Tabanka [English translation]

Hey, tabanka, tell me where you were,

What’s your feeling, where are you bound?

Hey, tabanka, where were you?

Where were you holed up, where are you going?

Hey, tabanka, where were you hiding?

What’s your feeling, where were you lost?

Hey, tabanka, which way are you going?

What’s your reason?

The king of tabanka with his sword,

Commanding all, marches on!

Hey, tabanka, where were you hiding?

What’s your feeling, where were you lost?

Hey, tabanka, which way are you going?

What’s your reason?

The king of tabanka with his sword,

Commanding all, marches on!

Poor farmer, your words are just bitterness

The sowing season rekindles hopes of plenty

Maize and beans watered by the deceptive rain

Put smiles on faces

The farmer often has a lump in his throat,

His life is very hard

With his batuku and his tabanka,

He wants to see his land made fertile

By the kiss of the rain.

When the slopes turn green,

The farmer’s heart will open to joy

Hey, tabanka, where were you

Where were you lost?

Where have you come from, where are you going?

Hey, tabanka, how beautiful you are!

Where will you go?

The king of tabanka with his sword,

Commanding all, marches on!

The rain didn’t come to the farmer

Full of shame, the Moon only half-appeared

In its rage, the Sun burned his soul

The rain didn’t come to the farmer

But why, why?

Patience, patience, my God!

The king of tabanka with his sword,

Commanding all, marches on!