Dragostea din tei

"Dragostea din tei"
Single by O-Zone
from the album DiscO-Zone
B-side	"Dragostea din tei" (DJ Ross radio RMX)
Released	April 19, 2004
Format	CD single, CD maxi, 12" maxi
Recorded	2002
Genre	Eurodance
Length	3:34
Label	Ultra Polydor
Producer	Dan Bălan
O-Zone singles chronology
"Numai tu" (2003) "Dragostea din tei" (2004) "Despre tine" (2004)
Music sample "Dragostea din tei"

"Dragostea din tei" (Romanian pronunciation: [ˈdraɡoste̯a din tej], English: Love from the Linden Trees),^[1] also informally known as "The Numa Numa Song" (or "Mai Ya hee" – see lyrics), is the most successful single by the Moldovan pop group O-Zone, sung in Romanian. It shot to the number one spot on the Eurochart Hot 100, where it remained for 12 weeks between June and early September 2004.^[2] It reached number one in Germany and stayed there for 14 weeks, number three in the United Kingdom and 72 on the U.S. Pop 100, and it was number one for 15 weeks in France. A popular cover of the song was made by Haiducii, which also charted in many countries, especially Italy and Sweden where it topped the singles charts. The original song was made notable in the United States by the viral video of Gary Brolsma dancing to the song, calling it "Numa Numa". In 2008, the song's hook was sampled by T.I. / Rihanna in their hit "Live Your Life", which topped the Billboard Hot 100 in the United States and reached number two in the United Kingdom.

Contents 1 O-Zone version 1.1 Lyrics 1.2 Background and writing 1.3 English language version 1.4 Other languages 1.5 Track listings 1.6 Charts and sales 1.6.1 Peak positions 1.6.2 End of year charts 1.7 Decade-end charts 1.7.1 Certifications 1.7.2 Chart successions 2 Haiducii version 2.1 Track listings 2.2 Charts and sales 2.2.1 Peak positions 2.2.2 End of year charts 2.3 Decade-end charts 2.3.1 Certifications 2.3.2 Chart successions 3 Remixes, parodies and other cover versions 3.1 Charts by other versions 4 References 5 External links

O-Zone version

Lyrics

The best-known lyrics are the repeated line "nu mă, nu mă iei" from the chorus, hence the name "Numa Numa song". "nu mă" Means "you won't" in Romanian, while "nu mă iei" means "you won't take me", so the repeated chorus is "you won't, you won't take me". In full, the chorus, which also includes the title of the song, reads:

Vrei să pleci dar nu mă, nu mă iei,
Nu mă, nu mă iei, nu mă, nu mă, nu mă iei.
Chipul tău și dragostea din tei,
Mi-amintesc de ochii tăi.

which translates as:^[3]

(You) want to leave but (you) won't, won't take me,

(You) Won't, (you) won't take me, (you) won't, (you) won't, (you) won't take me

Your face and the love from the linden trees,

They remind me of your eyes.

Background and writing

The song was written and composed by Dan Bălan, and the original version was sung by Bălan, Arsenie Todiraş, and Radu Sârbu. The single was first released in 2003 in Moldova, where the group lived and produced at that time, and in the spring of 2004 in most other European countries, where it became a summer hit. In as late as 2006, the song was still in the lower reaches of some Eastern European singles charts.

O-Zone's version was the most popular across Europe, with the exception of Italy, where it was only known by discogoers, and Sweden. A cover version of the song performed by the Romanian singer Haiducii, who released the song in Europe around the same time, was more popular in Italy and Sweden (it reached #1 in the singles charts).

"Dragostea din tei" has also inspired a number of parody videos distributed over the Internet, most notably Gary Brolsma's popular "Numa Numa Dance" video in 2004. The "Numa Numa Dance", which first appeared on the flash site Newgrounds.com, has become so notable that it has sparked numerous parodies of the video itself in the United States over the years since 2004.^[4]

In addition to filming the music video in a recording studio, the group also shot footage on an actual airplane's wing.

English language version

The American release of DiscO-Zone features an English version of the song performed by Dan Bălan and Lucas Prata. This version focuses on the "It's me, Picasso" lyric from the original to provide a theme of an artist who has lost his muse. Bălan and Prata performed the English recording of "Dragostea din tei" entitled Ma Ya Hi on The Today Show on February 22, 2005. Unlike the original recording, however, this version was not as successful, charting at 72 on the Billboard Charts.

T.I. recently took the opening lyrics and incorporated them into his song "Live Your Life" which was sung with Rihanna.

Other languages

• Afrikaans language: Net Die Een Vir My by Nicholis Louw and Shine 4.
• Chinese language, Mandarin: Singapore's Jocie Kok (郭美美) wrote "Bu Pa Bu Pa" (不怕不怕, "Not Afraid, Not Afraid").^[5]
• Estonian language: Estonian version is called "Maia" and it is performed by the group "Hellad Velled".^[6]
• Portuguese language: The Brazilian version, “Festa no Apê” (Party at the Pad), recorded by Latino in 2004, resembles “Dragostea Din Tei” in rhythm and melody.
• Vietnamese language: "Người tình Mai Ya Hee" (Mai Ya Hee lover) written and sung by Vietnamese singer Vũ Hà
• Korean language: March 9, 2006 "Nuna's Dream" Song by Hyun Young.

Track listings

CD single

1. "Dragostea din tei" (original Romanian version) — 3:33
2. "Dragostea din tei" (DJ Ross radio RMX) — 4:15

CD maxi

1. "Dragostea din tei" (original Romanian version) — 3:33
2. "Dragostea din tei" (DJ Ross radio RMX) — 4:15
3. "Dragostea din tei" (DJ Ross extended RMX) — 6:22
4. "Dragostea din tei" (original Italian version) — 3:35
5. "Dragostea din tei" (Unu' in the dub mix) — 3:39

Charts and sales

Peak positions Chart (2004) Peak position Austrian Singles Chart[7] 1 Belgian (Flanders) Ultratop 50 Singles Chart[7] 2 Belgian (Wallonia) Ultratop 40 Singles Chart[7] 1 Danish Singles Chart[7] 1 Dutch Top 40[8] 1 Eurochart Hot 100 Singles 1 Finnish Singles Chart[7] 2 French SNEP Singles Chart[7] 1 German Singles Chart[8] 1 Irish IRMA Singles Chart[8] 1 Italian FIMI Singles Chart[7] 17 Norwegian VG-lista Singles Chart[7] 1 Romanian Singles Chart 1 Spanish Singles Chart 1 Swedish Singles Chart[7] 3 Swiss Singles Chart[7] 1 UK Singles Chart[8] 3 U.S. Billboard Hot Dance Airplay[9] 14 U.S. Billboard Pop 100[10] 72

End of year charts End of year chart (2004) Position Austrian Singles Chart[11] 1 Belgian (Flanders) Singles Chart[12] 7 Belgian (Wallonia) Singles Chart[13] 1 Dutch Top 40[14] 1 French Club Chart[15] 17 French Singles Chart[16] 1 German Singles Chart [17] 1 Irish Singles Chart[18] 9 Swiss Singles Chart[19] 1 UK Singles Chart[20] 28 Decade-end charts (2000–2009) Position German Singles Chart[21] 3 Certifications Country Certification Date Sales certified Austria[22] Platinum September 13, 2004 30,000 Belgium[23] Gold 2004 20,000 Denmark[24] Gold September 22, 2004 4,000 France[25] Diamond September 15, 2004 750,000 Germany[26] 2× Platinum 2005 600,000 Netherlands[27] Platinum 2004 60,000 Sweden[28] Gold September 2, 2004 10,000 Switzerland[29] Platinum 2004 40,000

Chart successions

Order of precedence
Preceded by "Rise & Fall" by Craig David featuring Sting	Romanian Singles Chart number-one single September 1, 2003 - September 22, 2003 (4 weeks)	Succeeded by "I Know What You Want" by Busta Rhymes featuring Mariah Carey
Preceded by "Yeah!" by Usher featiuring Lil Jon and Ludacris	French SNEP number-one single April 18, 2004 – July 27, 2004 (15 weeks)	Succeeded by "Femme Like U" by K-Maro
	Belgian (Wallonia) number-one single May 15, 2004 – July 24, 2004 (11 weeks)
Preceded by "Fuck It (I Don't Want You Back)" by Eamon	German number-one single June 4, 2004 – September 3, 2004 (14 weeks)	Succeeded by "Obsesión" by Aventura
	Swiss number-one single June 20, 2004 – September 19, 2004 (14 weeks)	Succeeded by "Femme Like U" by K-Maro
	Austrian number-one single June 20, 2004 – September 12, 2004 (13 weeks)	Succeeded by "Obsesión" by Aventura
	Eurochart Hot 100 number-one single June 26, 2004 – September 11, 2004 (12 weeks)
Preceded by "Standing Tall" by Kjartan Salvesen	Norwegian VG-Lista number-one single 27/2004 - 35/2004 (9 weeks)	Succeeded by "Despre Tine" by O-Zone
Preceded by "Holiday in Spain" by Counting Crows and Bløf	Dutch Top 40 number-one single July 10, 2004 - September 18, 2004 (11 weeks)	Succeeded by "Wat Zou je Doen" by Marco Borsato and Ali B
Preceded by "Dry Your Eyes" by The Streets	Irish IRMA number-one single August 12, 2004 (1 week)	Succeeded by "These Words" by Natasha Bedingfield
Preceded by "Team Easy on" by Drengene Fra Angora	Danish number-one single August 27, 2004 (1 week)	Succeeded by "City of Dreams" by The Loft

Haiducii version

"Dragostea din tei"
Single by Haiducii
B-side	Remixes + "Spring"
Released	9 February 2004
Format	CD single, CD maxi
Genre	Electronic
Length	3:33
Label	Digidance, Muve
Writer(s)	Dan Bălan

A cover version by Haiducii, with a strong dance impact, was charted at the same time as the original version by O-Zone. Although it had a great success in many countries, including Sweden, Austria and Italy, where it topped the chart, it was less successful than O-Zone's version. Haiducii was later sued by O-Zone for copyright infringement, since she had neither obtained permission from O-Zone to record the single nor given due credit to Dan Bălan for being the original writer of the song.

Track listings

CD single

1. "Dragostea din tei" (original mix) — 3:35
2. "Dragostea din tei" (Haiducii vs. Gabry Ponte radio version) — 3:42
3. "Dragostea din tei" (DJ Ross 4 the radio RMX) — 4:15
4. "Dragostea din tei" (Haiducii vs. Gabry Ponte extended version) — 6:30
5. "Dragostea din tei" (DJ Ross 4 The Club RMX) — 6:22

CD maxi

1. "Dragostea din tei" (original mix) — 3:33
2. "Dragostea din tei" (Haiducii vs Gabry Ponte radio version) — 3:43
3. "Dragostea din tei" (DJ Ross 4 Radio Mix) — 4:16
4. "Dragostea din tei" (Haiducii vs Gabry Ponte extended version) — 6:32
5. "Dragostea din tei" (DJ Ross 4 club mix) — 6:20
6. "Dragostea din tei" (Potatoheadz club mix) — 6:58
7. "Spring" — 7:16

Charts and sales

Peak positions Chart (2004) Peak position Austrian Singles Chart[30] 1 Belgian (Flanders) Singles Chart[30] 5 Belgian (Wallonia) Singles Chart[30] 2 Danish Singles Chart[30] 7 Dutch Singles Chart[30] 4 French SNEP Singles Chart[30] 2 German Singles Chart[31] 2 Italian FIMI Singles Chart[30] 1 Norwegian Singles Chart[30] 4 Swedish Singles Chart[30] 1 Swiss Singles Chart[30] 2 U.S. Billboard Hot Dance Singles Sales 24 U.S. Billboard Hot Singles Sales 60

End of year charts End of year chart (2004) Position Austrian Singles Chart[11] 3 Belgian (Flanders) Singles Chart[12] 14 Belgian (Wallonia) Singles Chart[13] 22 Dutch Top 40[14] 82 French Singles Chart[16] 39 German Singles Chart[17] 9 Swiss Singles Chart[19] 9 Decade-end charts (2000–2009) Position German Singles Chart[21] 95 Certifications Country Certification Date Sales certified Austria[22] Platinum July 20, 2004 30,000 Belgium[32] Gold June 26, 2004 25,000 France[33] Silver December 8, 2004 125,000 Sweden[28] Gold August 11, 2004 10,000 Swiss[29] Gold 2004 20,000

Chart successions

Order of precedence
Preceded by "Shut Up" by The Black Eyed Peas "Amazing" by George Michael	Italian FIMI number-one single January 29, 2004 - February 26, 2004 (5 weeks) March 11, 2004 (1 week)	Succeeded by "Amazing" by George Michael "Left Outside Alone" by Anastacia
Preceded by "Yeah!" by Usher featuring Lil Jon and Ludacris	Austrian number-one single May 9, 2004 (1 week)	Succeeded by "Vorbei" by Christina Stürmer
Preceded by "Ingen vill veta var du köpt din tröja" by Raymond & Maria	Swedish number-one single August 20, 2004 - September 17, 2004 (5 weeks)	Succeeded by "Elegi" by Lars Winnerbäck

Remixes, parodies and other cover versions

• In Israel, the song was translated and used as a theme song for the children's show Festigal.
• Frederik made a Finnish cover named Kumimies.
• In Panama, the humoristic TV Program La Cascara for the 2005 Carnival made a parody (name Marica tú) in reggaeton, while Mala Fe, a Dominican merengue comedian soloist recorded a merengue version.
• Regional Mexicano artist Montez de Durango took out a version of the song titled "El Amor en un Arbol de Tilo". The lyrics meaning are very close to the original Moldovian song.
• A spoof of the song was released by the Romanian metal band "Trooper" under the name of "Zorzon", as a bonus track on one of their albums. The track is unique in Trooper's repertoire not only because of the clearly awkward melodic line for a metal song, but also because it features distinctly foul language and racist remarks towards the Moldovan singers.
• In South Korea, Hyun Young, a Korean model/actress/singer, released a Korean version of the song, titled “누나의 꿈 (Nuna-ui Kkum; Sister's Dream)”, which ranked among the top on various Korean charts in March 2006, within weeks from release.^[34]  The song preserves the “ma-ia-hii” and “nu mă, nu mă iei” choruses from the original; however, while the “ma-ia-hii” does not carry any meaning, but is merely used as a rhythmic interjection, the “nu mă iei” is approximated as "누나의" (nuna-ui, often pronounced nuna-e), which means "elder sister's". [2] "Nuna" is also an affectionate title a Korean man calls a woman who is older than he is. The lyrics of Sister's Dream are about a romance between a younger man and an older woman.
• In Japanese, the song's refrain sounds similar to the phrase noma noma (飲ま飲ま "drink! drink!") giving it currency as a popular drinking/party/karaoke song in Japan. It has served as the basis of numerous parodies, most notably Maiyahi, made by substituting similar-sounding but ultimately nonsensical Japanese words for the original Romanian lyric. The resulting bizarre interpretations became well known in Japan in the song's heyday.
• An Austrian version with German lyrics was released in 2004 by the artist "Antonia aus Tirol feat. Sandra S.". The music was mixed with tuba and accordion sounds, the lyrics were changed to a story about flirting in the office. A snippet in MP3 format can be heard on Antonia's official page [3] [www.antonia.at]. It was topping the Austrian charts quickly after the release. The Austrian version is called "Wenn der Hafer sticht."
• A Eurobeat version of the song was remixed by Italian artist Sergio Dall'Ora in early 2005 for release to the Japanese market. Fusing the original song with the popular fast-tempo stylings of the Eurobeat format, the release was one of the few occasions a commercial Eurobeat song has been remixed from an already-existing European track.
• In Brazil, the singer Latino created his own version of "Dragostea din tei". Called "Festa no Apê" (Party at the Pad), talking about a party (held by the singer himself) that became wild. The song resembles "Dragostea din tei" only in rhythm and melody.
• A Dutch version by the Belgian trio De Feestridders (The Partyknights), which criticizes the use of speed cameras also exists. Other Dutch parodies include "Muggen Hier, Muggen Daar" (Mosquitoes Here, Mosquitoes There) by Gebroeders Ko, "Lekker Lekker" (Nice, Nice) by Ome Henk (Uncle Henk), and "Duitsers Hier, Duitsers Daar" (Germans Here, Germans There), by Edwin Evers.
• A Taiwanese version (怒罵怒罵) depicts the legislative violence in the Taiwanese parliament.
• Professor Lebedinsky (Профессор Лебединский), Russkij Razmer (Русский размер) and Dmitri Nagiev (Дмитрий Нагиев) released a Russian single "Ya yeyo hoy!" ("Я её хой!") mixing drunken slur, mocking gay-like intonations, out-of-context foreign language and utterly meaningless lyrics.
• The late Swedish comedian Svullo made his own version of "Dragostea din tei", and in the song he sings off-key.
• The crew of the United States naval vessel USS Enterprise made a spoof of the original video that swept across the world as an internet viral video.
• The English version has been parodied by an Elmo Numa Numa song. It features Sesame Street characters Elmo and Grover, as well as a few toys, such as R2D2, Robosapien, American Godzilla and more.
• American beatmaker Just Blaze sampled this for the song Live Your Life he produced for rapper T.I. and singer Rihanna on T.I.'s new album Paper Trail. The song has been successful in the United States, reaching #1 on the Billboard Hot 100. However the refrain is in a slightly different order due to copyright issues.
• A popular video named Numa Numa on Newgrounds features a man named Gary Brolsma singing the song while dancing.^[35]
• A remix/cover with the words Rabbi Nachman, Nachman Me'uman is popular among many Jewish youth.
• Crazy Frog made a remix of "Dragostea din tei" only taking the chorus part and renaming it Maya Hi, Maya Hu.

Charts by other versions

"Ma cé ki? Massimo" by Massimo Gargia Chart (2004)[36] Peak position Belgian (Wallonia) Singles Chart 13 French SNEP Singles Chart 9 Swiss Singles Chart 38

"Le Poulailler" by Le 6/9 Chart (2004)[37] Peak position Belgian (Wallonia) Singles Chart 8 French SNEP Singles Chart 2 Swiss Singles Chart 30

"Argent Argent" by Cauet featuring Mopral Chart (2004)[38] Peak position French SNEP Singles Chart 14

References

External links

• (Japanese) O-Zone Official Japanese Website
• (German) O-Zone Official German Website