There is another Creole song with the same kind of double refrain, but the meaning of the African words I have not been able to discover.
Nicolas, Nicolas, Nicolas, ou dindin; Nicolas, Nicolas, Nicolas marché ouaminon: Quand li marché _Ouarasi, ouarasa!_ Quand li marché _Ouarasi, ouarasa!_
["Nicholas, etc., you are a turkey-cock! Nicholas walks _ouaminon_: when he walks, it is _ouarasi, ouarasa_."] The idea is obvious enough; viz.: that Nicholas struts like a turkey-cock; but the precise signification of the three italicised words I have failed to learn.
338. Yon doègt pas sa pouend pice. (Un seul doigt ne peut pas attraper des puces.)
"One finger can't catch fleas."--[_Martinique._]
339. * Yon lanmain douè lavé laute. (Une main doit laver l'autre.)
"One hand must wash the other."--You must not depend upon others to get you out of trouble.--[_Martinique._]
340. Yon mauvais paòle ka blessé plis qu'coupd'roche. (Une mauvaise parole blesse plus qu'un coup-de-pierre.)
"A wicked word hurts more than a blow from a stone."--[_Martinique._]
341. Zaco malin, li-méme té montré noir coment voler. (La singe est malin; c'est lui qui a montré au noir comment on vole.)
"The monkey is sly; it was he that first taught the black man how to steal."--[_Mauritius._]
342. Zaco napas guétte so laquée; li guétte pour son camarade. (Le singe ne regarde pas sa queue; il regarde celle de son voisin.)
"Monkey never watches his own tail; he watches his neighbor's."--[_Mauritius._]
343. * Zaffaire ça qui sotte, chien mangé dìné yo. (Des choses [qui appartiennent] aux sots les chiens font leur dîner.)
"Dogs make their dinner upon what belongs to fools."--[_Louisiana._]
344. * Zaffé cabritt pa zaffé mouton. (L'affaire de la chèvre n'est pas l'affaire du mouton.)
"The goat's business is not the sheep's affair."[144]--[_Martinique._]
[144] Seems to be the same in all Creole dialects, excepting that the rabbit is sometimes substituted for the sheep.
345. Zaffére qui fine passé narien; laute qui pour vint qui li! (L'affaire passée n'est rien; c'est l'affaire à venir qui est le hic.)
"What's past is nothing; it's what's to come that's the rub."--[_Mauritius._]
346. Zamais béf senti so corne trop lourd. (Jamais le b[oe]uf ne sent ses cornes trop lourdes.)