Artist: Tilda
Track Title: Sweet Mother
Duration: 8 Minutes 47 Seconds
Date of Release: 18 July, 2014
Tilda is a West African vocalist known for drawing from classic highlife influences and reinterpreting timeless regional sounds with a modern vocal touch. In her rendition of “Sweet Mother,” she revisits one of the most enduring African tributes song to motherhood, originally made famous in the continent’s highlife tradition and deeply rooted in emotional storytelling.
This version carries a reflective tone, centering on gratitude, sacrifice, and the quiet strength of maternal love. Rather than treating the song as nostalgia alone, Tilda leans into its emotional weight, allowing each line to feel personal and grounded. The use of melodic phrasing shaped by highlife and subtle Pidgin-inflected expression gives the performance a familiar cultural warmth while still feeling freshly interpreted. “Sweet Mother” in this form becomes more than a classic replay it reads like a renewed conversation between generations, honoring resilience and unconditional care. It invites listeners to reconnect with their own memories of family, upbringing, and gratitude in simple but powerful ways. What stood out most to you in this interpretation, and how does it compare to the versions you’ve known before?
Lyrics
intro
C′est ça
Sweet mother
verse
Sweet mother, I no go forget you
For this suffer wey you suffer for me, yeah
Sweet mother, I no go forget you (mama, oh)
intro
C′est ça
Sweet mother
verse
Sweet mother, I no go forget you
For this suffer wey you suffer for me, yeah
Sweet mother, I no go forget you (mama, oh)
For this suffer wey you suffer for me, yeah
When I dey cry, my mother go carry me
She go say my pikin "wetin' you dey cry, yo, yo"
Stop, stop
Stop, stop
Stop, stop, make you no cry again oh
When I want sleep, my mother go pet me
She go lie me well, well for bed
She cover me cloth say, "make you sleep"
Sleep, sleep, my pikin oh
When I dey hungry, my mother go run up and down
She go find me somthing we I go chop oh
Sweet mother, uh-uh
Sweet mother oh, I love you
When I dey sick, my mother go cry, cry, cry
She go say instead when I go die, make she die
She go beg God
God help me, God help me, my pikin oh
If I no sleep, my mother no go sleep
If I no chop, my mother no go chop
She no dey tire, uh
Sweet mother
I no go forget dey suffer wey you suffer for me, yeah-yeah
Sweet mother (uh-uh-uh, yeah-yeah)
Sweet mother oh, I love you
Sweet mother
Je n′oublierai jamais tout cet amour que tu as su me donner
Sweet mother
Je n'oublierai jamais, mama oh
Tout cet amour que tu as su me donner
hook
Quand je pleure, sweet mother me prends dans ses bras
Elle me dit mon bébé "oh, pourquoi tu pleure, yo, yo"
Stop, stop
Stop, stop
Stop, stop, et ne pleure plus mon bébé, oh
verse
Quand j'ai sommeil
Sweet mother me berce, me berce
Me borde bien dans mon lit
Elle me chante une chanson
"Fais dodo, fais dodo mon bébé, oh"
Quand j′ai faim
Sweet mother va un peu partout pour me trouver de quoi manger
Sweet mother, uh-uh
Sweet mother oh, je t′aime
Quand je suis malade, sweet mother elle pleure et puis
Et dit "mon Dieu, prenez soins de mon bébé"
Elle prie tout oh-oh
"Seigneur aide, Seigneur aide mon bébé oh"
Si je ne dors pas, sweet mother ne dors pas
Si je ne mange pas, ah, sweet mother ne mange pas
Elle n'est jamais fatiguée, sweet mother
Je n′oublierai jamais tout ce que tu as pu faire pour moi
Sweet mother, uh-uh
Sweet mother oh, je t'aime
My sweet mother
I no go forget you my sweet mother we you suffer for me
When I did cry, my mother go cry
She don′t know whatin' go do
You know well?
Na wetin′ dey worry you my pikin
Uuh
bridge
You fit get another wife
You fit get another husband
But you fit get another mother? Oh, no
verse
Ah, my sweet mother qui a tant souffert pour moi
Aah
Quand je pleure, ma maman pleure aussi
Elle dit "qu'est-ce qui ne va pas mon bébé?"
"Tu as faim? T'es malade?
Aah"
hook
Tu peux avoir un autre mari
Tu peux avoir une autre femme
Est-ce que tu peux avoir une autre maman?
Oh, non, impossible
pre-chorus
Ma maman est la meilleure, oh
chorus
Sweet mother, uh-uh
Sweet mother oh, I love you
Sweet mother, uh-uh
Sweet mother oh, je t′aime
Sweet mother, uh-uh
Sweet mother oh, I love you
Sweet mother, uh-uh
Sweet mother oh, je t′aime
outro
Sweet mother, uh-uh
Sweet mother oh, I love you
Sweet mother, uh-uh
Sweet mother oh, je t'aime
Writer(s): Nico Mbarga
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