Translation of the song lyrics Wale Watu - Khadja Nin

Wale Watu (original)

Mbali ya ma inchi yote
Mbali ya Paris au Roma
Kuna watu masikini
Hawa liye hawa ombe
Wana itika tu vile
Wale watu wana imba
Ata kama wana lala njala
Njo vile… kila siku
Waca ile maneno ya bule
Usiji liliye hali yako
We haujuwe umasikini
Hangaliya wale watu
Hawa liye hawa ombe
Wale watu wana imba
Ata kama wana lala njala
Waca kabisa
Kuwaza kama weye
Haupashwe kujuwa
Mayisha yao
Juwa na siye
Siye mbali yao
Tuna weza kuwasayidiya
Kila siku

Wale Watu (translation)

Far from the dominions of every land,
Beyond the compass of Paris or of Rome,
Dwell those whom want has weathered thin—
Not beggars, not asking hands, but silent cattle in the shade,
They answer softly, as reeds obey the wind,
That folk—listen, they are singing like night birds before dawn,
Even when hunger binds their eyes in sleep’s hollow embrace,
Come so—each day, as dew unsheathes the grass,
Leave those words that scatter like empty husks on the wind,
Let not your heart mourn its own estate,
You have never wandered in the country of famine,
Gaze, woman, upon those others—
Not beggars, not asking hands, but silent cattle in the shade,
That folk—listen, they are singing like night birds before dawn,
Even when hunger binds their eyes in sleep’s hollow embrace,
Abandon completely—let your hands fall open,
To dwell in thought as you do—
You need not understand, to measure,
The hush and salt of their lives,
Sun knows us as kin,
We are not foreign to them,
We may become the outstretched hand—
Each day anew