Info
This song and dance is common in Rwanda. It is usually sung by a group of 6 to 10 girls (aged from young girls to teenagers) with each girl taking turns improvising dance steps. Another girl sings the “call” by singing about the dancer’s qualities.
Lyrics - Kinyarwanda
(Folk song from Rwanda)
Ngwino urare shenge, ngwino urare we
ngwino urare, ngwino urare mu gitondo urataha
Refrain
Gato gato we
gato gato mu bakobwa b’iwacu
Nguwo araje ni umukobwa useka neza
nyampinga mumurebe nguwo yaje Refrain
Ngaho seruka shenge nyiraguhirwa
umukobwa uhiriwe n’lmana Refrain
Nguwo shenge nyamuberwa n’inkindi we
ngaho seruka ugaragaze uwo mubyimba Refrain
English Translation - Little one
Come and stay the night,
come and stay the night, you can go home tomorrow
Refrain
Little one
Little one among the girls in our village
Here she comes, she is a beautiful smiling girl
Look at her, the one we can count on Refrain
There you go, destined for happiness,
God bless you, girl Refrain
Here’s the beautiful one
Well dressed, show yourself Refrain
See also
- Country: Rwanda
- Form: call & response
- Harmony: I, V
- Meter: 6/8
- Scale: 5
- Tones: s,t,drms
Source: Songs from the Baobab: African Lullabies & Nursery Rhymes, Chantal Grosléziat, The Secret Mountain, 2011
YouTube
- PDF of song with chords
- MIDI file
- Listen to the melody
