 


 

 Performance Video


 

 Practice Tracks