Antawere, antawere, antawere, antawerea
Antawere, antawere, antawere, antaa
Nikiona sukuma wiki tena I swear nitahurt somebody (If I see 'Sukuma Wiki' again I swear I'll hurt somebody)
Imekuwa miezi sita, saba tangu nimeonja nyama (It's been 6/7 months since I lasted tasted meat)
Na unga yangu, eeh! karibu kwisha, sembe imekuwa maji (And I'm almost out of flour, my 'Ugali' has a watery consistency)
Pengine nikiongeza hiyo mala dishi itapata ladha (Maybe if I add some 'Mala' my food will gain some flavour)
Lakini ere sukari? (But where is the sugar?)
Ere sukari? (Where is the sugar?)
N'nasema sitaki sukuma wiki tena, waiter! ebu mia dek (I said I don't want 'Sukuma Wiki' again, waiter! please serve me a 'Dek')
Kinyalo mia osuga fresh from Bumala mond amuod gi nyoyo (If you can, please give me 'Osuga' fresh from Bumala so I can have it with some 'Nyoyo')
Lakini pimna matin achamo kenda to okan gi pesa mangeny (But give me a small portion, I don't have a lot of money)
Heh! nimepoteza, sina do (Heh! I've lost it, I'm out of cash)
Atim nade? (What shall I do?)
Ibiro timo nade? (What shall you do?)
Antawere, antawere, antawere, antawerea
Ninasukuma wiki na sukuma wiki (I'm pushing through the week on 'Sukuma Wiki')
Antawere, antawere, antawere, antaa
Ninasukuma wiki na sukuma wiki (I'm pushing through the week on 'Sukuma Wiki')
Siwezi hata sukuma wiki tena, njaro: mkate na daso (Now I don't even have access to 'Sukuma Wiki', the plan: bread and soda)
Nishapeleka down lita mbili, maji nemjaza pachu (I've already finished two litres, and I have now filled the bottle with water)
Sikudhani ningekosa riziki kubaki na matatizo (I never thought that I would be lacking, left with all these problems)
Kazunguka katomeni but tizi hanaku (I have searched around but there's no work)
Kweli ni msoto (This is truly poverty)
Antawere, antawere, antawere, antawerea
Ninasukuma wiki na sukuma wiki (I'm pushing through the week on 'Sukuma Wiki')
Antawere, antawere, antawere, antaa
Ninasukuma wiki na sukuma wiki (I'm pushing through the week on 'Sukuma Wiki')
Ninasukuma (I'm pushing)
Vocabulary
'Sukuma Wiki' - Colored Greens, Kales
'Sembe' 'Ugali' - Maize flour (cornmeal) cooked with water to a think consistency
'Mala' - Buttermilk often sweetened with sugar
'Dek' - Spider Weed
'Osuga' - African Nightshade, Managu
'Nyoyo' - Maize and Beans
'Bumala' - A settlement in Western Kenya known for African Nightshade