(Intro - not on album version)
Let me tell you about curry
It is not a singular entity
Let’s clear up misconception
Curry’s a complex concoction
Brown people are also a mixture
With subtleties in flavour
Beware of claims to authenticity
Being Desi is NOT about purity
Curry’s a mix
It’s always been a mix
A dash of this, a dash of that
Coming together, Coming together, mmm
Curry’s a dish
Spicy and delectable
Soak it up, Scoop it up, Soak it up, Scoop it up
Curry’s a mix
It’s always been a mix
A dash of this, a dash of that
Coming together, Coming together, mmm
Curry’s a dish
Spicy and delectable
Right hand finger-licking
So you wanna learn to play sitar?
But they only teach guitar?
Your whole life was whitewashed?
Turn your brownness up a notch
Cuz curry’s a mix
It’s always been a mix
We still add taste
Even though we been displaced
We gotta fake it til we make it
But we make when we break
The myth, the fiction
Of just one nation
Don’t essentialize me kuti
Try and label my identity
Try and pinpoint my ancestry
Try and guess my family history
Ouin chu queb, brune, franco
Un bijou, un joyau
Ch’tune queen d’la diversité (HEY!)
Pitchez-vous su moué!
Is there a blemish on your brownness?
A cage around your queerness?
They say you’re not authentic?
Well we ain’t monolithic.
Curry’s a mix
It’s always been a mix
But people will conflate
And segregate
But the powders come together
From the cumin to the pepper,
To the chili to the turmeric,
To the fenugreek to the garlic
To the salt and coriander
Curry’s a mix
It’s always been a mix
A dash of this, a dash of that
Coming together, Coming together, mmm
Curry’s a dish
Spicy and delectable
Soak it up, Scoop it up, Soak it up, Scoop it up
Curry’s a mix
It’s always been a mix
A dash of this, a dash of that
Coming together, Coming together, mmm
Curry’s a dish
Spicy and delectable
Right hand finger-licking
Chorus
Don’t essentialize me kuti
Try and label my identity
Try and pinpoint my ancestry
Try and guess my family history
Ouin chu queb, brune, franco
Un bijou, un joyau
Ch’tune queen d’la diversité
Pitchez-vous su moué!
Pa ni da Pa, NI ni da Pa, — ni Ma GA ri– Ma GA Sa
credits
from Bijuriya Chamke,
released June 26, 2022
Lyrics and vocals: Bijuriya
Music: Bijuriya, Gabriel Ledoux
Cello, steel pan, harmonium: Bijuriya
Producing: Gabriel Ledoux
Final mix and mastering: Steven Doman
Mastered at Studio Le Nid
Bijuriya is a drag queen inspired by her South Asian culture. She's appreciated for her proud, festive, wacky and critical
outlook on Bollywood and other elements of Desi culture. On-stage and in her music, Bjiuriya is a dazzling thunderbolt of energy and quirkiness. She's half-brown, half-Québécoise, and she explores her cultural roots by teetering between tribute, parody and critical thinking....more
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