Sikomi [English translation]

They say love is a journey

The more you move the closer you get

But it seems I'm going far, and I'm not sure I'll reach since I'm walking

I heard the news of praises1 I stayed up at night waiting

God poured his blessings and I delved into music

While still in my pilgrimage2

I hoped on to fell in love with a movie star

I still didn't know love requires patience3

I was impatient adding salt, eating a fruit when it wasn't yet ripe4

I became rotten

I called myself knowledgeable in bed issues

I wanted to chase the cat

Instead of a dog, I reared a goat

Jealousy made me argue with my friends

Quarreling with my mother, not listening to her advice.

My heart tells me "Nasibu5, it's enough with loving"

But I keep fighting with my conscience

Esma6 tells me, my young brother, it's enough with love issues

But I can't stop, today I'm hurt by one lover, tomorrow by another

Why can't I stop?

I don't stop

I can't stop, despite all the hurt, why can't I stop

Why can't I stop?

I don't stop

I can't stop, despite all the hurt, why can't I stop

What the girl from Central did to me, I can never say

But I've learnt to never trust movie actresses

My heart hurt from the pain they inflicted on me, I could neither eat, nor throw up

Which is why I wasn't shocked when she announced she'd jumped ship from CCM to CHADEMA7

They say he who makes his bed must lie on it8

But every night there was a crisis forcing me to cry

'Love' became the trumpet calling others to come mock me

So I encouraged myself that it would all pass, let me endure

Let me not talk about Penny

Whom I gifted a car when she told me she was pregnant

Yet she went ahead and aborted my kid

God blessed me with Zari, with whom I've had two beautiful kids, a girl and a boy,

But in my stupidity I cheated on her, such a shame was a topic in media outlets

My heart tells me "Nasibu5, it's enough with loving"

But I keep fighting with my conscience

Esma6 tells me, my young brother, it's enough with love issues

But I can't stop, today I'm hurt by one lover, tomorrow by another

Why can't I stop?

I don't stop

I can't stop, despite all the hurt, why can't I stop

I've walked on people cheating on me (I can't stop)

I've been found cheating (I can't stop)

Why can't I stop?

1. when starting off as a musician2. not yet 'arrived' as a musician3. literally "love wants no rush, love is slow4. the word tango means a fruit that's not yet ripe. In East Africa people eat such fruits with salt.5. a. b. his name6. a. b. his sister's name7. political parties in Tanzania8. a Swahili proverb