Sea Green Singers - Repertoire

Sea Green Singers - Singabahambayo Thina - Score and Lyrics

Sequence:

Bass: bars 1-4 x 2
Bass + Tenor: bars 1-4 x 2
Bass + Tenor + Alto: bars 1-4 x 2
Everyone: whole song x 2

Singaba hamba yo thina

Singaba hamba yo thina kul lom hlaba ke pha sin e kha ya, e Zul wi ni
Singaba hamba yo thina kul lom hlaba ke pha sin e kha ya, e Zul wi ni
ha le lu ya, ha le lu ya, ha le lu ya
ha le lu ya, ha le lu ya, ha le lu ya

Sop
Singaba hamba yo thina kul lom hlaba ke pha sin e kha ya, e Zul wi ni
Singaba hamba yo thina kul lom hlaba ke pha sin e kha ya, e Zul wi Si thi,
sit thi, sit thi, ha le lu ya, ha le lu ya, ha le lu ya

Translations from : http://www.choralnet.org/view/242637#242746 November 7, 2009

"We are leaving this world but we have a home in heaven."
translated by native South African Murray McGibbon

The English version Nicol Hammond sang as a child in South Africa went:

"On earth His children are singing
'Cause God love me
We're all going to heaven for eternity
Sithi Halleluya"

Nicle says "I'm pretty sure it's just a rough paraphrase, and not an exact translation. I believe "sithi" is an untranslatable exclamation, though I may not have that correct. "Hamba", however, definitely means "to go" and so "singabahambayo" is almost certainly a compound word containing that verb. Several years ago I acquired two of Anders Nyberg's edited collections of South African struggle songs, and in the collection Freedom is Coming: Songs of Protest and Praise from South Africa (Walton Music, Hal Leonard Corporation, 1984) he includes the following three English verses:

"On Earth an army is marching
We're going home
Our longing bears a song
So sing out strong
Sithi Halleluya

With love our hearts are ablazing
For those who roam
And wander far away
Though longing home

Each day our friendship is growing
And with all speed
We share our wine and bread
A hasty meal"