Nu Mă, Nu Mă, Nu Mă Iei
While wandering around the Alcan Dragon Boat Festival (geez their website is dull — anybody need a good design gig for next year?), we were surrounded by a wash of different music and sounds. Suddenly:
Oana: Oh my god! They're playing Romanian pop!
Matt: You're kidding.
Oana: I'm serious! Listen?
Matt: What? No! That's the Numa Numa Dance song!
Oana: No.
Matt: It is! That's Romanian?
Oana: I mean, no, it's not "Nu mă nu mă" — those are part of the words, but it's called "Dragostea Din Tei".
Matt: So it is the Numa Numa Dance song.
Oana: Yeah, except "nu mă nu mă" doesn't make any sense. That's like saying "Don't something me, don't something me." It needs the "iei" at the end.
Matt: Don't yay me?
Oana: Don't take me. "You are leaving, but you don't take me." And then something about the love of the linden tree. That's the title part.
Matt: Linden tree.
Oana: My aunt says it's a figure of speech.
Matt: So all this hype, and it's a song about linden trees.
Oana: As if the rest of the words make any sense either. It's about the guy getting dumped by this girl, and then she's moving or something, and he's phoning to leave all these messages asking why she's not taking him along. As if that needs an explanation. "I know you dumped me, but can I go with you?"
Matt: Maybe he likes the abuse. And the linden trees. What does the other part say? The he, who, hey part? That doesn't sound Romanian.
Oana: That's just made up stuff. Like la la la. Or how we Romanians say "Mmmbop," but without the pedophile-oppressed boy band implications — you know.
Matt: Oh. So was this the CD your parents were supposed to bring you from Romania at Christmas?
Oana: [dejectedly] Yeah.
Matt: But they brought that other one instead.
Oana: I know. It's okay.
Matt: Oh well. You got to hear it today though. [pumps hands in air in imitation of Numa Numa Dance guy] Ma ia hi! Ma ia hu! . . .
Oana: Um, let's not get carried away? We're in public, you know.
Matt: Sorry.
Oana: Oh my god! They're playing Romanian pop!
Matt: You're kidding.
Oana: I'm serious! Listen?
Matt: What? No! That's the Numa Numa Dance song!
Oana: No.
Matt: It is! That's Romanian?
Oana: I mean, no, it's not "Nu mă nu mă" — those are part of the words, but it's called "Dragostea Din Tei".
Matt: So it is the Numa Numa Dance song.
Oana: Yeah, except "nu mă nu mă" doesn't make any sense. That's like saying "Don't something me, don't something me." It needs the "iei" at the end.
Matt: Don't yay me?
Oana: Don't take me. "You are leaving, but you don't take me." And then something about the love of the linden tree. That's the title part.
Matt: Linden tree.
Oana: My aunt says it's a figure of speech.
Matt: So all this hype, and it's a song about linden trees.
Oana: As if the rest of the words make any sense either. It's about the guy getting dumped by this girl, and then she's moving or something, and he's phoning to leave all these messages asking why she's not taking him along. As if that needs an explanation. "I know you dumped me, but can I go with you?"
Matt: Maybe he likes the abuse. And the linden trees. What does the other part say? The he, who, hey part? That doesn't sound Romanian.
Oana: That's just made up stuff. Like la la la. Or how we Romanians say "Mmmbop," but without the pedophile-oppressed boy band implications — you know.
Matt: Oh. So was this the CD your parents were supposed to bring you from Romania at Christmas?
Oana: [dejectedly] Yeah.
Matt: But they brought that other one instead.
Oana: I know. It's okay.
Matt: Oh well. You got to hear it today though. [pumps hands in air in imitation of Numa Numa Dance guy] Ma ia hi! Ma ia hu! . . .
Oana: Um, let's not get carried away? We're in public, you know.
Matt: Sorry.