Lɔfɛn o lɔfɛn ye lafɛn ye

[coleman]

Saying:
Lɔfɛn o lɔfɛn ye lafɛn ye

Literal Translation:
Each standing thing is a laying down thing

Meaning:
All living beings die some day

Notes:
Often used when someone passes away to comment on the inevitability of death.

Alternative Form(s):
Jɔfɛn bɛɛ ye dafɛn ye

[Bruce_Whitehouse]

I learned a version of this in Segou: jɔfɛn bɛɛ ye dafɛn ye. I understood it to mean that all great things / persons will be brought low–the same sense as “What goes up must come down.”