Extract “I came to tell you that I am going” from Serge Gainsbourg, taken up by Mariam and Amadou at the end of the Paralympic Games in September 2024 in Paris
Hamou, today, you want to tell us about a mythical duo, and especially a man whose journey forces respect: Amadou Bagayoko who left us on April 4 …
Yes, today I take you to Bamako, in the midst of guitars and voices that warm the soul. But above all, I invite you to lift your ear towards a life of darkness … illuminated with music.
A life of darkness? Are you talking about Amadou’s handicap?
Exactly. Amadou became blind at 16. And in a country like Mali, at that time, to lose sight was almost losing life. But he found his place … on a scene, a guitar in his hands and a woman by his side.
Mariam who was going to train with him the famous duo Amadou and Mariam?
Mariam, his voice, his life and stage partner. Together, they have become Amadou & Mariam, “The blind couple of Mali” As they are sometimes nicknamed. But I prefer to say: “The clairvoyant couple of Africa”. Because you have to have a sacred inner vision to defy prejudice, poverty and borders.
A beautiful metaphor, Hamou. But how could this unwilling young man have concretely rising in the competitive world of music?
-By faith, Vincent. Not just religious faith, no. Faith in him, in his talent, in his ability to listen to the world with other ears. He studied at the Bamako Blind Young Institute. Where some resign themselves, taught him the guitar, harmony, and above all … to dream. And you know what we have dreams in Mali, Vincent? We sing them!
And he sang them far, these dreams.
Oh yes! From dusty streets of Bamako to the big stages of Paris, Tokyo or New York. And he never denied his roots. He merged traditional Malian music with blues, rock, even electro! He has proven that blindness neither prevents innovation or vision. He was a pioneer, a bridge between cultures, between the sounds of the desert and the echoes of the world.
We often talk about inclusion, resilience… Amadou is an incarnation?
He’s better than that. It is a living answer to a question too often asked: what can make a blind man in a world that values the image so much? Amadou response: Listen. Feel. Play. To like. He reminds us that handicap is not a limit, but another way of reading the world. Interior music.
A great lesson in life …
A lesson that we hum, Vincent. So if you come across Mariam’s soft voice or Amadou’s guitar one day, close your eyes. And listen. Because sometimes it is only by losing the sight that we really start to see. Have a good week everyone!
(Extract from “Wedding in Bamako” 2004)
