" When the French were forced to leave they offered Mali the option of remaining a common wealth under the French system; the people, so vexed by the brutality of French occupation, wanted only complete independence.

Infuriated, Charles Du Gaulle order the country stripped of everything. Buildings were destroyed and infrastructure was rent a sunder.

The people found themselves with far less than what they had before colonization and have been recovering ever sense. Composed in this time, Jarabi is a love song which, like most African love songs from this period, is intended as a metaphor for the love of the country, it's culture, and it's people."

The more you know.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NyRLXfyMF-Y