Voicing

the
Subaltern
Literary discourses in the Songs of John De’ Mathew

Thiong’o Joseph Kanyi

 FOR

My wife Magdalene, my children: Socrates, Michael, Valerie and Nietzsche, whose love
and inspiration kept me going. You are the reason, the courage and the strength that has
brought me this far; even during the most difficult times of this project.

My siblings, especially Charles, Rosemary, Patrick, Paul, Daniel and Francis for their love,
and constant support financially, technically and morally.
I treasure having met each one of you, on my journey on earth.
I cherish your love, and your immense warmth glows in my heart now and forever.

iii
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

I acknowledge with gratitude and immense love, encouragement and financial assistance of
Mrs. Kaburu Michaelina without whose support, this project could not have come to an
end.

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TABLE OF CONTENTS PAGE

CHAPTER ONE
1.0 Introduction 1
1.1 Statement of the Problem 7

1.2 Objectives 8
1.3 Hypothesis 8
1.4 Justification of the study 8
1.5 Methodology 13
1.6 Literature review 16

1.7 Theoretical framework 35

CHAPTER TWO
Thematic Concerns 41
Ideological Standpoint 81

CHAPTER THREE
Styles, Performance and Use of Technology 104
3.0 Introduction 106
3.01 Tone 107
3.02 Caesura 106
3.03 Extended Metaphor 110
3.04 Dramatic Monologue 114
3.05 Biblical Allusions 119
3.06 Metaphor 122
3.07 Proverbs 125
3.08 Sayings 127
3.09 Imagery 128
3.010 Symbolism 131
3.011 Rhetorical Devices 132
3.012 Similes 134
3.013 Foil 135
3.014 Irony 135
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Part B. PAGE
3.1 Performance 138

Part C.
3.2 Use of technology 150
3.21 Introduction
3.22 Recording and Documentation 151
3.23 Dissemination 153
3.24 Means of Generating Primary and Secondary Themes 155
3.25 Means of Generating Secondary styles 163
Visual
Audio
3.26 De-Centralization of Theatre and Performance 171
3.27 Technology at Instrumental level 172

CHAPTER FOUR
4. Findings, Conclusion and Recommendations 174

APPENDIX
Songs 194

Index of Song Titles 337

Index of First Lines 339

WORKS CITED 342

ABSTRACT
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 In this study we set out to examine the literariness inherent in selected
songs of John De’ Mathew.

We set out to analyze the major concerns encompassed in the songs of

John De’ Mathew. These include love, politics, relationship, women issues
and philosophical issues. In addition, this study examined De’ Mathew’s
ideological stand points and the motivation which informs his ideology.
This study also analyzed the use of the following stylistic devices, which
feature prominently in his songs. Tone, extended metaphor, dramatic
monologue, biblical allusions, metaphor, proverbs, sayings, imagery,
symbolism, rhetorical devices, similes, foil, irony and the effect of modern
technology in these songs. Finally we analyzed the major elements that
define his performances.

This study employed an eclectic approach in its theoretical frame. This was
considered in order to meet the set objectives. To analyze thematic
concerns the study employed social realism since the artiste articulates
the world of reality which defines the material reality of his target
audiences. Stylistic criticism was used to explicate the immanent stylistic
devices which the artiste employs in his choice of language which makes
the songs artistic in form. Music theory was considered in order to
explicate melodic elements inherent in the songs which enrich their
literary meaning.

We found out that different social concerns define De’ Mathew’s songs.
These include, love between couples, family relationships, politics, women
issues, philosophical insights. Here De’ Mathew underscores the major
problems that people face in the society regarding these topics on the one
hand. On the other hand, he prescribes solutions to most of these
problems by creating a persona who articulates his conceived solutions
while the presumed audience within these songs reflects the social follies
committed by members of the society.
Further research is necessary because a theory that concretely grounds
the aesthetic structures that define and inform the production of popular
songs to this date does not exist. I suggest that an application of grounded
theory could serve as a secure point of departure in the quest to undertake
the above task. In addition I recommend an interdisciplinary approach as
a means to greater discernment of a literary theory under which popular
artists operate.

There are very few researches that have been carried out on popular songs
as literary discourses. Further researches thus need to be carried out on
popular songs in order to understand the nature of literary knowledge
inherent in these songs. Such a theory can aid in the dissection of popular
songs to the finest detail, since it is my strongest belief that popular songs
contains a lot more than meets the eye and the ear.

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viii
CHAPTER ONE
Introduction
The literacy knowledge that informs this study is based on the
understanding that a given society can be understood by analyzing the
songs of its respective community or communities. Through songs, every
society propagates, inculcates and perpetuates its cultural norms and
philosophies. Through the study of songs therefore, one identifies with the
cultural elements that form and define a given society. One way of
understanding a society is achieved by studying its songs. This is what
this study endeavours to accomplish.
This project thus explicates De” Mathew’s songs as literary
discourses from an oral literature perspective in order to see how the artist
employs the genre as a tool for self expression. Here the artist is perceived
as an essential mouth piece that cannot be divorced from his/her society.
The artist’s voice--as reflected in the song--is thus viewed as a
representative element of the moral conscience of the people.
In this perspective therefore, this study critically examines selected
songs of John De’ Mathew in order to see their functions as oral literature
discourses. In this context, we examine the literariness plausible in
popular songs and account for how this sub-genre enriches literature as
an academic discipline on the one hand that propagates social values and
cultural philosophies on the other hand.
The literariness plausible in the songs of John De’ Mathew is evidenced at
the examination of linguistic structures which he employs. The discourse
De’ Mathew employs, is not only communicative in literary aesthetic
essence but also highly academic—when perceived from a theoretical
perspective. Like all great works of literature, these songs are multilayered
in their semantic underpinnings.
The world as a global village has encouraged interaction between
popular artists of different social backgrounds. This we can surmise as
interaction of different cultures, and has thus broken the traditional
cocoons of tribal and ethnic milieu from which the traditional artist drew
his/her inspiration. The modern artist hence benefits from global
interaction since this broadens his/her critique of social reality. In
addition, this enriches his/her creative faculty with philosophical concepts
and artistic skills which the traditional artist did not have due to the
limitations of their social environment. Whereas the traditional singer
basically relied on inspiration to create his/her songs, the modern artist in
addition to natural inspiration takes advantage of modern technology. This
makes it easy the task of song writing and in addition diversifies his or her
perception of the same traditional themes since they use modern computer
technology in their profession.
The social conscience of a given society is thus discernible through critical
analysis of its songs since a people’s mental interactions with the reality
dwells in the hearts of men and not on the superficial. Songs serve to
illuminate this inner conscience of the human kind, as one interacts with
the reality. Interaction at this level is seen beyond the normal exchanges
between humans in the society. Interaction in this context embodies the
physical, psychological and philosophical communication between the
human being and the totality of nature.
The artist does his or her best to bring out the inner meaning of
his/her inspiration because he/she does not inspire himself, rather his or
hers is a conscious effort to decode a super natural meaning evident in
nature as it identifies itself with his/her subconscious.
The traditional songs and cultural norms greatly inform the popular
artist. This is seen especially in the articulation of thematic concerns,
where the social functional role of the song remains as it were
traditionally; that is, to praise social values and to condemn vices. But in
addition, the popular songs encompass modern technicalities in addition
to modern global philosophies such as gender and democracy. All these
function to enrich the traditional form. Such include compositional
techniques, where the modern artist takes advantage of advancement in
technology and philosophical methodologies that govern both the
instrumentation and the lyric structure of the modern songs. Here the
modern artist takes advantage of computer software to add variety and
creativity to his finesse in terms of structuring of lyrics, ideas to sing on,
and voice quality enhancers.
Music is inborn in human beings and this is what aids the adaptability of
the popular song to new situations. Unlike other literary genres, the song
in addition to articulating cognitive ideas in the form of thematic concerns
benefit from the linguistic creative faculty of the human mind since unlike
other oral literature genres such as the proverbs and the riddles whose
wording is fixed, the song takes up words freely and opts for synonymic
variety.
The same flexibility evidenced in the genre is the same flexibility that
aids the reception process in the audience.
As a genre the song is not only responsive to issues of everyday life but
also the song appeals to the emotions more than any other oral literature
genre. T.S. Eliot explains this notion when he observes that;
“Poetry should be objective and not a mere loose turning of
emotions. The greatness of a poem is in the concentration which
does not happen consciously or deliberately. Poetry is an escape
from emotions; it is not the expression of personality, but an escape
from personality. But of course, only those who have personality and
emotions know what it means to want escape from these things.
To address a particular social group therefore, the artist uses embellished
linguistic structures that attract the attention of a particular social group.
This captures the attention of the expected audiences since they are able
to identify with the artistic beauty employed to convey the implied
meanings envisaged in a song, as expressed within its form.
Worth noting is that musical sounds imitate emotions. On this
argument therefore, one’s choice of songs reveals much about ones
personality, at the artist’s level as well as at the audience level. Ones
2
personality reflects the inner forces that constitute elements of one’s
society. The society forms reality, its social members and their different
characteristics.
The choice of songs consumed by a given social group therefore can reveal
an element of the entire society. That form of music or songs appreciated
by a given social group in a way reflects the social psychology and the
societal perception, image and identity that the group makes of it ‘self, in
the context of the larger society.
Johnson W. William, in the book Intelligent Listening to Music observes
that:
The fine arts and especially music enrich our lives, tending to
revitalize our religion, morals, citizenship and education. “Music
appeals at once to nearly all mankind, regardless of its degree of
civilization, and has done from the beginnings of existence. Music is
versatile for is adapts itself to almost every human experience – love,
hate, joy, sorrow, virtue and vice. Music is powerful, for it can shake
these very passions and turn our hate to love, our sorrow to joy, and
our vice to virtue (sic). Music is untranslatable, inexplicable, in spite
of the greatest writings of the greatest men. Music appeals to the
physical, emotional and intellectual – the three dimensions of man’s
human existence.” (187)
The masses in Africa have arguably a greater affinity for audio texts as
compared to printed texts. This can be attributed to the fact that while
reading is a borrowed culture, singing is sublime in the African sub
conscience. Africans were singing long before the coming of western
civilization, singing like other cultural products is hence deeply entrenched
in the primordial conscience which defines African psychology and
identity. Majority of Africans find it thus easier to express themselves
through songs than through writing in the case of the artists while the
majority of audiences find it easier to identify with performed texts than
with reading. African societies both pre and post colonial were and are
singing societies where singing characterizes most of the social and
cultural activities. Singing in the African context is a major feature of
cultural expression that need to be perceived and conceived beyond any
general analysis of a song’s lyrics and their accompanying melody; beyond
the mere expression of human emotions, feelings and attitude. A song in
this context one would surmise, qualifies as a ritual that transcends
beyond the performance and the expression of the song into a
transcendental world which defines its universe within the sub conscience
of those taking part in the performance.

In this view therefore the performance qualify as a social activity that

convey cultural philosophies on the one hand and as a physical and
psychological ritual whose total essence is cultural metaphysical. In this
context the performance involves humans as well as the deities.

3
 This study therefore takes a critical dissection of the songs in order
to unearth their inner characteristics by analyzing their respective form as
well as analyzing the motivating factors informing the artist’s ideology.

POPULAR SONG
The popular song in East Africa is arguably, a site through which the artist
recreates new paradigms for self definition in order to articulate newly
acquired identities.
Popular songs in this context can be seen as a product of
transformed traditional art forms that bring forth expressive aesthetics
that produce what appears as an interfusion of global musical genres. The
major function of popular songs in this context—as it appears—is to
articulate the complex sense of a society’s sense of self perception. Popular
songs can thus be seen as an arena of articulating social cultural
reconstruction, in terms of social introspection and retrospection. This
serves to counterpoise traditional art forms and new forms of oral
expressions.
Rebranding of cultural forms can be attributed to the interaction
between modern cultures which lead to borrowing of art forms from other
cultures thus producing a hybridized form of a popular aesthetic
discourse. By use of the popular song, Mbugua wa Mungai observes that
the modern society employs the genre for reflexive self documentation. The
final product is thus an art form that articulates a particular social
cultural identity identifiable with a particular generation.
This genre thus serves to articulate modern world views which
inform the sensibilities of both the artist and the intended audience. The
artist in this context serves as a social commentator and as critical tool
through which the modern society ameliorates its follies.
Thematic concerns plausible in popular songs in this context define
modern social concerns as the artists respond to everyday challenges in
their songs. The popular artists as a result account for how history and
traditions have shaped the present society on the one hand while on the
other questioning and critiquing modern social institutions and social
structures for greater social accountability.
The popular culture site in this context functions as an empowering tool
that gives voice to the voiceless; and as a enlightening agent through
which members of the society receive awareness. Different social groups in
this case use the popular artists to enlighten the masses on particular
issues. Popular song in this case qualifies as a bargaining tool that
initiates social change in its greater efficacy as a voice of the masses. In
this case, popular artists compose songs to push for a particular agenda or
on their own or are commissioned by pressure groups to do it on their
behalf. A case in point is the song “Unbwogable” translated as “You cannot
beat me” composed by Gidi Gidi Maji Maji and which was used as a

4
campaign song by the NARC team in the 2002 general elections. The song
captured the political mood of the day, and the use of a song to instill a
need for change brought the forty years tenure of the KANU regime to an
end.
The popular song captures the social mood of the prevailing reality,
addresses itself to the present political climate, and reacts to the social
upheavals of the modern times. This is literature exploiting the irony of
life. In this sense, the popular song addresses the frailties of human
nature as a major thematic concern.
Here, the popular songs like other literary works imitate life artistically
with a quest for immediacy. In this context, the popular songs instructs
and gives the audience new knowledge hence fulfilling two major
functions of literature to educate and inform. Literature in this sense helps
the human kind to address social problems on the one hand while on the
other hand helping social members to come to terms with what the human
kind cannot see but has influence in the life of its members.
The choice of artist studied in this research has thus been arrived at not
by choosing the most highly esteemed but one with the greatest mass
appeal. This is because as Freud says, this choice enables the scholar to
study the effect of literature upon the audiences.
Popular songs address issues that face the common man. One
therefore, identifies with the masses by identifying with the kind of music
which defines the literature they consume. Most of what is expressed into
what is now popularly known as the popular songs. In addition, the media
especially the vernacular radio stations promote popular artists since the
artistes’ ideologies influence the station people listen. One thus finds that
the radio stations give these songs a lot of air play so as to attract a wider
audience. In the process, the doctrines and philosophies of the musician
become the values of his/her society as a result of constant inculcation by
the media houses since these songs entertain and propagate their
ideologies at the same time.

PROBLEM STATEMENT
The themes and styles, present in popular songs qualify most of them as
literary texts. Technology has played a major role in the composition,
production and dissemination of these songs. This fact however, seem to
have escaped the attention of most literary scholars. As a result, the
themes, styles, and ideologies in most of these songs have not been
critically studied. However due to technological advancement, such
developments have created multiple levels through which one can discern
meanings plausible in popular songs. These developments have played a
major role in repackaging popular songs as literary discourses. This has
however not been studied in literary scholarship in great detail. What one
finds are very few project papers on the topic and seminar papers from a
few scholars like Purity Kiambi who concludes that technological
inventions like the VCD have made a major impact into the development
and performance of popular songs.
5
This study seeks to investigate the impact that digital technology has had
on the nature and performance of popular songs. As Rosenberg A., Kariuki
Gakuo, Mbugua Mungai and Egara Kabaji observe, there are few academic
researches that have been carried out on popular songs as a literary genre.
It is on this premise that this study defines its essence and focuses on the
songs of John De’ Mathew since they fall since they fall under this genre.
While most studies on popular songs have concentrated on the analysis of
form and content, this study in addition analyses elements of form that
emerge as a result of manipulation of modern technology in song
production, and dissemination. The relationship between the performance
and the respective semantic contexts the artist operationalize has also
been underscored.

OBJECTIVES
The project intends to achieve the following objectives:
Analyze the thematic concerns and ideological standpoint in John De
Mathew’s songs.
Analyze the stylistic devices employed by John De Mathew at text and
performance level.
Examine how John De Mathew utilizes modern technology in his songs.

HYPOTHESIS
This study operates on the assumption that:
John De’ Mathew’s songs contain essential thematic concerns which
standout as social reflections.
John De’ Mathew songs bear myriad linguistic and non verbal stylistic
features which add to the artistic form inherent in the songs.
De’ Mathew has taken advantage of modern technology to enrich his songs
at audio and visual levels.

JUSTIFICATION
This study is justified on the ground that popular songs—as literary texts
—have received minimal academic attention. I share in Aaron Rosenberg’s
findings that “the relative inclusion of popular songs vis-à-vis other forms
of expressions in scholarship on African literature and oral verbal art is a
serious oversight that need to be reconsidered and rectified” (1) Mbugua
wa Mungai makes a similar observation when he acknowledges that “local
scholarship seem to deliberately cultivate invisibility for local creative
forms especially when this happen to fall under the popular culture rubric”
(1). Academic concern is thus drawn for a need for scholars to make a case
for the inclusion of popular songs in academics. In addition, this task
demands that it receive equitable critical attention according to Rosenberg.
Mbugua acknowledges that, “…on the whole, such interrogations are few
and far between (2)”. This prevailing deficit thus necessitates the need for
this study.

6
 The inherent themes, styles and the role modern technology plays in
the creation of popular songs need to be critically analyzed in addition to
the ideological standpoints of popular artists.
This study focuses on the Songs of John De’ Mathew. The literary
messages inherent in John De Mathew’s songs define the academic drive
that inspires this study.
Popular songs capture the mood of the moment since the artist is
informed by the immediate reality, which seem to inform ones concerns
and hence determine the creative methodology that one puts into play.
This is what one finds in most of De’ Mathew’s songs. The artistic nature
encompassed in these songs, in addition to their thematic concerns thus
calls for critical analysis of these songs as pieces of literary discourse.
A lot of African literature and its infinite wealth are still in our local
African languages. De’ Mathew’s songs espouse the native Gĩkũyũ
language and nuances which bear minimum western influence in his
choice of vocabulary and oral aesthetics. His songs thus articulate to a
great extent attributes of African literature since these songs define
advanced aesthetic devices and a high degree of social criticism when
perceived in terms of theories of literary criticism. He captures the
cultural nuances in a very natural manner unlike most of his fellow
Kikuyu singers. This in addition to the strong in the songs makes him one
of the most celebrated Kikuyu musicians of this era. His music draws
greatly from the works of Karl Marx and hence enjoys immense mass
appeal across different age groups and social members. From a literary
perspective, these songs are packed with rich figures of speech, and a
variety of numerous artistic devices which contribute to their literary
richness. We thus need to explicate these songs in order to uncover the
literary cornucopia encompassed in these songs.
While reading is a lonely act, listening to music can be a communal
act. On the one hand, one finds the high cost of books discouraging the
larger poor population from investing in books as a result of their financial
status. The cost of a CD or a DVD on the other hand is quite cheap hence
the majority afford to buy and to enjoy the music together not to forget
that most activities in the African set up were communal based. Listening
to music together is thus appreciated more than reading which encourages
a lot of one’s seclusion.
Pressure at family level in addition, engages the attention of most
family members thus denying them the opportunity to sit and read. In this
case, listening to music becomes popular since one can listen as one
continues to attend to other family chores unlike reading which demands
for one’s eyes, hands and minimal body movement. It is for this reason
that the researcher engage the masses by studying the most popular form
of literature they consume—the popular songs—since one way of
understanding people is through studying and analysing the cultural
materials they consume. Songs—as cultural products—therefore form one
of the modes of cultural expressions of a given people and thus articulate
aspects that define their identity.
7
 I concur with Rosenberg’s observation that political hegemony works
hand in hand with cultural elitism to disparage and emasculate forms of
expression that agree with one or both of the foci of influence. African
states for quite some time have been under dictators. The verbal
expressive art forms constantly have been suppressed or totally silenced in
their function to inform and empower.
However, as Rosenberg observes that this has resulted from an
encouraged bias against the oral art forms in favour of the written within
the academy, she does not account for the motivation that informs this
bias nor does she educate us on the motivated course behind the
suppression of the oral art forms. I want to argue that the elite and the
politicians belong to the same class and thus have interests to protect and
safe guard. Oral discourses in most cases advocates for denied rights of
the poor and the oppressed. And this as a factor is what has consciously
led to their suppression and close monitor by those in power. A
Eurocentric academic attitude shared by most scholars have also led to
their hesitance to include oral African materials in the academic
mainstream but this notwithstanding, this obvious avoidance to
academically engage popular culture discourses could also be attributed to
critical inadequacy—otherwise not openly acknowledged—by those in the
academy since most of them fall short in terms of necessary critical tools
that can aid one to fruitfully discern new knowledge from the prevailing
oral discourses. The sophistication and complexity that define popular
songs also can indirectly contribute to why most scholars shun the area,
since analytical tools with which to carry out an objective study in this
area are limited and in addition critical studies in this area require
exceptional creativity in ones criticism as an individual.
Studying the thematic concerns plausible in popular songs thus
help us to understand our (selves) society since the artist draws his/her
inspirations and themes from everyday reality which is the same that is
shared by his/her audiences. The popular artists thus qualify not only
entertainers but also as educators and informers of their respective
society. The popular artist in this context offers social criticisms through
their songs, social commentaries, and is thus able to predict the future of
the society. The artist thus qualifies as a modern prophet who helps the
society to reflect on its follies in order to improve on its morals.
This study’s therefore seeks to critically analyze thematic concerns present
in John De’ Mathew’s songs of as a way of discerning the moral conscience
of the modern society. Studying these songs reveal the major issues that
define today’s social problems and hence creates provision for offering the
relevant solutions to social challenges that affect our society.
It is hence of great importance to explicate these songs in order to
understand the society of the artists better. This can lead to a better
understanding of ourselves and our social institutions.

Popular artists employ modern technology in the process of composition

and production of their songs. This study hence analyses John De’
8
Mathew’s utilization of modern technology in his songs for maximum
results and effect in the process of communicating with his audiences.
Modern technology de-centralizes the oral performance through the use of
digital technology such as the audio CDs and MP3s, the DVD, VCD, WMA,
DivX to mention but a few. This as a result, diversifies the consumer level.
Consequently, popular songs achieve greater social appeal, which thus to
an extent leads to greater mass influence. The visual texts form a major
component of this genre since in addition to passing the songs message,
the performed texts provides for instances of drama, and additional—
secondary— meanings which are discernible from the visual texts.
The multi generic aspect of popular songs is therefore worth
studying. The multi-faceted meanings apparent in popular songs are a
subject worth analysing since semantic generation is plausible at several
levels such as audio and visual. The major themes articulated in the songs
are made vivid by the visual part while at the same time bringing new
meanings to bear.

SCOPE AND LIMITATION

Scope
This study endeavours to critically analyze the employment of form and
content in the selected songs of John De’ Mathew. Here the bias was on
what kind of themes De’ Mathew articulates in his songs. How and why?
In addition, this study looks at what elements of reality does he recreate in
the form espoused by his songs; here the researcher’s intention was to see
how the artist recreates reality in his songs and also to try and answer the
question why? Songs under study are sampled after classifying John De’
Mathew’s songs into seven distinct categories. Forty six songs have been
selected for this study out of a total of one hundred and seventeen songs
that were collected, which amounts to the number of songs John De’
Mathew has done by now.

Collected songs and their respective categories

categories Total songs collected Number of songs
studied
Love songs 20 9
Political songs 8 7
General commentaries 16 7
on contemporary issues

Relationships 25 8
Philosophical 6 5
Propaganda 4 3
Gender and women 13 7
others 25

9
For each of the category we choose the number of songs that represented
the respective category and avoided duplication of information since
related songs had ideas repeated.

Limitation
This study is limited to the analysis of John De’ Mathew’s songs both
audio and visual.
METHODOLOGY
This study aimed at collecting John De’ Mathew’s songs in order to
critically analyze their literariness in terms of theme and style. To achieve
this, the study was a product of field work, library and internet research.
Interviewing the music distributor was done to aid in sampling of
data since the distributor has firsthand knowledge and information
regarding the total collection of John De’ Mathew’s songs. In addition, his
music distributor is aware of the album(s) or songs that sell most. It is
from this knowledge that data for this study was sampled that is, from the
most popular songs and those with the greatest mass appeal. However, we
made the following observation: That John De’ Mathew songs are bought
by members of the public of all ages, that is the young and the old. In
terms of gender, both male and female buy De’ Mathew’s songs.
In terms of frequency, we learnt that his music “moves very much” that is,
a lot of people buy his songs. It was confirmed to us that out of all kikuyu
musicians, De’ Mathew has the highest numbers in terms of sale.
Mwangi also told us that the public buys both the new and the old
songs. That is, all the albums which he has done are bought by the public.
The concluding remarks was that generally, De’ Mathew music among the
Kikuyu music lovers makes the greatest sales.
The researcher chose his data from the songs that are most played
on air, two, he surveyed different listeners and sought their opinion on
their most favourite songs by the artist, three, the researcher visited Inooro
FM and Kameme FM (Gikuyu radio stations) to obtain data on John De’
Mathew’s songs which are requested most. Finally the researcher
surveyed radio weekly countdown to observe if any of the songs by the
artist feature. Songs featuring in weekly count downs thus were
considered.
After collecting the songs described above, the researcher employed
the short listed theoretical frames to exegetically critique the content and
form that characterize the nature of John De’ Mathew’s songs as popular
art forms. To do this successfully, study employed Social realism, Stylistic
criticism and Music theory.
In this study, the researcher studied a sample of the songs that
represent the broad picture of all the songs of John De’ Mathew. This was
informed by the fact that De’ Mathew’s songs vary greatly in terms of
themes. Here the researcher classified the songs to be studied into seven
categories these were: Philosophical songs, Love songs, General
commentaries on contemporary issues, Political songs, Relationships,
Propaganda, and Gender / women.
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 Data collected was mainly obtained by purchasing relevant audio
CDs, and VCDS from music shops in Nairobi.
The collected videos aided in song interpretation since the visual image
provided for the allowance to observe the artist gestures, dance
movements, facial expressions and mode of dramatization. This helped in
opening up the songs meaning both surface and implied. Visual images
analyzable through the VCDs and DVDs also acted as derivative source(s)
for secondary meaning(s) such as gender issues. This was evidenced
through the observation of images such as the portrayal of women in the
visual text as opposed to the audio portrayal—which is captured in the
songs text.
After collecting the data, the researcher used free translation to
translate the data into English. Free translation was favoured in order to
retain the original meaning as much possible.
The collected songs were critically analyzed basing their analysis on
both their content and form. Here the researcher was guided by the
respective theoretical framework.
Themes in all the songs were analyzed followed by stylistic devices in
all the songs. Through critical observation of visual texts; that is, the VCDs
and the DVDs the researcher critiqued additional plausible secondary
meaning(s) which the transcribed text left out. In addition, the researcher
keenly listened to the tone and intonations of the artists in order to see
how –in the instance of a performance—they contribute to the songs
meaning.
During data collection, the songs collected followed the criteria below:
1. Historical trend
Here the songs selection was be divided into time frame from when the
artiste started to sing to the latest song he has done. This enabled the
researcher to discern the growth and development of the artist.

2. Popularity of songs
Different songs of the artist vary in terms of their social appeal. Some
are thus more popular than others. This study focussed on the songs
that have been most popular with the masses since the time De’
Mathew started to sing. This as Freud says is what constitutes
literature of the masses.
3. Social thematic concerns
Different songs were selected in terms of their thematic concerns. De’
Mathew is a social commentator and this withstanding, he sings on
various issues that concern the present life. His themes range from
politics, love, domestic violence, social dilemmas, recklessness and
irresponsibility, corruption, ethnicity, patriotism to mention but a few.
Songs selection thus picked the best of each category.
4. Literariness of a song
De’ Mathew’s songs are marked by very rich imagery and symbolisms in
addition to the artistic language the singer employs as his vehicle to
communicate with his audience. Bearing this is mind; the researcher
11
 will choose the songs that espouse characteristics of literary discourses
since, this as an academic task had to measure to its standards. This
validated the researchers assumption about the literary richness
plausible in John De’ Mathew’s songs.

LITERATURE REVIEW
In this study, we shall break the review into two categories. The Traditional
Perspective of the song—as a literary genre—and two, the Contemporary
Perspective of the song; which brings us closer to popular songs as a sub
genre. This is in order to approach the song--as a literary genre--from the
broader perspective as we narrow ourselves down to review of literature
that is closer to popular songs. This will guide our approach as we advance
from the general to the specific.
Mwikali Kieti in Myali songs: Social Critique among the Kamba M.A.
thesis acknowledges that literature is both a product and a force in
society. Perceptively interpreting their reality, artists re-enact the world. A
work of art earns credibility through its relevance (Kieti 6). The philosophy
that seems to inform Kieti is that through art, writers and singers respond
to everyday issues, as social commentators. Here Kieti shares in Majola
Mbele’s views since Majola in the article “The role of the writer” observes
that the writer articulates the spirit and collective experience of his society.
The same can be said about the artist. However unlike Mbele who seems to
have no problem with the writer in the articulation of issues of everyday
life, Kieti seems to have a problem with the advent of popular culture and
its manifestation in today’s literature. In this thesis, Kieti underscores the
negative effect of modernisation. Comparing this with the Myali songs –
which are traditional in their setting Kieti refers to modern songs as songs
that have conflicting messages that are unrelated to the local audiences.
The researcher here observes that Kieti’s position here signals inadequacy
of the scholar to objectively adjust perception of art as a dynamic social
entity that keeps changing all the time so as to adapt to the prevailing
social circumstance. Ngugi wa Thiong’o acknowledges this when he
observes that “A writer responds, with his total personality, to a social
environment which changes all the time. Being a kind of a sensitive
needle, he registers with varying degrees of accuracy and success, the
conflicts and tensions in his changing society”
All the same, Kieti observes that Mwali as a type of song that
criticized the society grew from Mwali’s ability to encompass a wide range
of themes within a single song, so that deeper meanings had to be sought.
Myali songs were also both didactic and a source of entertainment. Kieti’s
study shows how imagery and allusions portray ideas in songs on social
critique. The same can be said of John De’ Mathew songs since several
layers of meaning are discernible from each song. As observed earlier, this
is a characteristic feature of any objective form of art.

12
Ciarunji Chesaina in Oral literature of the Embu and the Mbeere observes
that:
The song is perhaps the most powerful genre of oral literature
because of its versatility and communicability. It is distinguished
from the oral narrative not only by its mode of performance and use
of verse, but also by its extensive use of the imagery and symbolic
language (14-15)
John De’ Mathew as an artist is one example of an artist whose songs – as
Chesaina observes – encompass an extensive use of imagery and symbolic
language. This necessitated the researcher’s choice of artist to study, not
to mention the choice of genre, which like, Chesaina, the researcher
acknowledges not only as the most powerful genre of oral literature in
Africa but also as the most dynamic, reliable and objective; in its
articulation of African literature. Chesaina acknowledges the rich use of
satire in the songs of the Embu and the Mbeere. This she observes is
meant to ridicule social weaknesses. Irony she acknowledges is the main
literary tool used in these songs for satirical reasons (16). However, she
does not discuss in detail the cultural artistic and linguistic factors that
necessitate this great usage of satire in the songs in terms of form.
However, she acknowledges the role of song as a tool for inculcating
morals.
Chesaina observes in Oral Literature of the Kalenjin that song is the
most versatile genre of Kalenjin oral literature as it pervades all walks of
life in Kalenjin culture (11). In most social occasions songs have a specific
social function to serve. Here the songs are classified into six categories
these are: children songs and lullabies, circumcision songs, weddings
songs, satirical songs, political songs and religions songs. Kalenjin songs
are part and parcel of the people’s way of life. They are used as a means of
expressing the people’s world view and maintaining a cultural direction
through transmitting the society’s values and attitudes. Songs in Kalenjin
community are used for didactic purposes to inculcate accepted norms in
the youth and adults alike. However, she dwells on the social functions of
the song but does not delve into the stylistic criticism of the elements of
style employed by artists in these songs.

Work songs are used to provide a rhythm for the type of job at hand
and to help create a sense of collective responsibility to those engaged in
performing the task at hand. In ritual, songs and dance enable the
participants to attain physiological as well as psychological therapy.
Religious songs are used as tools of communicating with the supernatural
world. Broadly, songs contribute indirectly towards the social cohesion of
the people as a social unit.

Dan Ben Amos Folklore Genres vol. 26 observes that where as ethnic
genres cultural modes of communication are, analytical categories are
models for the organization of texts both constitute separate systems
which should relate to each other as substantive matter to abstract models
13
 Bens Amos looks art folklore genres as folklore communication
systems, each with its own internal logical consistency, each based upon
distinct social historical experiences and cognitive categories. Amos
discerns four classifications approach which one could employ to classify
and analyze oral literacy genres. These are: thematic approach, holistic
approach, archetypal approach, and functional approach. It is on this
premise that this study analyses the selected songs by looking at the
inherent thematic concerns, and the styles employed by the artist. This
draws cognizance from the thematic approach and holistic approach
respectively.

While Amos’ approach is adequate at explication of themes, it is

rather weak in the way it approaches the study of style in literary genres.
It does not offer a clear cut methodology that can be employed in the study
of style in a work of art.

Kipury Naomi in Oral Literature of the Maasai observes that in the

Maasai community, songs performed during rituals are also composed
spontaneously as the occasion demand. Songs and poetry embody a
people’s philosophy, beliefs, values and sometimes, their historical
development. Ritual songs include; initiation songs, birth, and naming
songs, prayer, war, and other songs sung by children include lullabies,
teasing songs and rhymes

Songs and poems are classified according to their function, but this
arrangement overlaps with the age and sex of the singers. War songs are
thus specifically sung by warriors while blessing songs are sung by elders.

Titles of songs suggest their functions. Maasai center their activities

and ideas around their livestock and their immediate surroundings their
imaginary is drawn from a pastoral setting.

They sing about colours, shapes and behaviour of cattle, sizes and
shapes of their horns. They sing of buffalo- shaped horns of cattle and
their yellow colour compared with colostrums. Tall people are said to be
bamboos.

Many Maasai songs consist of phrases which are sung by different

people, one reciting a fragment, others chanting melodic refrains. There is
also accompanying body movement and rocking in rhythm with the song.
Other gestures accompanying singing include: thrusting supportive hands
at the singer in approval of what she says (usually women) and depending
on the emotion being expressed, some people get into fits. (Often
associated with men but by no mean uncommon to women)

14
 Each song has its theme and social significance. Singing is a means
of communicating with: one, one’s reality; two, one’s mind; three, one’s
natural being; and four, one’s nature.
Ruth Finnegan like many of the scholars above mentioned observes
that song is the most common form of poetry in Sub-Saharan Africa. They
appear--she says--in an almost unlimited number of contexts (241).
While changes are inevitable in all art, the popular song is in smooth
transition from the traditional forms but continue to retain its traditional
aesthetics. Nathaniel Mackey posits that music manifests among other
things a discontent with categories and the boundaries they enforce, with
the impediment to social and aesthetic mobility. Formal innovation is here
tied to questions of socio-cultural resistance, value and structure but in a
non-reductive way. He observes that one has to find one’s tradition, create
one’s tradition and in doing that one create lines of affinity and kinship
that cuts across national boundaries, ethnic boundaries, and so forth (sic).
Here we come to terms with Mackey’s dialogue and dialectical thinking
which informs his insistence on a cultural cosmopolitanism in which
identity is always already difference and vice versa. This speculative black
Atlantic modernist culture breaks new ground in our understanding of
African American poetics.
On a similar notion, the researcher here postulates that similar
perceptions can be made of the modern artist and his art (popular songs)
in this case. Through a critical study of the popular song one thus comes
to terms with the form of the content and the content of the form. The
modern artist thus has played his/her role in articulating gender
disparities ethnic prejudices and thus the researcher aims at
understanding how the artist plays this social functional role since art in
addition to entertainment, educates the society.
Finnegan Ruth in Oral literature in Africa (1970) Observes that poets
have the following functions: the court poets sung praise to the leaders.
Also they seemed to reserve the historical record and the genealogy. Here
Finnegan’s main concern is traditional songs and their various functions.
This classification is thus based on the nature of the function and the
content in a given song and not necessarily the form.

The musical side of these songs, unlike spoken or semi chanted

poetry is of vital importance. The verbal expression and the melody of the
song are interdependent (Finnegan: 1970: 263) Finnegan however, does
not explicate this proposition in order to show the concrete relationship
between a song’s text and its melody.

Varying weight given to the melody or the verbal content vary in

different areas and between different genres of songs for instance, the work
song places more emphasis on the melody and little emphasis on the
content. In love songs words take on greater interest. Improvisation is
common during performance and of most African songs. The artist

15
improvises new words to fit in the tune to give the song some touch of
newness.

In terms of relationship between form and content, Finnegan

observes that verbal text and the melody exist to fulfill different function.
The melody provides the musicality and the interpretation of body
movement through rhythm. The content provides the message to be
associated with the song. The strong unity between lyrics, instrumentation
in African songs is very strong. This observation however, does not address
the nature of a song as a metaphor whose aim is to articulate the
metaphysical world which is beyond human comprehension, but has effect
in man’s everyday life. Here a song is perceived as a ritual that transcends
beyond the lyrics and the accompanying melody as Seydou Kamara
explains, as we shall see later.

Jan Vansina in Oral Tradition as History observes that:

… all art is metaphor and form. Verbal arts such as poetry, songs
sayings, proverbs and tales conform to this rule. They express the
experience of contemporary situations or events, morals to be drawn
from such occurrences or situations to express emotions associated
with them (11).
Vansina observes that the form is very important and that production of
oral art may take two forms (a) Original composition or (b) improvisation
on an existing stock of images and forms (most common). This is the same
thing we observe in most popular songs. A case in point is one of John De’
Mathew’s song “Ask me for love” whose tune and chorus are grafted from
Kenney Roggers song “If you want to find love”.
Some musical instrument in a song can be used to pass information
for instance, in New Guinea, where the languages are tonal drum rhythm
are used to transmit information. This is also observed in De’ Mathew’s
songs where the lead guitar and the solo guitar in most songs convey
similar message to the one communicated by the verbal text. This is in
relation to the feelings elicited by the particular instruments as once
listens to the song.

Mazisi Kunene in Anthem of the Decade addresses the question of

oral poetry from a philosophical stand point. Here the song is explicated
not only as a genre of oral literature but also as a philosophical symbolic
tool that the artist employs to reach the deeper confines of the human
soul. The abstract entity of oral poetry as a cosmological entity through
which man communes with forces of nature is brought to our
understanding. I share in Mazisi’s views on this premise since the song in
addition to being a literary tool for conveyance of social thematic
structures of meaning; it is a means through which the gods addresses
man and vice versa. The metaphysical entity here transcends beyond
conception of the human senses and conscience yet we are able to attest to

16
the same at a close analysis of a person’s state of consciousness in the feat
of an inspiration.
Kariuki Gakuo in his MA thesis acknowledges that pop songs—as a
sub genre of songs—has not been studied exhaustively, and researched
on. It is on this awareness that this study intends to draw greater
luminance into the functional essence of Gakuo’s observation. The
researcher thus acknowledges the virginity of popular songs–as a literary
genre–and thus wishes to make this study a contribution to this field of
knowledge which remains quite unexploited. Song as an oral literary genre
changes fast and adjusts to the fast changing society. Bearing this in
mind, this study thus attempts to show how song as a literary genre
manifests itself and how it adjusts itself according to the social trends.
Kariuki Gakuo in his M.A thesis observes that popular songs are
attempts by the artists to come to grips with the fragmentation in society
and with the forces of alienation. Gakuo’s observation here seems to be
informed by his wish to protect his perception of the traditional status quo.
In one way he seems torn between defending the traditional forms in which
art existed and accepting the overwhelming social dynamic changes that
influence art in the society.
Unlike Gakuo, the researcher here wishes to perceive the post
colonial Kenyan society not in terms of what it ought to have been in the
African traditional perspective but in the light of what it is in its current
state. This is because this is a society that has – its cultural, social and
philosophical identities – interacted with the western cultures during and
after colonization. A neo-colonial theory of literature would thus explicate
this society better than any theory based on African tradition. Colonialism
as a historical period had its contribution to the shaping and formation of
the African ideologies and psychology. However, we cannot keep blaming
the colonizers for our human weaknesses and the frailties of our human
character four decades after independence. Neither can we continue to
view ourselves like we were never colonized nor should we keep defining
ourselves—in terms of ‘alienation’--and our identity in terms of the
negative effects of colonization. A society is a product of its past. Art is
informed by the social past in order to critique reality and envisage a
better course of humanity.
The fragmentation – in Gakuo’s words – is an attempt by the society
to try to come to terms with the process of searching its identity and not a
fragmentation per se. The theme of alienation will soon be out of place in
terms of defining ourselves since we need to see ourselves in the eyes of
our present in as much as we see ourselves in the context of our history.
Like Kamaru, Gakuo accepts to see the African identity in the Mau Mau
notion of we versus them, where we signifies the blacks and them signifies
the whites.
As Gakuo observes, Joseph Kamaru advocates for Africans to
preserve their African culture and since the Africans he is referring to are
post colonial Africans he sees them as estranged because they share in the
white man’s ways. If it were our ancestors discarding their ways to adapt
17
western values and culture then we could say they are becoming alienated
and estranged from their ways. The present Africans did not live in the
days of their ancestors, so they cannot be blamed for not being like their
forefathers instead we should acknowledge the forces of history that have
gone into the shaping of their culture and identity. They are thus not
alienated the way Gakuo and Kamaru would want us to see them since
they are a product of their time and history. Estrangement results from
one becoming alienated from ones earlier identity. On this premise the
researcher observes that the African of the present generation has not
discarded any of his/her ways to adapt new cultures. Those who left their
ways are those who were victims of colonization. The present African
should thus be seen in the light of his reality in terms of his society and
his time in history. It is thus right to say that it is our grandfathers and
mothers who got alienated from the ways they had been socialized in as
Africans. The present Africans are products of their process of socialization
and they have opted for no new ways and culture from those that defined
essence from their childhood.
The researcher does not share Gakuo’s views when he surmises
Kamaru’s songs on alienation as reflecting a society that is alienated from
itself in terms of culture and traditions. Here Gakuo seems not to have
come to terms with elements of contemporary culture that define today’s
society. In addition, he sees today’s society as one that is wallowing in
materialism and individualism, social vices, exploitation, oppression and
dehumanization of man. According to the researcher, these are human
weaknesses and frailties of the human soul. These follies are evidenced in
all human cultures, what vary is the degree of toxicity and there is no one
society that can boast of operating at its ideal in terms of human values
and virtues and in total absence of vices. Gakuo is thus idealistic in his
approach. Unlike Gakuo, the researcher here opts for a realistic and
objective criticism of the world of reality since like Kamaru, Gakuo
perceives the reality from an ivory tower of ideal humanity which is more
of a mental concept than a reality of any society.
However, the researcher shares in Gakuo’s views when he acknowledge
that Kamaru uses songs as a weapon of protest against the forces that
dehumanize man and deny him claim to humanity. Kamaru as Gakuo
observes, advocates for a society that upholds morals and the social good
for all. This is a basic role of literature, to advocate for the moral good and
the need to embrace humanity. Kamaru also advocates for the
preservation of culture in his songs. In some of the songs he is very
passionate about this as a topic. He uses his songs to document as many
elements of Kikuyu oral literature and history as he can. This is good since
it is characteristic of the cultural concerns of the time Kamaru sang his
songs. Here, he was trying to come to terms with issues of the reality by
that time. The modern artist like Kamaru is also informed by his
immediate reality and he cannot be forced to articulate social themes from
the perspective of his predecessors since both artists are informed and
inspired by different realities.
18
 What Gakuo terms as alienation, with time has manifested itself as
social evolution that results into new social identities and trends, at a
closer examination of different Kenyan communities. These changing
trends are as a result of emerging issues such as democracy, globalization,
the media, neo colonialism and social criticism as an encouraged
philosophy in which every society critiques itself and hence necessitates
and initiates its own changes accordingly. This is where the difference
comes in since Joseph Kamau is pro-traditions and customs, while the
modern artist is informed by philosophical structures that define
contemporary criticism.
The prevailing social forces that lead to existence of new cultures
such as the pop culture however have been acknowledged by Gakuo,
however, mildly he seems to be in touch with such social forces. He thus
mentions – as a recommendation in his conclusion – the necessity of
further research in the formation of a general hypothesis on the role of
popular song in the contemporary society. His observation therefore is
cognizant of the fact that few researches have been carried out on the role
of popular song especially in the literary circles. Gakuo’s moribund notion
and perception of pop song is evidenced in his observation when he states:
The popular song for instance, has arisen out of the dictates of
modern life and a rapidly changing social reality. It addresses itself
to a plethora of complex issues that afflict the contemporary society,
issues such as oppression, exploitation, dehumanization,
disillusionment, poverty and materialism, issues which are both
contemporary and of immediate relevance to modern society(1).
The weakness of this argument is that it is only cognizant of a very small
slice of the role of popular song in the society. This observation is weak
since it’s only cognizant of the role played by popular song in responding
to every day issues. Here Gakuo perceives the popular song as a medium
through which the social follies are articulated. Here, the popular song is
seen as a tool that enables conveyance of ideas about the contemporary
social issues.
This view of popular song as a medium of passing social
commentaries is one sided on the ground that in addition to passing social
commentaries, popular songs embody a peoples’ philosophy and a way of
looking at themselves. Popular song--as a genre--is not just a means of
communicating ideas but it’s an element of a peoples’ culture in the
modern society. One does not thus define oneself with the follies observed
by Gakuo since the same genre of music is employed by the society to
celebrate what is good about its own people. We have myriad gospel songs
in the same genre, love songs, patriotic songs in addition to the few that
articulate social follies. The hybridized society does thus look at the genre
as a means of defining itself. It is on this premise that this study defines
its essence since very little – almost nothing – has been done to attempt to
understand the present society, by accessing its subconscious through its
popular songs. This is what this study aims at achieving since few
scholars have shown interest in studying this genre.
19
 The important role the popular song plays in molding social
consciousness is particularly high in Africa – as Gakuo observes – since
levels of literacy remain relatively low and the onslaught of modernization
has rendered the performance of many genres of verbal art almost
nonexistent (5). As a result, he observes that oral literature and the song
are dynamic and versatile and have thus adapted to address the prevailing
social reality (16).
Kariuki Kiura in his M.A thesis observes that literature encompasses
a wide array of study in addition to satire. In this study Kariuki exploits
the use of satire in the popular songs of Newton Kariuki. In his explication,
Kiura notes that satire interrogates social follies, wickedness and exposes
them to ridicule. A strong observation he makes. He also observes that an
artist employs tone to express satire (25). The same can be said of John
De’ Mathew. This observation is vital in the study of popular songs since
meaning in literature is not only communicated by the text but equally by
the melodic voice of the singer. To come to terms with the totality of
literary essences expressed in the popular song we must redefine our
perception of the role of the text of the song and the role of the
accompanying instrumental melody. Kiura’s observation is a direct
cognizant of application of style where an artist is able to diversify the
meanings of his song from the context of style. He thus invites us to
discern meaning from the content in the form.
This is because the completeness of an oral literary discourse is
achieved in the performance. Freud observes that creativity originates in
the unconscious mind; here the source of creativity is placed beyond the
author’s conscious control. According to the common classical and
Christian view of poetic inspiration, Raman Selden observes that the poet
does not originate the poem but is the inspired channel for a divine act of
creation. It is in the same light and notion that we to perceive the modern
artist since in the words of Keats the poet has no “identity” but is capable
of receiving or becoming other identities.
Kariuki in his explication of application of satire in the songs of
Newton Kariuki attempts this dichotomy of fact/value using Keats words,
but he does not expound into the intricacies that govern and influence the
creative faculty of the artist. He thus leaves gaps concerning the fictional
realism of the artist from which he consciously or unconsciously operates
during the rendition of his art. Kariuki analysis satire in the songs of
Newton Kariuki but does not analyse how this satire is generated or how it
comes about. To come to grips with the semantic universality of a literary
discourse, one ought to focus as much attention to the process that bore a
given art form as much as one does in his/her examination of the final
product. This is because as Ezra pound observes the poet and the oral
artist for that matter-is like a sculpture shaping and pairing down a verbal
structure in order to make it fit perfectly correspond to an emotional state
(not necessarily the poets). This is rather a technical process and not an
expressive activity. This clear cut awareness is what Kiura seem not to be
aware of since he dwells on the application of satire and not the technical
20
nature of its essence as a technicality of form in the songs of Newton
Kariuki.
Quoting T.S Eliot, the mind of the poet is an impersonal medium
and not a personality. Poetry including songs, for that matter is not a
“turning loose of emotions, but an escape from emotion” The feelings
explored in the poem are not expressions of the poet’s emotional state.
According to this theory of “objective correlative” T.S. Eliot says, a bad
work of art introduces and ‘emotion’ in excess of the objective structure of
events represented in a work. The same can be said of De’ Mathew where
the emotions elicited in some of the songs are not determined by the artist
but by the meaning conveyed in the song’s text.
Kofie N. in Contemporary African Music in World Perspective
observes that music arrived long after language had been developed as a
communication medium, this fact he says has been substantiated by some
African instruments which either “speak” or play-bound tones for carrying
messages over long distances. Such messages are then decoded by those
at the receiving end into intelligible language. The use of instruments for
transmitting messages is necessitated by the limitation of the human
voice, which is already in use for linguistic purposes. Many of the modern
musical instruments used in John De’ Mathew’s songs are capable of the
same. Modern musical instruments authenticate, concretize and add
meaning and value to the textual message in a song.
Chiuri J.W in Pop Music as a Form of Oral Literature M.A thesis
observes that capitalism is a key contributor to popular songs. The
researcher agrees with Chiuri on this one since like capitalism, popular
songs are a manifestation of the interaction between Africa and the West.
However, the researcher begs to differ with Chiuri’s application and
interpretation of pop songs in the African context. Chiuri argues that with
the development of capitalism and the exchange determined by it that
social ill such as prostitution, drug abuse, landlessness, poverty,
alienation, crime etc have become part of our lives. The fallacy in Chiuri’s
argument is one that assumes that effects of capitalism are necessarily
consequences of pop songs. This is not only a false analogy but a platitude
since capitalism and pop songs are two non related entities. Chiuri
mistakes coincidence for causes thus committing another fallacy in the
observation he underscores. Moral decadence and the advent of pop songs
in our culture is a mere coincidence. Chiuri thus begs what he ought to
have proved. The researcher thus does not share in his loose supposition
instead begs to perceive the popular song in its modesty as a sub genre of
song in oral literature.
The role of literature is to propagate good morals and to artistically
laugh at, or frown upon social evils. In this context, John De’ Mathew’s
songs like most popular songs articulate social evils with an aim to
improve the society but not to propagate vices. This is where Chiuri must
have gotten it wrong. That is, distinguishing between the functions of
popular songs in literature and social predicaments that characterize this
period in terms of time and history. Prostitution in all cultures is as old as
21
the human kind, and no one can attest that prostitution was introduced in
Africa by pop songs. The issues Chiuri raises are more of thematic
concerns that face the modern world of reality and they are not necessarily
caused or influenced by popular songs, instead “popular songs” is a tool
through which the modern artist articulates these vices with an aim to
offer the society a blue print through which the society looks at itself. Here
the aim of the artist is to better the society however, ideal and utopia
his/her perception of that better world may be. In Ruskins words,
literature is moral bound and the high moral responsibility of the artist is
to reveal the beauty of nature. Such a vision is not petty or concerned with
the trivialities of life, but has a grandeur and nobility appropriate to the
appreciation of the divinely appointed order.
Seydou Camara observes that the bard is the master of the word and
words are considered to have a mystical force which can bring
supernatural energies to bear. These energies can both augment and
diminish a man’s power to act. In this context, the bard’s responsibility for
controlling words is extremely great. In this context, there is thus an
element of song that is beyond human conception since it operates on the
realm between ones subconscious and the metaphysical nature of the
super structure of nature and the human kind.
In this study, a lot will not be delved into in the nature of the
popular songs in this context however in the study of stylistics the
researcher will demonstrate how an artist uses words to appeal to the
deeper conscience of the human kind.
A song is thus a symbol of inner forces of nature which man least
comprehends in totality and singing and dancing are gestures of a human
feat to attempt to identify with the melodic nature of the cosmos by
attributing meaning, lyrics and gesture to this experience. The power and
natural forces that govern the song as a form of intuition is thus a subject
the researcher attests but one that transcends beyond the threshold of
this study. However, this study will show how literature can benefit from
music interpretation encompassed in literary works of art as Barry K.
observes the relationship between music and creative literature is twofold.
There is a relationship between the complex temporal order of music and
the structure of a work of literature, and there is the ‘sense of musical
delight’ in poetry…for these reasons music unlike any other arts, can be
usefully related to literature in order to explain, not only the necessary
place of structure in imaginative discourse, but also the necessary place of
pleasure in the sound of words in poetry. Nicholas Saunderson observes
that three effects arise in the mind of the hearer/audience. The first is the
sound; the second the picture, or representation of the thing signified by
the sound; the third is the affection of the soul produced by one or both of
the foregoing. It is in this awareness that the researcher endeavoured to
study melodic attributes in the songs of John De’ Mathew that contribute
to literary meaning in terms of style.
In this sense, as Kofie observes in Contemporary African Music …a
reflection of the mental characteristics of Africans is reflected the African
22
music. Thus a critical study of African songs can reveal the African
cosmology in terms of philosophy, world view, culture, pattern of thoughts,
attitude, aesthetics etc.
J. Handschin remarks that every type of music corresponds to a specific
human type which it reflects and to which it addresses itself. Building on
this premise therefore we look at how the popular song in the African
context has re-branded itself in order to correspond to the nature of
Africans, and thus the question of how it reflects the African situation to
which it addresses itself. I share in this view and thus the aim of this
study which is to look at literary perspectives in the songs of John De’
Mathew from a similar stand point. Since as Chatman observes, a text
engages reality and its consistency within the conventions of that code
creates its verisimilitude.
Johnson William in Intelligent Listening to Music observes that there
are at least eight requisites of intelligent listening involved in the hearing
of a new work: mental inquiries should be made on the following points; its
nature, style, age, themes upon which it is founded, the use made of these
themes, the pattern into which the music falls, tonal values, and the
personality of the composer. (9)
On this note the researcher wishes to pause, this review and hope to see
how the Kenyan society especially funs of John De’ Mathew relate to the
phenomenal world as encapsulated in his songs.
Rosenberg Aaron L. observes that song is one of he most widely
communicated forms of verbal art in the African continent. Popular songs
are dynamic and widespread. However the relative exclusion of popular
songs vis a vis other terms of expression in scholarship on African
literature and oral verbal art is a serious oversight that needs to be
reconsidered and rectified (1). Popular songs are dynamic and widespread,
and permeate the lives of people throughout Eastern Africa. It is on this
premise this study defines is essence since popular songs as an art form is
the most popular form of music with artists in East Africa as Rosenberg
observes. This form of art that is, popular song need to be given due
academic attention since to understand the present society one needs to
study the literary form of art through which the society expresses itself
(most). Social thematic concerns of today’s Kenya are permeated through
the popular song.

As Rosenberg observes:
. . . The most obvious reasons for serious attention to the popular
art is their sheer undeniable assertive presence as social facts. They
locally proclaim their own importance in the lives of large numbers
of African people. They are everywhere. They flourish without
encouragement or recognition from official cultural bodies and
sometimes in defiance of them. People too poor to contemplate
spending money on luxuries do spend it on popular art, sustaining
them and constantly infusing with new life.

23
It is thus of prime importance to discern the forms and content of John De’
Matthew’s songs since they draw audience from both the rich and the poor
members of our society due to the moral lessons communicated by the
artist. We thus need to analyze what new life the artist propagates or if he
addresses old social issues in a new way.

Mbugua Mungai in “Made in Riverwood”: (dis)locating identities and power

through Kenyan pop music,” observes that a key argument is that visual
recording is a critical aspect on ongoing transformation cultural innovation
in which the VCD form has come to impact significantly on popular
musicians ability to influence viewers’ self/other perceptions.

Popular music could thus be seen as an arena for struggle to establish

new centers of individual perception(s). Rosenberg says that popular
culture is understood as a site for struggle, a place for the negotiation of
races, gender, nation and other identifies and for the play of power.

In this paper, Mbugua links the conscious effort of the popular artists to
draw his themes along historic parameter that define thematic concerns
which attracts most artists. Here Mbugua notes that Mau Mau history
supplies critical tropes by which popular musicians seek to apprehend and
explain the tensions in the everyday lives especially those to do with
identify and power. Like several other scholars, Mbugua however
acknowledges that local scholars have tended to ignore popular culture
and to neglect its documentation. Failure to study these discourse as
Mbugua notes, keeps them out of the limelight of serious academic
discourse.

The popular culture practitioners as “local people” have actively take up

the work of reflective self documentation. This is what one encounters
when one analyses the local movies and popular songs. The popular artists
are busy documenting the present posterity through the songs in the
process they disseminate their ideology to their prospective viewers and
hence influence and shape the mental attitudes of the entire society.

This achieves its greatest effect since the popular artist makes use of both
Audio and visual aids to communicate his/her message. Mbugua argues
that visual recording is a critical aspect of ongoing innovation in cultural
processes in which the VCD form has come to impact significantly on
popular musicians ability to influence viewers self perception (3).

One (Kah)--a popular musician--confesses to Mbugua, that creative

expression is one of the mean through which he and fellow residents (of
Dandora) explore alternative ways of self understanding and getting on
with their lives within larger social and material contests regardless of
Dandora’s grime . The same can be said of popular artists and the youth in
most parts of the country. Popular musicians modes of self-expression
24
often result in an oppositional framing of the questions of identify and
power. Key themes in RiverRoad productions are themes of identity and
marginalization of mostly people who are perceived poor. In this quest,
Mbugua then observes that the cheaply produced VCDs work as a mode of
self representation that revises official discourses of personal and national
identity.

Mbugua observes that Kenyan musicians are aware of the politics of

(mis)representation as they are concisely deconstructing this discourse by
placing themselves and other “ordinary” persons (Hawkers, shopkeepers,
matatu drivers, and bar attendees) amongst others as central performers
in their VCDs. This gesture as Mbugua argues may be understood as an
attempt to shape not just artist’s self perception but also, perhaps more
significantly, viewers, sensibilities. In so doing, the pubic identify with the
song/video since these are the same places and individuals who form the
reality as the viewers know it. In the process the viewers develop a sense of
ownership of the propounded discourse, the music content and the artists.
Members of the society thus talk of being funs of a given artist.

It is clear that the digital technology has transformed the way in which the
oral text is created and consumed. Internet technology is providing a
vibrant environment for the composing, archiving, accessing and sharing
the oral text.

Kuria M. and Kiambi P. observe that in the recordings and performance of

traditional songs by the two artists, we can identify young people clad in
traditional skin dressing and moving flywhisks while others are in their
cowboy hats, white shirts tights, bananas etc. The past, the present and
possibly the future, seem to coalese without contradiction or conflict in the
modern day oral performer and his/ her text (93).

The mode of dressing indicates a blending of both African and western

dressing style. This crossbreed in cladding is also reflected in the songs
instrumentation, manner of performance, thematic concerns and thus
portrays popular music as a complex discourse that emerge as a result of
interaction of different culture that leads to hybridization of artistic
components that make up the popular music as a literacy discourse. In its
manner and meaning popular songs is thus a modern vehicle that emerges
as a result of interviewing cultural elements of different civilizations of
artistic forms.

The oral text is becoming transformed as the society becomes transformed

by information and communication and technology. This affects the way
we store, transmit, study and consume the oral text (95).

Makgopa in “Digitalization of Oral Literature” argues that the technological

changes that the world undergoes compel oral literature to adapt to the
25
new changes, namely digitalization for preserving and archiving our
cultural artifacts so that they can be passed to the future generations

Oral literature is re-inventing itself into modern literary genes such as Rap
music, Benga, Ohangla and Mugithi these are some of the genres through
which the modern artists document oral literature of this generation for
posterity purposes. This literature is an amalgam of the past oral literature
and modern civilization as result of global interaction.

THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK
The analysis of the songs is based on social realism, stylistic criticism and
Music theory.
Dorothea Lange explains that Social Realism is a term used to
describe visual and other realistic art works which chronicle the everyday
conditions of the working classes and the poor, and are critical of the
social environment that causes these conditions. Social Realism should be
seen as a democratic tradition of socially prompted artists of liberal or left-
wing conviction. Social Realism fully presents an international
phenomenon, rooting in Realism of the 19th century. Also known as Socio-
Realism, is an artistic movement, expressed in the visual and other realist
arts, which depicts social and racial injustice, economic hardship, through
unvarnished pictures of life's struggles; often depicting working class
activities as heroic. The movement is a style of painting in which the
scenes depicted typically convey a message of social or political protest
edged with satire.
Social Realism developed as a reaction against idealism and the
exaggerated ego encouraged by Romanticism. Consequences of the
Industrial Revolution became apparent; urban centres grew, slums
proliferated on a new scale contrasting with the display of wealth of the
upper classes. With a new sense of social consciousness, the Social
Realists pledged to “fight the beautiful art”, any style which appealed to
the eye or emotions. They focused on the ugly realities of contemporary life
and sympathized with working-class people, particularly the poor. They
recorded what they saw (as it existed) in a dispassionate manner. The
appropriateness of this theory was in the explication of thematic concerns
inherent in the song texts since De’ Mathew sings about what is happening
in the world of reality. Here the Video is used as a tool to portray realistic
images that help the viewers to see the exact world view informing the
artist.
Music theory is the field of study that deals with how music works.
It examines the language and notation of music. It identifies patterns that
govern composers' techniques. In a grand sense, music theory distils and
analyzes the parameters or elements of music – rhythm, harmony
(harmonic function), melody, structure, form, and texture. Broadly, music
theory may include any statement, belief, or conception of or about music.
Here we limited ourselves to only those elements of the theory that
answered to our task in terms of analyzing style in the selected songs of
26
John De’ Mathew. A lot of this theory transcends beyond our task in this
case and in literature for that matter. We thus adapted the responsive
tools of the theory in terms of discerning meaning and style in a given
song.

Music has many different elements. The main elements are: rhythm,
melody, harmony, structure, timbre, dynamics, and texture.

According to Chase W. a melody is a series of notes sounding in

succession. The notes of a melody are typically created with respect to
pitch systems such as scales or modes. The rhythm of a melody is often
based on the inflections of language, the physical rhythms of dance, or
simply periodic pulsation. Melody is typically divided into phrases within a
larger overarching structure. The elements of a melody are pitch, duration,
dynamics, and timbre.

Pitch is a subjective sensation in which a listener assigns perceived tones

to notes on a musical scale based mainly on the frequency of vibration,
with a lesser relation to sound pressure level (loudness, volume). The pitch
of a tone typically rises as frequency increases.

Rhythm is the arrangement of sounds and silences in time. Meter

animates time in regular pulse groupings, called measures or bars. The
time signature or meter signature specifies how many beats are in a
measure, and which value of written note is counted and felt as a single
beat. Through increased stress and attack (and subtle variations in
duration), particular tones may be accented. There are conventions in
most musical traditions for a regular and hierarchical accentuation of
beats to reinforce the meter. Syncopated rhythms are rhythms that accent
unexpected parts of the beat.

Harmony is the study of vertical sonorities in music. Vertical sonority

refers to considering the relationships between pitches that occur together;
usually this means at the same time, although harmony can also be
implied by a melody that outlines a harmonic structure.

The vertical relationship between two pitches is referred to as an interval.

A larger structure involving multiple pitches is called a chord. In Common
practice and in popular music, harmonies are generally tertian. This
means that the interval of which the chords are composed is a third.
Therefore, a root-position triad (with the root note in the lowest voice)
consists of the root note, a note a third above, and a note a third above
that (a fifth above the root). Seventh chords add a third above the top note
of a triad (a seventh above the root).

In music, dynamics normally refers to the softness or loudness of a sound

or note, such as, pianissimo or fortissimo. Until recently, most of these
27
dynamics and signs were written in Italian, but recently are becoming
written or translated into English. However, to every aspect of the
execution of a given piece, either stylistic (staccato, legato etc.) or
functional (velocity) are also known as dynamics. The term is also applied
to the written or printed musical notation used to indicate dynamics.

Musical texture is the overall sound of a piece of music commonly

described according to the number of and relationship between parts or
lines of music: monophony, heterophony, polyphony, homophony, or
monody. The perceived texture of a piece may also be affected by the
timbre of the instruments, the number of instruments used, and the
interval between each musical line, among other things.

Stylistic criticism is derived from Emmanuel Ngara (1982) as applied by

Mahugu Pauline in her M.A thesis where she studies Kikuyu Mau Mau
songs.
Here, our aim is to establish the literary concord between form and
content in the songs of John De’ Mathew. Analysis of the content focus on
the messages in the songs while the form focuses on the HOW these
messages are packaged linguistically for effective communication so as to
stir the expected feelings, emotional, and responses in their respective
audiences.
This theory is apt for this study since it places emphasis on the languages
usage from a literacy perspective. The major aim for stylistic criticism is to
emphasize the artist aspect of a literary work of art. Here we shall discern
why the artist employs the stylistic features he employs. Ngara observes.
The aesthetic parameters we are concerned with here
are mainly of a linguistic nature e.g. grammar and
syntax, phonology, lexical elements, the level of tenor
discourse—tone and degree of formality, graphology (34)
This theory accommodates the political, social and moral issues raised in
contemporary literature. Hence it does not exclude content, like the
traditional approach to the study of style and the literary stylists .Our
focus will thus lead as to a greater explication of the content on answering
the questions why does the artist employ the literary style he employs,
here Ngara observes that sociological and aesthetic issues are of equal
importance in literacy criticism and category that we put emphasis on the
aesthetic and formal dimension (of a work of art) in order to discern how
social ideology, and moral issues are discussed and articulated in an
embellished manner in genuine works of art.
Ngara observes:
The theory of stylistic criticism proposed here holds that
matters of linguistic format are inseparable from the content.
In other words the style of a serious writer cannot be divorced
from his ideology concerns. To extract passages from a purely
linguistic point of view without any regard to theme and
subject matters is like treating a patient without diagnosing
28
 the disease-the chances are that the disease will not be cured
(29)
Ngara’s view on content is a moral issues which bites the concerns of the
artist , our task here is thus to assess how successful De Mathew is in
articulating his themes artistically in relation to the value of the moral
issues. Ngara observes that a stylish critic must concern himself to some
extent.
…with minute details of grammar, lexis and phonology,
prosody meaning as well as with the wider issues of deviation
from the norm, the relationship between languages and
character the relationship between the author and his
audience. But more than that, he must relate his analysis of
linguistic features to consideration of content value and
aesthetic quality in art (12)
Ngara argues that in stylistic criticism one is not merely concerned with
what is idiosyncratic about a writer, but equally with the effect of his
manner of presentation, and with the relationship between language and
content.
. . . It must be emphasized that stylistic criticism . . . does not
disregard the political, social, and moral issues raised in
contemporary literature. This is where it parts company with literary
stylistics and the traditional approach to the study of style which
tend to be concerned with the linguistic format to the exclusion of
content. (35)
This eclectic approach aided our explication of both form and content in
the selected songs.

29
CHAPTER TWO

Thematic Concerns and Ideological Standpoint

2.0 Introduction
This chapter focuses on the major concerns of the artist. This is because,
explicating thematic concerns unveils the social vision propagated by the
artist. This is determined by the prevailing social conditions, such as life
style and prevailing fashions on the one hand and the nature and
function(s) of social institutions on the other hand. All these influence the
content in a song since it influences the artist in his/her choice of the
issues he/she addresses in his/her songs

Artists propagate their ideology through their songs. This is determined by

how one perceives and interprets reality. The ideological standpoint which
an artist advocates is articulated in the thematic concerns of one’s songs.
Studying this is important because artists shape the audiences
sensibilities with what they say. This study thus underscores the thinking
process which is arguably informed by certain social cultural aspects
which define the artist’s world view. This argument is tenable on the basis
that literary criticism studies the texts, their authors and the
circumstances surrounding the authors and the creation of their works.

In the following analysis, John De’ Mathew’s major focus is on issues such
as love, politics, relationships, commentaries on contemporary issues,
philosophical issues, and gender and women issues.

De’ Mathew is arguably, a social realist in the way he perceives and

articulates social issues. It is from this premise we shall see his point of
view regarding the above social issues.

Every literary work of art defines its essence on particular moral

underpinnings which it propagates as a means of offering solution(s) to an
existing social problem(s). Here the aim of the artist is thus to inculcate
morals to his/her audiences.
Despite our classification of the songs, different categories
interweave in terms of thematic content. This interweave is seen between
political songs and songs on propaganda, love songs and songs on
relationships. Songs on gender issues also borrow from the latter.

30
2.1 LOVE SONGS
Out of the one hundred and seventeen songs collected this study identified
twenty love songs after classifying the songs into the seven categories.
Out of the twenty love songs, this study chose and analyzed nine out of
twenty. The frequency of the theme of love in different albums they made
as have a specific category for these songs.

The theme of love forms a great part of De’ Mathew’s conscious. A family is
the smallest unit of any society. Love is the central element under which
most families are defined. De’ Mathew thus focuses on the theme of love a
major promise that defines an individual, couples and societal stability. He
underscores the main pillars of a stable love relationship on the one hand
and on the other hand articulates the major problems which destroy love
between couples. Different songs articulate different issues that affect a
relationship either positively or negatively

De’ Mathew is most known because of his love songs. These are the songs
that saw to his raise to stardom. Such titles include the ones selected
here. In this category most of De’ Mathew’s songs deal with recounting of
memorable and sad moments that face most lovers. He thus offers advice
that can act as solutions to many problems that ail relationships. De’
Mathew in so doing illuminates the conscience of the listeners with the
critical tools he offers as blueprints which one can apply for a stable and
successful relationship.

The songs below have been chosen because of their rich stylistic features,
heart rending and poetic lyrics and the very compelling tunes that are
soothing and hence the power in the melody to illuminate the respective
content. In total this category contains nine songs which have been
analysed in this study.

“Mugunda wa Ngoro Yakwa” “Garden of My Heart”

In the first song “Garden of my heart”, De’ Mathew discusses the following
themes: humility, selflessness, responsibility, sincerity, humility is
portrayed as a basic fundamental character one needs to cultivate in
marriage.
This is based on the premise that most African societies are patriarchal, as
a result, men tend to look down upon women not only in the society that
also at family level. This leads to the man developing a negative attitude
towards the wife as one cultivates superiority complex which ruins the
family in the long run. He says in the first stanza.

Take now this garden of my heart

Be the care taker of everything that is there
And never eat from the tree of the cursed fruit
Because I could not want us to ever part

31
In the first two lines, he declares the usefulness of his wife in his life. This
is not only in the words uttered but also in the tone in which he utters
them. This reveals the deep respect he has for the wife. De’ Mathew thus
seems to imply that couples should exercise humility which brings about
respect, peace and harmony in the family.

The theme of selflessness comes in as a result, as a character attributes

that should replace superiority complex between couples.
The themes of responsibility and sincerity are articulated in the last two
lines. By use of an allusion where immorality is likened with the forbidden
fruit in the book of genesis, the persona warns the wife against engaging in
vile actions that can lead to their separation. She is thus encouraged to be
responsible.

The theme of sincerity features in stanza three.

In that tree I have fore warned you my dear
There are fruits that breed gossip
There are fruits that propagate hatred
Let us sweat well never bite them.
Here the personal warns the wife against infidelity and cites fidelity as a
morality worth embracing. This is because most families break as a result
of unfaithfulness between couples, where the consequences hurt the
couple plus the children.

Another song with related themes is “Nitugakena” that is “we shall be

happy” here the persona encourages the wife to be morally upright, to be
honest, trust worthy and faithful. He also encourages her to have self
control, and to embrace the value of prayer. These could thus be termed as
the themes of honesty, faithfulness, self control and the essence of prayers
in a marriage.

The essence behind these themes is that even the married fall into
temptations therefore one need to forewarn his/her partner by way of
encouragement. These themes as a result, reflect on the presence of
immorality in the society where one may be lured into committing sins
such as adultery that could affect a relationship.
Should we amass wealth or have problems
I will be call you my star
But if you will open your private heart
There the devil will gain entrance
He will uproot our love and shake off the soil
You be left to say, you had one of your own who used to love
you.

When you see me darling avoiding company

I have a hunch
Our love does not impress the majority
Some could plot its demise
32
Like that one of Kamande with Ciru

De’ Mathew thus offers dialogue as a tool which couples should use always
as a tool for encouraging one another especially those weak emotionally.

“Njata Yakwa” “My Star”

In the song “my star” we get theme of appreciation. Here De’ Mathew
underscores rather by implying that couples need to appreciate one
another.
In this song, the personal praises the lover for loving him so well. The
essence of appreciation is thus highlighted as an important ingredient for
rejuvenating ones commitment and a sense of belonging in a relationship.

The theme of gossip is also discussed where the artist foreworns members
of the society against engaging in the behaviour since it ruins relationships
and destroys peace and harmony between couples and between families.

What I will want my love

You to embrace with one heart;
The secret of our love my dear, hide it and let it be for
just the two of us
These people you are seeing in this world
Having derailed many homes
Their stories my dear are never conclusive, seal your ears
With cotton wool

The song “Let me advice you” contain the themes of: Hard work poverty,
marriage differences and the essence of prayer.
De’ Mathews argument is that couple should accept that people living
together will not agree all the times and hence should look their differences
as challenges which do not have the power to separate them. Here, couples
are encouraged to be objective in the way they handle differences.

He underscores the value of hard work. Here the artist purports that
laziness cause/bring suffering which can injure marriage stability since
hard work bring success.
The theme of poverty is cited as defining most beginnings in many
marriage relationships but here, the artist observes that poverty may
define a particular moment in a couples relationships but does not have
the power to control the destiny of a given marriage. Couples are thus
advised not to separate because of poverty but to work hard since it is not
a permanent state.

I want you my love, to remember the years we married

And we stayed together. Poverty was blazing like fire of dry
hardwood

33
When I talked to you, you told me problems never last like a
rock
An you often remind me, you didn’t love me because of money
When I hear that, I then develop roots like a tree planted
near a river.

Prayers are seen as a means of restoring both morals and emotional

instabilities.
Reminding one another all past achievements is seen by a technique
couples can use for encouraging one another during difficult themes. Here
the artist embraces realism in the manner he handles and addresses social
problems that face marriages.

The song “Ask me for love” addresses the theme of courage. Here couples
are encouraged to develop the confidence to speak one’s mind, since a
word concealed in ones heart cannot be useful in the growth of a
relationship. Shyness and fear are thus seen as human weaknesses worth
eradicating.

In the song “legerdemain” we find the themes of witchcraft, malice,

intelligence and wit addressed.
I know there is a woman from our place
We swore I will never get a wife, she always walks at night
Any time I bake a sweat potato, she unbakes
May be she has gone to your place, because she has a
poisonous mouth
If I discover, we will wear one dress right now.

The artist forewarns that people in a relationship should be weary of

malicious people who spread rumours with the intention to sour a
relationship. These people are compared with a witch whose evil charms
can destroy a relationship. The artist therefore underscores that lovers
ought to be alert, clever, wise intelligent in the way they allow a third party
to meddle in their affairs. He observes that one thus ought to be witty and
cautious in the way one handles other people.

The song “Sarafina” contains the following themes: haste, communication,

gossip and love. The artist observes that lovers ought to take their time
before making a decision to walk out of a relationship because of
misunderstanding. Patience and introspection are thus suggested as
qualities which one need to develop in order to help me to examine every
challenge in a relationship. This leads to one’s ability to solve marital
problems instead of walking away as a result of hasty decision.

Oh oh my love, stop going away

Oh oh my honey, go back to the house we talk
I give you two words my dear that will benefit you
So that you know we are together Sarafina
34
The artist underscores the essence of communication. Here,
communication is cited as a means through which couples can solve their
problems. Therefore one is encouraged to express one’s mind because it is
through talking that understanding can prevail between the two partners

If love was a prize I would give you

So that you know where I have kept you inside my heart
Just allow me some time you receive the awareness
That you are the only one I love Sarafina oh

De’ Mathew at the same time forewarns lovers against listening to gossip,
since this is one of the greatest poison- he implies that destroys a
relationship instead, De’ Mathew suggests that couples should develop
strong love that transcends beyond emotions and prejudice in order to
critique reality objectively.

The themes of death and childcare define the song “Let Us Discuss” here
we are reminded that death can occur in a marriage.
If one decides to re-marry, it is hence his/her responsibility to ensure that
the stepmother/father does not mistreat his/her step children which the
diseased would have left behind. To ensure this does not happen, we learn
that couples should use dialogue to help the new partner accept the step
children. In so doing, the theme of child care prevails. De’ Mathew thus
advices the step mother/father to transcend and tend his/her step
children like one’s own. He observes that mistreating the young can bring
one misfortune./ he suggest that power beyond human comprehension
(gods) punishes one in case of mistreating the innocent children on the one
hand while on the other hand treating them well can determine and
influence ones fate positively. Here, the innocent children are seen to
possess powers which can act upon the adults and thus influence their
lives positively or negatively in relations to how they treat the innocent
children. This is an interesting tactic employed by the artist to influence
the psychology of step parents positively for the welfare of the step
children.

This child you hit and abuse, please understand well

Things child you starve, his intestines constructed
Abusing him that he is as foolish as the mother,
Until you made him develop high blood pressure my dear
Remember his is God’s creature, remember may be he is
Your stability of the fulfillment of your wishes

Finally, in this song De’ Mathew addresses the theme of privacy in a

marriage He underscores that couples should not wash their dirty linen in
public instead if one does something bad, dialogue should be employed to
iron out the problems in calm and peaceful atmosphere that is private.

I wouldn’t want this to go beyond the walls

35
Remember home affairs cannot be told in public
Look for peace while at my place you will find it

In the song “Let us live together” we find the theme of decisiveness.

The artist underscores the essence of one to value decision making as one
addresses oneself to ones prevailing reality. Here De’ Mathew advices and
acknowledges the need for one to accept social responsibilities which come
with age. Through the analogy of marriages, he encourages the lady to
hasten and make the decision to get married since she has already
identified a suitor who is in love and would want to marry her. De’ Mathew
observes that love is weakened by distance and hence couples should work
hard to unite and live together. He observes that failing to do this would
breed impatience which can be hurting to a relationship.

The theme of empathy is thus implied where upon couples are called to
mind one another’s needs physically, emotionally and psychologically
Gikuyu said far waters never quench thirst
The spoilers of love and rumour mongers darling are on the
way
Waiting breeds impatience, it is not promising dear
When we stay far from each other
Here love between couples is defined as a moral call to value and to
perceive “a relationship.” as an entity that deserve commitment and
nourishment from both partners.

Summary
In these songs De’ Mathew articulates the major weaknesses of human
character that lead to problems in marriage on the one hand. These
include laziness, gossip, immorality, infidelity, ignorance, pride, arrogance,
and anger. He encourages couples to rise above their human weaknesses.
This is a result helps one to objectively face problems in ones marriage. In
addition, he gives possible solution(s) which couples can undertake to
alleviate embracing faithfulness, fostering communication, practicing
humility and nurturing self control.

On the other hand, De Mathew celebrates the positive elements of human

characters which define a stable and successful relationship. These
include prayerfulness, unconditional love, respect, empathy, and wisdom.
He implies that each partner should cultivate these qualities for a marriage
to improve.

POLITICAL SONGS
INTRODUCTION
The insensitive nature that defines Kenyan politicians in terms of
responding to social problems that face the common man marks the major
concern of the artist in these songs.

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Here the leaders are portrayed at selfish and insensitive to the needs of the
common man. In these songs the artist dissects the moral weaknesses that
characterize the leaders. As a result of these problems, the common man
is portrayed as languishing in object poverty. Hunger and disease which
result from lack of political good will form the ruling class.

“The Big Fish”

The major themes here include; corruption, bad governance, embezzling of
public funds, senselessness and in humanity in our leaders and hope.
Here the political leaders that have been in power in Kenya are portrayed
as having these defining characters. The persona thus makes a call for
them to mind human values, and morals. The implied message here is that
the suffering and tortures the members of public faces in their daily lives
result from mental rottenness in the conscience of our leaders. De’ Mathew
thus argues that this is what needs to be addressed.

Lack of political good will and moral commitment in our leaders define
their leadership character

It is us who were in the forest

And when our blood was shed you were still a sleep
And when we were taken to exile you were still at home
That is why you have failed to tend the tree

Here we learn that those that are in power today are children of the former
freedom fighters. Most of them were young during freedom struggle; they
lack moral commitment since they are ignorant of the pains the former
freedom fighters encountered during the freedom struggle.
The theme of exploitation in addition surfaces. Here the rich and those in
power are seen to survive and to make their living by exploiting the poor.
The big fish can first feed on grass
The small fish are finished in the sea
Like the fish that swallowed Jonah
When we get to Nineveh it is a must it will be made to
confess
The theme of justice and punishment are addressed where we learn that
nature has its means of punishing the wicked. We are informed that only
the innocent will be spared.

I told you and it never misses

In your place it is only the innocent that will be saved
The cows will be dipped so that the ticks can fall

The theme of transition of moral conscience is underscored where the

artist talks of Nineveh. This is a surrogate land where accountability and
justice define human behaviour and character. The message implied is

37
that, however bad things are there is still room for our leaders to change
and improve on their leadership quantities.
Corruption is portrayed as a disease that is in the human system since it
defines the manner in which our leaders operate, including the judiciary.
So justice is not a reality rather an irony.
De’ Mathew I am wishing there be a hospital for treating the
disease called bribe, a judge who cannot look for justice
without bribe
That his corrupt blood be changed for the good one

However, the tense shift from eternal present to future tense in the last
line of the chorus gives hope that the worse situation in terms of our
morals is not permanent.
Social disarray and the gradual collapse of our institutions is underscored
in stanza four.

I wonder the questions you will be asking in parliament

Is it the roads or the hospitals?
Or it is the farmer you will demand they get paid
All that you have swallowed is in your tummies

The rhetoric in this stanza is applied to portray the rottenness that

characterizes the public sector, institutions and infrastructure. The
parliamentarians are aware yet are seen to do nothing about it; hence their
prides, arrogance, and lack of social commitment characterize their
weakened morals

The artist observes that hard work should be embraced by all of the means
through which we should earn our living instead of relying on corruption,
whose consequences is abject poverty which results from poor
management of public finances and resources.
Finally he echoes a moral call for all public servants to embrace integrity
and accountability in their fulfillment of their duties
The horses drawing the wheat curt
Should now be taught to harvest without eating
At least we see if the food stores will have something
At least for our descendants to have a future

“Father of the Tribe”

The song contains themes such as mixing of religion and politics by
church leaders, national unity, and land issue. Here the public as
forewarned against being misled by “commercial preachers” who mix
religion and politics. Members of the public are encouraged to seek unity
with their non tribe members. Land here has been cited as one of the
cause of tension and disunity among Kenyans. Land clashes in Rift Valley
for instance are implied as an example. The artist calls for redistribution of
land so that the poor can be economically empowered.

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Prayer is seen as one of the means through which the nation can seek
intervention from God who need to intervene and enlighten the people with
the knowledge and wisdom necessary to solve the problems facing the
country.
Here prayer is thus seen as a means of meditation of introspection in
order to critically examine the problems facing our country and the
plausible solutions.

Artist presupposes that prayers have the power to transcend the human
soul in order to make moral judgment on the basis of humanity free from
racial and ethnic prejudice and stereo types which are implied as the root
cause of ethnicity and tribal politics in the country.

God unite us with all races all over the world

Change their hearts form the ay the see us and call us a
tribe
Be the definer of our leadership
That it may be respected by all tribes and don’t give us
selfish hearts.
Inequality
Inequality is traced from colonial period where those who fought for
independence were short changed by those who took over power. As a
result, they demand for equal re-distribution of national wealth which the
few political elite have amassed at the expense of everyone else.

Hypocrisy
Hypocrisy is seen in the church where preachers are portrayed as con
preachers where chief motif is to mint money using the word of God as a
luring device to confuse, cheat and confound the believers. These
preachers the artist implies succeed in misleading the congregation and
hence the society can no longer examine itself and its social problems
objectively and critically because of fanatism which blocks clear thinking.
The preachers are thus seen as stabling blocks and not a stepping stones
through which the society can commune with God.
Those who tend your flock now are shepherds of money
God now destroy them for the world to see
Protect as from following misleading preachers
So that our prayers reach you without obstacles

“Their Hearts are Sick”

Here the major theme is political differences in the country which ensues
between our leaders. Public suffering is seen as resulting from the
difference between the rich and the powerful that form the ruling class, in
Kenya. Other songs with the same theme are song number four where the
poor are regarded as orphans

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The fight between political leaders is also cited as dividing the country
between ethnic lines, this is because political leaders influence their tribes
to form alliances with related tribes at the expense of the rest. The De’
Mathew observes that it is the common man who suffers not the senseless
leaders. Hence the leaders should shun from ethnic politics.

The country’s wealth here is seen to belong to a few rich people who also
form the ruling class. The rest of the citizens do not own property and are
seen as landless squatters in their own country. The song hence asks for
re-distribution of the national wealth
In Kenya who owns the big farms?
And they have never given land to the squatters
They are the ones who have given birth to true leaders
Let us call for a re-distribution of wealth.

The role of religion in politics as a theme is underscored here.

Preachers seeking leadership position in the country’s political arena are
seen as driven by their ego to fulfill personal goals and not to serve God.
The artist looks at them as an element of dilemma in the church and not a
source of hope and direction to the congregation the lead in the church.
The artist thus implies that faith and politics ought not to be mixed least
one fails in either.

“God Guard Us”

The main theme in this song is political betrayal. This is seen at several
levels. First we have betrayal as a result of political ignorance in our
leaders.

A man who leaves his gate open

He that never goes back to put on the local
He that never make weapons for his sons
Or even let the children and the animals to be eaten by
animals

This depicts a foolish leader who betrays his people as a result of his
ignorance. Lack of wisdom is symbolically equated with lack weapons to
fight his enemies.
He is thus outwitted by his political adversaries and as a result his people
suffer. The theme of ignorance thus surface shower upon lack of wisdom
leads to betraying of the citizens by those in power. Thos in power engage
in national and international, political, trade and diplomatic relations that
benefit their personal interest at the expense of the entire country. Their
adversaries this take advantages of their greed to exploit the country at the
expense of the common man. They hence betray the nation as a result of
their corrupt morals. Secondly, betrayal is also seen between politicians
versus politicians where they fight each other at the expense of their
supporters who dies and shed uncalled for blood

40
The word it’s okay is easy to mention
And the river over floods and blood is still
In the nail of the hypocrites
And they will congregate and climb the mountain and ask for
forgiveness
And the foolish will say, better that way so as to tame their
pride

Thirdly we have the theme of betrayal at ethnic level where politicians

inculcate ethnic perceptions of tribal identity at the expense of cultivating
a sense of national identity. This results to ethnic hatred between people of
different tribes. As a result they betray their nationalism as citizens of the
same country. Finally we have betrayal at the level of moral responsibility.
This is seen in the recklessness of our youth by over indulging in alcohol.
This hampers the country’s economy since these young people do not
contribute positively in the country’s development.

“Who Is with You Our People”

Ethnicity is the main theme of this song. Ethnic tension, hatred and
bloodshed that befell the country after 2007 general elections are seen to
define the way different tribes perceive each other. Prejudice and malice
are seen to form the glasses with which different tribes at each another.
Each tribe is seen to cause and relish in the sufferings of others

Others are singing as we sing

Oh hunger and problems
And when we laugh they cry
Their joy is when we are in great pains
God mollify our Gikuyu

The breakfast tea that was drunk

In the house of King’ong’o (place) mine
The father of Githii and Muthengi
They forget Kiswahili and they uttered “atĩrĩrĩ”
And the Gikuyu fire went off x 2

Those that are in power are seen to be desperate to consolidate power in

order to continue ruling however their bias is not found on moral grounds
but the wish to remains in power in order to safeguard their tribal interest
at the expense of others.

The boy of the house should bring

And it’s only the eagle that doesn’t have fleece
I take you to the country side of Kenya
De’ Mathew I am telling you our house must identify men
I talk in proverbs you encode

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The Gikuyu community is alerted about the crimes they have committed
against others especially the Luo which the root causes of the ethnic
hatred that exist tension, between members of the two tribes.

After John preached to the Israel about the living God

Repeat the kingdom of God is coming
Finally they cooked him in a pot, you
Contradicted yourselves
Let’s go back to the beginning x2

In this song, focus is drawn upon moral correctness which should inform
our perception of our identity as a nation and to ourselves in terms of our
ethnic differences.

The theme of transition in leadership is articulated where the artist

recognizes that there is a paradigm shift in people’s perception of
leadership in terms of how they want to be governed. Those in power are
thus called upon to address themselves to this reality

The artist also warns against depletion of the environment especially by

cutting trees which lead to suffering especially of the common man as a
result of hunger which results from lack of rain and drying of rivers and
water catchment areas.

“Pass Me Kane”
This song has two major themes, political assassination and over
indulgence
Political assassination
The fleas finish the skin by a bite
I hear the song kwa kwa I get frightened
On asking I am told it is the son of so and so who has
received a bullet
I then discover that one portion of the tribe’s strength of
the tribe has been lost

The society is seen finishing its own people slowly through assassination.
The persona unravels the unseen consequences of these murders where in
the long run, the society he is talking about (Gikuyu community) will have
eaten itself. We could base this as a premise of this argument in the
context of the implied audience where those in power kill fellow men like
JM Kariuki because of fighting for the rights of the common man. In a
different context, the same political assassination can be seen to imply the
Kenyan political situation since independence where all the three regimes
that have role to power commit political murders to silence the masses and
to thwart the course to fight for the human rights of the common man may
it be political and economic, in most cases.

42
Those in power are thus challenged to see that, the ruler ship of impunity
impairs and destroys the same society to which the leaders belong. This
form of leadership is challenged to acknowledge the social destruction
carried out by selfish leaders when they kill members of their own
country/community.
I then discover a portion of the tribe’s strength has been
lost.
Over indulgence
The theme of over indulgence surfaces when we find the personal
lamenting over the male youths uncontrolled intake of illicit brew which
has rendered them unproductive both sexuality and economically.

Gicangi pass me kane

Put for me 10/-, 20/- or you give me a mug
Young women are only complaining
As they ask where the sower of the seed will come

Here will they encounter a weeping society that is in disarray as a result of

its own social follies which now threats to destroy the same society.
Laziness, and lack of industriousness thus ails this society

The cows are falling, hold onto the tail

They have drunk from a well full of noise making frogs
A man who doesn’t have the talent to fatten an animal
Even if you give him one with a fat tail
It will still grow thin
This analogy does not imply a character that lacks the talent to fatten an
animal rather a society that is unable to redeem itself form its own
economic follies and down fall as result of bad leadership which leads to
the collapse of social institutions. The consequences of this moral lapse is
poverty and hunger

De’ Mathew I am saying cut this boil

Press it the thorn will be brought out by pass
This church you are saying we get saved
Will one swallow the word or yawn if one is hungry

Here the personal not only mourns the consequences but also underscores
the social rottenness of the social conscience where diagnosis of social
problems is given the wrong treatment. We thus find the theme of
escapism where religion is prescribed as an answer to the social problems
of alcohol addiction poverty and hunger. This is thus a society that has not
only gotten it wrong in terms of its self destruction but also cannot redeem
itself.

“Decode for One Another”

The major theme in this song is political injustices carried out by both the
Kenyatta and the Moi regimes.
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The political murders that were carried out by Kenyatta government
destroyed the good relationship between the Gikuyu and the Luo.

This is not a song

Encode for one another
The things that were done by that house
Keep quiet that is what haunts us
That is why our warriors are trembled
By one by with a stick

Oh those that killed tom Mboya

They are the ones that spoilt our marriage with Kisumu
May be if he was alive
We could be talking in one voice
And we could not be getting disturbed by his memorandum

Tribal deafness, pride and arrogance of the Gĩkũyũ community are cited as
their major weaknesses which block them from accepting their wrongs.

De’ Mathew sometimes I sing and pity myself

But like John I heighten my belt
And every one runs away
I talk to the stones, and say its okay one day
Gĩkũyũ you will listen to me one day

Here the artist says. He talks to stones to mean that his people do not
heed to his calling. He thus tries to make them see the political injustices
the Gĩkũyũ community has practiced towards other tribes but his efforts
are in vain.

The assassination of JM Kariuki is cited as an example of this era of

silencing those who criticize the government. The artist wishes for the
death of this means of leadership before it is ingrained in the minds of
future leaders. In so doing he wishes that the culture of impunity will not
be passed on to future generations since the Gĩkũyũ community would
suffer due to crimes committed by the Kenyatta government

Inequality in the distribution of national resources is cited as the main

cause of the suffering of the majority poor. The government and those who
are in power enrich themselves at the expense of the common man.
Anyone who challenges this behavior is killed for instance J.M. Kariuki.
The artist thus calls upon the government to be sensitive to the needs of
the poor especially regarding the land issues. The Ndung’u report is cited
to portray this greed in the leaders and their insensitivity towards the
plight of the poor. Here the artist draws our focus to their fact that the
country’s wealth is owned by a few individuals at the expense of everyone

44
else. The suffering of the common man is thus caused by those in power
by denying the poor their share of the country’s national resources.

JM was arguing
The big pieces of land they be given the poor they help
themselves
May be what he was thinking was beneficial
Because Ndung’u report, we could not be working for it

The theme of corruption is underpinned in

And the hyena that ate Dr. Ouko

That is where the fact of young leaders were broken
An important man who was fighting for justice
The word golden bag could not be there

Here lack of transparency and accountability defines the manner in which

the government operates. As a result, major economic crimes are
committed such as the Golden Bag by a few who are in power at the
expense of the entire country. Impunity is seen in the murder of those who
challenge, fight and question bad governance. The death of Robert Ouko is
cited to emphasize this argument. Finally, we have the theme of unity.

Oh the oath we took at kwa maiko

Having been cheated that Kenya there is ngoroko
And we were being charged. Where did the money go?
And some of the oathing phrases were divided by rivers

Here tribal antagonism within the Gikuyu community is seen to divide the
community within its different dialogue Nyeri, Muranga, Kaimbu and
Kabete. Prejudice and dialectic stereo types are seen to define the
perception the Kikuyus perceive one another as a result; the tribe is
divided along these dialects at the expense of its members. The artist cites
the betrayal of Dedan Kimathi in the proceeding stanza to concretize this
dialect antagonism within the Gikuyu community. Here the community is
seen capable of betraying one of its members in order to benefit a few at
the peril of the entire Gikiyu community

SUMMARY
De’ Mathew in the above songs pin points the major weaknesses ailing our
ruling class. He thus addresses the leaders bravely and beseeches them to
change their attitude towards the common man and towards leadership.
De’ Mathew’s argument here is that leadership should be defined on the
moral commitment of the leaders to mind the welfare of the members of
the society. This should be the principle to guide their leadership skills.
Leadership is thus seen as an opportunity to serve others not an
opportunity to be served.
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GENERAL COMMENTARIES ON CONTEMPORARY ISSUES
In most of these songs throughout his music career De’ Mathew is a social
commentator. He comments on almost all major contemporary issues that
seem to impact on the daily lives of Kenyans. Such issues include
HIV/AIDS, gossip, lust, poverty, envy witchcraft and infidelity to mention
some of the most recurrent motifs in his songs.
“Menyemenye” “Gossip”
The major theme in the song is gossip. Those who engage in the habit are
rebuked since what it does is to tear families apart or to cause anger and
misunderstanding between people who live together. Here the artist
observes that one should keep off from gossip since peoples gossip never
comes to an end. Gossips are thus seen as people who only spread
propaganda and hence insight others at their victim’s peril.

There is a question I ask but I lack an answer my friends

What hurts people; they are suffocated by issues that don’t
concern them
Gossip in the north and prattle in the south
And in the west, they are cooking githeri discussing so and
so

“Give Her a Grave”

This song is on prostitution which makes young girls die as a result of
HIV/AIDS. Song number 6 contain the same theme where prostitution is
seen as an immoral way of earning a living.

Other themes in the song include poor parenting which leads to

encouraging girls into prostitution; parents are thus called upon to reflect
on their parental commitment as a moral duty since this is on its declines.

HIV/AIDs as a theme is seen as an end product of reckless living where

laziness is cited as the reason that make people engage in prostitutions as
an easy way to earn a living. People are thus called upon to embrace
morals as a means of correcting the recklessness that define most of the
youth. Song number seven contains the same theme.

The collapse of parental responsibility this is moral decadency at the

family level. A family as an institution is bestowed with the ones to instill
morals, however, the parental failure articulated in this song reflect
parental ignorance arrogance and lack of fore sight in the parental
commitment to year children in on upright way. The consequences but
back to both the child and the careless parent.

46
The voice of the artist is this song thus reflects the norm conscience that is
on the decline as members of the society seek an easier but crooked means
of earning a living.

The mother character in the song seems to indirectly support and

encourage her daughter’s prostitutions. What this imply about our society
is that social institutions are weakening as a result of lack of moral
commitment from the relevant stakeholders

This reflects lack of accountability in our parents and enfeebled leadership

qualities in their moral character. The greatest recklessness is thus on the
part of the mother for failing to advice the daughter. She has thus
contributed to her daughter’s death directly or indirectly.

“Mwĩhũgũro” “Turning the head”

This is a song about lust which is seen as driving the minds of many men
in the society. This is immoral and hence injures the social fabric in terms
of embracing moral uprightness in the society. Since this is on the
increase, men are thus directed towards this moral weakness so that they
can correct the habit.

Women are also encouraged to dress decently in order to stop arousing the
members of the opposite sex. Such dressing could thus be seen as
contributing to the decline of social morals between members of the society
hence the need to correct it.
Clothing and fashion is seen to contribute to corruption of morals. The
dressing code thus reflects the moral uprightness of a given society. One
thus ought to understand that mode of dressing say a lot about oneself
and at the same time has an effect on others? The artist here draws focus
on collective moral responsibility at personal level. He thus implies that
one’s behaviour has direct or indirect influence in other people’s lives.
People should thus embrace morals since ones action can destroy or build
the society. Focus here is drawn on manner of dressing.

“Driver Stop”
This is a song about infidelity in marriage, absent mindedness, poverty,
hunger and early pregnancy. All these themes are seen as contributing to
the decline of morals in the society hence the need to re-address our
conscience in terms of developing self controls, hard work and restraint.
Song number six contains the same theme of infidelity where one is
warned against too much greed for money which leads to loosening of
morals especially among the married couples.
The artist underscores different social problems which define our society.
Hunger as evidenced in the world of reality is seen to rob peace to majority
members of the society. The artist peers into the conscience of the society
and hence articulated the major social problems which ail our society
however much people remain silent about them.
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In addition to hunger the theme of self deception is evidence in members of
the society who engage in social activities who engage in social activities at
the expense of their families. One is thus seen lacking self control and
hence engaging in illicit merry making activities. Guilt conscience follows
as one faces the reality which one had previously denied.

Poverty as a theme is seen to afflict most families to an extent of lacking

basic essentials such as food and housing.
This song thus reflects a society that is in great financial, economic, and
psychological crisis. The artist thus seems to pity the situation since
instead of having solutions to the social problems, this society seem to
meander in social dilemma.
This is thus a society that cannot heal itself. Domestic quarrels are seen
leaving families apart on the one hand while on the other hand
irresponsible sexual behavior is seen to define the youth where early
pregnancy plunges young girls into misery since the young men are not
ready to bear responsibility of their recklessness.

“Their Stories Never End”

This song as cited earlier is about gossip. In addition it discusses the
themes of betrayal, the complexity of understanding the society, and the
discontent meant that rules the human soul. The persona sees these as
the root cause of social evil hence one need to guard oneself against these
moral weaknesses which are common in the society.

“You have concocted for me”

In addition to infidelity and prostitution, this song discusses the theme of
hypocrisy in a relationship and the use of charms to attract members of
the opposite sex especially for monetary gain. Song number 7 also
discusses infidelity.

The persona is concerned with moral decadency which is on the rise as

one does anything in order to make quick money. One is thus reminded
the vice in the above acts and hence the need to desist from engaging in
the same.
“True Prophesy”
In addition to the theme of HIV/AIDS cited earlier, this song highlights the
themes of arrogance, and deception. One is forewarned against pride that
becomes before a fall as well as the weakness of judging reality from its
face value. One is thus encouraged to be critical in how ones perceives
reality and judges fellow humans. This would protect one form falling into
temptations which are caused by poor judgment.

In these songs De’ Mathew’s observes that members of the society should
embrace morals as a guiding principle that governs how one treats others
at all times, physically, psychologically and even spiritually.
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RELATIONSHIPS
INTRODUCTION
The songs in this category address the major problems that face most
relationships. Unlike the songs on love, here De’ Mathew’s voice is strong
in addressing the issues and not the couples. Love songs have a romantic
tone and a caressing nuance in terms of tone, lyrics and melody. Here this
is not the case. The artist objectively addresses issues such as
desertification/discontentment in a relationship, meaning of life,
incompatibility, essence of forgiveness, and the need not to take others for
granted.

Here De’ Mathew implies that despite being in a relationship one needs to
be accountable psychologically and morally. This is the need to re-assess
the essence of a relationship, to take stock and to account for critical
reality defining a relation. The moral underpinning here is that
couples/people in a relationship need to tell themselves the truth (about
how they are faring at all the times. Problems should be addressed and
solved and if the worst happens and there is no more love for each other
then couples should be brave to accept this as a reality and hence move on
with life. However, the artist recognizes the need of a couple to trust in
God and to be prayerful in order to call upon Gods guidance, wisdom,
blessing and strength in times of trials.

“The Noise Making Goat’

This song is about discontentment in marriage. In most relationship the
woman may not be contented with what the man/husband is offering as a
result, she keeps complaining all the time. This song draws our focus on
this theme. The artist suggests that discontentment is a human weakness
and it is not curable, hence one should know this.

This could lead to marriage instability and lack of peace in the family. The
moral lesson communicated is thus that one should be contented in a
relationship with what the partner is offering in order to have peace and
harmony.

There is no noisy goat true of God

Which makes noise with its mouth full
It leaves sweet potatoes vines to go and feed on peels
Truly, the ordinary hen must scratch

One evening my father told me

A woman without a child never gets contented
Even if you hung for her a bull she be eating
She will still complain that you starved her

“Life is not an ID”

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This song is about insincerity in relationship one is warned against taking
others for granted, while in a relationship. One thus needs to be honest,
committed and sincere.
I have discovered life and soul is not an ID
That one of the government which you replace when
it gets lost
I thought I would die say you be killed
We get buried in the same coffin because of the
much you love me

I have seen sweetie my life is mine alone

And I have discovered your love is not milk
I was seeing like it’s you who make me to breathe
But I discovered the air belongs to God

“A Dying Hen”
This song is about unsalvageable marriage/relationship. Here the artist
draws our attention towards the wisdom that we need to use while making
our choices of partners in a relationship.
He observes that a dying relationship however much one tries, it must die.
Here he focuses our attention at the factors which could possible lead to
this. Hence the need for one to look into the compatibility between one and
the partner one seeks relationship with.

There is also the theme of gossip which he argues ails most relationships,
the theme of pride hence the need for lovers to humble themselves to one
another in order to have a stable marriage/relationship.

A dying hen must die

Even if you give it aloe vera
A dying hen must die
Even if you give it pepper

“Let Us Praise Him”

This is a song on endurance in times of problems in a relationship. Poverty
is also cited as a cause of hard times in a relationship. This leads to the
theme of hard work which is the solution to problems brought about by
poverty. Here one is advised to trust in God.
This theme clinches the themes in the song where God is seen as the
provider of spiritual stability and moral strength which one needs at all
stages in marriage.
Let us kneel and bow before the God of peace
You told me we first seek peace before riches
Let us kneel and thank him
He always saves us from the malice of our enemies

“Purity”
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This is a song about forgiveness. Here forgiveness in marriage is seen as
the solution to marital problems failure to which both parties plus the off
springs that is (children) suffer most hard heartedness is thus discouraged
and one is encouraged to have a listening ear.

The God who said his child will never die

Is the one I have cried for with all my heart we reconcile
That powerful to return the knot of our love
And he unit us forever and ever amen

Marriage breakage is seen as creating guilt conscience which has adverse

effects on one’s life thus need to embrace forgiveness, understanding and
dialogue.

Men are warned against making quick decisions to re-marry when a

relation breaks. Here marrying a second wife as a solution to a broken
relationship is questioned. One thus need to take time and re-examine
oneself in order to avoid a repeat the same mistakes since the same might
be repeated. Like the case in this song. The artist encourages men to
accept their mistakes when things go wrong and hence to develop the
courage to apologize and accept ones mistakes, failure to which, this leads
to greater pains for oneself and regret.

“Nyeki” “Grass”
This is a song on transcendence. Here one is encouraged to have the power
to set free and the gift to let go if one marries the wrong partner or is in a
relationship that is not working. One is thus called upon to transcend
beyond ones possessiveness and be positive in letting the other person
free.

“Disappear Completely”
This is a song about irresponsibility, one is forewarned that the
consequences of irresponsibility have long term effects and the worst
comes at the end.

The theme of self deception is also major in the song. One is thus warned
against self deception which leads to pride which comes before a fall.

Beauty as a theme is also discussed. Here the artist reminds as that

beauty fades with time, thus the youthful appearance which makes one
look very attractive should not lure one into loosing ones conscience and
loosening ones morals since the consequences will be felt later in life.

Here De’ Mathew’s advises that in any relationship one needs to value
others and respect their right of existence.

PHILOSOPHICAL SONGS

51
INTRODUCTION
This section discerns De’ Mathew in terms of a teleologist and as a
metaethist philosopher though the former is more prominent. Philosophy
is that totality of existence encompasses some things which are above
human comprehension. One thus needs wisdom, intuition, and spiritual
wisdom to handle problems beyond the realm of plausible reality.
“God’s Whip”
The major theme here is exploitation. Here one is warned against
exploiting other human beings since their cry has adverse effect on
oneself. One is thus encouraged to embrace humanity which one may
ignore especially towards one’s workers and employees.

Talking advantage of other people’s sweat is also a theme in this song one
is discouraged from the behaviour. Here one should thus embrace hard
work as a human value.
Men warned against domestic violence which is also a theme in the song.
Insensitive harshness and wife battering is seen as a crime, here God is
seen as one who avenges for the weak.

“People Never Gets Contented”

This is the main themes in this song. The artist suggests that an earthy
person never gets contented. Here dissatisfaction is seen as the root cause
of psychological discomfort which is an ailment which most people suffer
from. The artist thus strongly focuses on the theme to pinpoint on this
human weakness so that “we” as audiences/members of the society can
restrain ourselves from the problem. Another song with similar theme is
song No. 4

“One with Issues”

This is a song on wisdom which transcends beyond the use of the more
five common sense. One is encouraged to cultivate upon the sixth sense
(intuition) which one needs to discerned social problems which are beyond
human understanding and human perception.

He (the artist) thus accepts that there are things in life which are above
our human comprehension. We thus need special intelligence while
dealing with members of the society with such things.

“The Shop for Peace”

This is another song about contentment. This song also discusses the
essence of setting others free and the craze for money as one of the major
problems facing persons in a relationship.

“Continue Drinking”
This is a song on self-hypocrisy. Here preachers are warned against
practicing the opposite of what they preach.

52
Self deception is seen as a theme that leads to self hypocrisy which leads
to one committing the same evils he/she preaches against. This is a state
of moral weakness which one needs to improve upon. Here the artist
challenges the inability to control our human desires which lead to lack of
self control which thus leads to self deception. The message inherent is
thus that one needs to develop self control.
These songs address the element(s) of a person which transcends beyond
the human flesh. The mysteries of powers of nature to influence man and
to determine his fate comes into play. Here the artist addresses the cosmic
forces that seem to have power over men and at the same time inform
fellow humans about the existence of such forces of nature.

Man is thus called upon the recognize his limitations as a human being
and at the same time is encouraged to define and respect the totality of
creation, the gods, animals, plants and fellow humans.

SONGS ON PROPAGANDA
INTRODUCTION
Kenyan politics for quite long has been defined ethnic lines. Artists from
each ethnic group have not been spared either in this game of partisan
politics. Here they compose songs to encourage members of their own tribe
while looking down up people who belong to other tribes. In this view, their
perception of others is prejudistic while at the same time ignoring the
bigger picture of the need to define our nationality outside ethnicity.

This is the bias we found in these songs and due to the subjectivity with
which they address ethnic and national politics we classified them as
propaganda.

“The Blood that was shed”

This song is about ethnic politics where the artist perpetrates ethnic
politics in terms of advocating that the country’s leadership should remain
with the kikuyu community.
Here, he subjectively looks at the suffering the Gikuyu community faced
after the 2007 general elections and also during the Moi regime. These
views in the song are subjective and thus we consider the song as being
propagandist.

“God Bring yourself”

This song focuses on the suffering the common man encountered after the
2007 general elections due to political instability.

The differences between the political leaders are thus seen as the demon
causing the suffering in the country. However, the song is subjective in the
view that it raises the conscience of the Gikuyu community on the evils
done to them by other tribes hence the propaganda elements. However, it

53
clearly points out the weakness of insensitivity which our leaders have
when addressing problems of all the poor.

“Sword”
This is a song to encourage consolidation of power and the presidency of
this country within the Kikuyu community. The over tones suggest a
strong wish for the kikuyu to benefit from the leadership of his country
than others by taking advantage of their tribesmen occupying the strong
positions in the government including the presidency.

SONGS WOMEN ISSUES

“The Big Frog’
The major themes in this song are deception, hypocrisy, female
exploitation and insatiable craze for money.
Here the artist reflects upon social wickedness hence he warns that one
should not trust whoever one come across since people are deceptive in
their appearance. Here judging people by their appearance is seen as
leading to one making wrong judgment which can lead to making the
wrong choice of a partner, in a relationship or marriage. This could lead to
suffering later in life

Wit as a theme thus comes in, where wicked people are shown as taking
advantage of the foolish and the innocent to gain at their victims peril.

“Kihara” “Bald Headed”

This is a song on gossip, malice, and envy. Here men are portrayed as
bearing these characters and hence they are warned against them. The
society looks at women as the major gossips. Here De’ Mathew points a
male character who is a gossip. This indirectly addresses the issue of
gender stereo types where most negative things like gossip are associated
with women. He thus calls upon every member of the society to change
such an outlook since human weaknesses affect all people both male and
female.

In relation to the stereo types judgment which associates the women with
gossip he thus redeems the woman figure from the centre of this habit.
Here we thus find a call to redefine our “women perception” by dropping
such social stereo types which looks down upon women as mere gossips.
Here women are seen to transcend beyond their weaknesses when they
drop the habit which is later taken up by men. This is a positive portrayal
of women in the moral scale since the artist seeks to correct the picture
the society has of the women.

“A Husband is Important”
This song is about the essence of a husband in a home. Here children are
seen as having a problem when they are brought up in the absence of a
father figure in the family.
54
Man is portrayed as source wisdom, girls are portrayed as a gender that
underrates their mothers once they develop breast.
A man in the family is thus portrayed as the unifying factor upon which
children of both sexes define their identity
Money is cited here as a source of evil in the home if one is not careful.
Hence couples are warned against defining their love, marriage or
companion in the context of money since at no one time will both partners
earn the same nor provide equally hence the need to transcend beyond
money as a means of defining unity between couples. The portrayal of
women as subordinates to men in a marriage is thus challenged. Here
women are seen having equal status with men in a relationship. Hence the
superiority of men is neutralized by defining both men and women as
equal players who complement each other.

“How will the World be?”

This is a song that appreciates that women too can make it education and
that they need to be given their chance to excel in academics because
education is the key to success and good life. Women should hence be
given equal opportunity to excel in education like their male counterparts.

Education in this context is seen as a realistic concept that functions to

emancipate women. In addition, the artist implies that women need to
believe in themselves. This involves interplay between one’s self perception,
which should thus change and a deliberate effort to re-socialize men that
they may stop looking down upon women. In this song the artist seeks to
correct condescending gender images that oppress women. He thus
recreates new centres outside the traditional domestic set up which
defined the woman only as a domestic worker.

He thus seeks to reconstruct women’s conscience of the self by providing a

pictorial image through which the woman should view and define herself.

There is also the theme of terrorism which is seen as a vice that can cut
people from achieving their dreams.
Lastly there is the theme of self control especially among the youth. This is
because failure to observing this, one gets lured into earthly happiness
which ruins ones future.

“Rest in Eternal Peace Dad”

This is a song that appreciates fathers who bring up their children well,
guiding them and providing them with wisdom. This pinpoints how a man
should be towards his children. In addition, one should work hard at least
to leave some inheritance for his children. This is a symbol of hard work
which is presupposed that the children will take on their fathers footing.
This is a reaction to the fact that most singers sing about their mothers.
This implies that mothers occupy a more central place in people’s
55
conscience compared with the fathers. “Young man we only praise our
mothers” “Who will praise the men
De’ Mathew I’ll sing for my Dad”

“Good by Joyce”
This song is about the essence of education and the education as the key
to good life. Young people are encouraged to embrace morals and self
control in order to complete their education so as to have a bright future.
The ladies are encouraged to be strong and to resist temptations which
can lead to breaking of relationships.

And those who wish for my departure

That they may destroy this live
Harden your heart like pharaoh
And you will your ears with cotton wove

So that the enemies of our lone

Can get embarrassed, to see you leading in the line
At the air port, waiting for me to come out
You give me a kiss and we enjoy.

“You Exploited Me”

This is a song about greed. Family members are warned against being
greedy of family property since this could lead to hurting other members of
the family.

You threw the sword on the flat side and you removed my teeth
As my father wanted to stop you, you held him and you broke
his arm

First cool the porridge so that you can know

The wages of sin, we will meet in court

The greed portrayed here is of a brother wanting to take advantage over his
sibling. The artist redeems women from such vices since in the context
that women do not inherit land in the Gikuyu tradition. Male dominance
in this case is thus seen to close out women as far as ownership of
property is concerned. As we shall see in the next chapter, the artist
corrects this image in the videos where he portrays women as able
members of the society. They are seen as learned members of the society
who also own property.
The message articulated on women is that both genders in the society
should avail equal opportunities for members of both sexes to excel in
their lives. This could be in education as well as in other talents one might
have. Men are also encouraged to change their attitude towards women
and to accord them equal chances to develop their potentials since they
are the foundation of a strong society.
56
 “We shall be happy”
Here the woman is portrayed as the taproot of her husband. This is
because unity is strength. Women are thus encouraged to define their role
in the family as the foundation on which a home survives hence the need
to be strong in terms of values which includes supporting the husband.

.............................................
And also he is aware of the much I treasure you
You are my tap root
...............................................

“Legerdemain”
This song portrays women as the complementation factor that makes a
man complete and without which one is not complete.
Women are thus encouraged to see their role in the family as important as
that of a man without which no family can survive.
…………………………………………………………………………………………….
So hold my hand now we go home
We live together leave people alone
Their stories are never conclusive
If you believe them sweetie you will get derailed
Let’s go cast our foundation, because dear you are the only
one I love

Section Summary
In this chapter we observe that De’ Mathew has talked major issues which
affect our society. In so doing, he not only points at the social ills but
provides relevant solutions in some cases either directly or indirectly. In so
doing, we can say that De’ Mathew songs are rich in moral lessons which
help social members to improve on their morals.

IDEOLOGIAL STAND POINT

Discernment and explication of ideology differ from one scholar to the
other but they articulate (more or less) the same concept. These
differences, in terms of conception and interpretation probably are not a
necessitation of the similarity envisaged within the concept in question but
are rather a resultant factor of the critical perspective(s) and mental states
each critic brings to bear to concretize and articulate ones perception of
ideology.

Different interpretations invites us to question whether we have a common

concept called ideology, that is common to all or ideology is only plausible
within the cognitive faculty of an individual. People perceive, understand,
critique and interpret things differently. This also applies to the concept of
57
ideology. I argue that we have as different perspectives and
understandings of ideology as our minds and hence different
understandings of the concept.

Seeing the same thing from changing perspectives thus brings to bear,
why different scholars define ideology differently—since they see different
meanings and articulations within the same concept. Some scholar’s
understanding of ideology is acknowledged and favoured than that of
others while the understanding and interpretation by some, have been
faulted. It is from the different definitions of ideology, I construe, and
operationalize; the premise within which I critique John De’ Mathew’s
ideology in the selected songs. This is in cognizant of the fact that the
ideology informing an artist’s composition, in terms of form and content
shapes and forms the audiences’ or listeners sensibilities on the one hand,
and on the other define the social conscience of the respective society. This
understanding is based on the premise that an artist is a learner and a
teacher of one’s society. The manner in which one receives forms of
knowledge—from the society—and the manner in which one critiques that
knowledge and consequently articulate the same through the creative
works of art needs thus to be examined. This is necessitated by the
observation that popular artists not only shape people’s opinions in our
everyday life, but also contribute greatly to how individual members of a
society perceive, conceive, and critique social reality and therefore,
determine how members appreciate social values. One thus stands a
chance to understand a society’s social conscience by critiquing the oral
art forms a society consumes. The ideas, beliefs, and norms a given people
hold define that particular society. To analyze an artist’s ideology therefore
helps not only in the understanding one’s creative works in their deeper
confines but also provide for a critical a critical frame within which the
society questions itself, its beliefs and its practices using oral (popular)
aesthetic forms as a window to peer into its conscience.

To make an objective and critical inquiry on De’ Mathew’s ideology as

permeated in the selected songs. I define the operational frame applied in
this chapter along several definitions, approaches and criticism of ideology
as posited by several literacy critics whose perception, understanding and
articulation of ideology brings to bear, the essence of this section.

Habermas defines ideology as a “world picture” which stabilizes or

legitimizes domination or hegemony. In this perspective, ideology is
concerned in supporting or justifying reprehensible social institutions,
unjust social practices, exploitation, hegemony or domination that a form
of consciousness is an ideology. (Oliphant: 28). In a capitalist state,
Habermas underscores that ideology serves to legitimate social practices.

However, legitimation gaps exist where a system may face impossibilities

while legitimating itself in its own terms. But these gaps are covered
58
/concealed by extending systems to cover other systems. Habermas’
approach infers a social political underpinning that alludes to Marxists
interrogation of social practices. In this context, an ideology functions to
the legitimation crises of late-capitalists, post industrial societies.

According to Larrain ideology is understood as a set of subjective beliefs

held by a particular class of people, and it can thus be seen as a
deformation of consciousness which does not grasp reality as it is. Larrain
questions and interrogates the cognitive value inherent and permeated by
the beliefs in question. Larrain grapples with the question of whether
people’s perception of reality must always operate within a given ideology.
This becomes pertinent especially when ideology is associated with the
world view of a particular class, or culture. (Oliphont:23) it is argued that
in this premise an individual’s social perspective is mediated, by one
society, class or culture in which one finds oneself. As a result, ideology
may be equated with preconception or national elements which distort
reason, thus preventing it from reaching the truth. (14).

Oliphant observes that:

. . . An interest in ideology normally attests to an interest in the ways
in which the fact that human individuals live in social groups has an
influence on their beliefs, attitudes, preferences and behaviour. (24)

Geuss on the other hand classifies ideology in two distinct categories. That
is the descriptive and the pejorative sense of ideology. This is based on the
different types of research contexts theories of ideology have developed.

In the descriptive sense, ideology of a group includes cultural elements

such as beliefs, concepts, attitudes, and psychological dispositions a group
of people put into use. These exhibit a people’s motives, desires, values,
predications, works of art and religious rituals. In this context, ideology is
non critical in terms of assessing value encompassed within practices of a
given people. This is characterized by the beliefs widely shared among the
members of the group. This can be looked at in categories such as
religious ideology, political ideology and economic ideology. In this sense,
ideology is perceived as a summation of a peoples world view in the context
of the various institutions that form their social structures.

People’s beliefs follow a particular coherence. We thus need to interrogate

the underlying motivations informing a particular belief in addition to
documenting such beliefs and practices. Interrogating the nature and kind
of belief, a given people practice defines such an endeavour. Here we
interrogate the beliefs as a system informing and defining part of people’s
conscious. Thus to comes to terms with what they are, we analyze what
they practice, how they practice it, and why. In this context, a critical
analyzes of the material form and content encompassed within a dirge,—
may reveal a people fear for death as the motivation for the dirge—to
59
reassure oneself of a continuation of life-after one dies. Thus revealing a
people desire to cling to life and a people’s desire to motivate themselves
towards a denial that an inevitable end for each one of them is a fact.
Such revelations can be juxtaposed and contrasted with the perception of
a dirge as a means of honouring the deceased—, which may form the basis
of the content—but not the motivation informing the composition. This is
ideology perceived in the prejorative sense.

This case arises in the context of criticism of the beliefs, attitudes and
wants of a group of people in a society. This argument is posited on the
premise that agents of a given society are deluded or deceived in some way
and from a desire to reveal this to the agents. The aim of this criticism
goes into explaining how agents come to hold the delusional beliefs in
question, with an aim to free the agents from the delusional beliefs. It
becomes thus a task to interrogate a people’s false consciousness. Ideology
in the pejorative sense therefore is a false statement. This leads to the
question; “in virtue of what properties and propensity can a form of
consciousness be ideologically false?”

There are three conscience parameters within which an ideology can be

false one; virtue of epistemic properties, two in terms of its functional
properties and three, in terms of its genetic properties.

In terms of its epistemic function an ideology can be false if, there is an

“objectification mistake”, if the interest of a sector of the society are
mistaken for the interests of all of the society and if self-fulfilling beliefs
are mistaken for beliefs which are not self fulfilling.

An ideology can be functionally false, by virtue of the role it plays in

supporting, stabilizing or legitimizing certain kinds of social institutions or
practices which may facilitate dominion or hegemony.

The basis defining the interrogation of ideology at the functional levels is to

reject the beliefs in questions. This is because such beliefs depend on a
society’s ignorance about the function of the viewpoint or on having false
beliefs about those functions.

The genetic sense has to do with the origin of beliefs or forms of

consciousness in addition to the motivation of agents to hold a particular
belief. The interrogation of causes, origin or history of a set of beliefs or
forms of consciousness reveals whether its basis is premised on false or
delusional perspective. This is examined and articulated in terms of
“genetic fallacy”. Criticism at this level involves a distinction between
“context of discovery” and “context of justification”.

An objective way of assessing an ideology’s credibility is to test whether an

ideology’s justification disappears once the personal or group interests are
60
laid aside. This involves an analysis into the silence(s) informing a
particular ideology. An ideology Macherey Pierre observes is indicated by
what it does not say, i.e. for what it omits. An ideology therefore marks an
absence or a silence. “…without this silence or absences a work of art is
not self-sufficient… and it would not exist … a matter which it endows
with form”. It is thus important to ask what a work of art tacitly implies,
with what it does not say. In this case the explicit requires the implicit, for
in order to say something other things must not be said.

In this case, one can examine the good reason or confusion informing a
given ideology on the one hand while on the other hand, one critiques what
features the falsity or deception envisaged within an ideology. In this
context, Althusser argues that misrecognition is what makes an ideology
false or deceptive. For Althusser, imagination defines the premise that
informs misrecognition which leads to a person a social group or agent to
believe and/or behave in a certain way. In this context, Althusser sees
ideology as a structural effect which depends on certain social practices
and that allows these practices as exist unthreatened. Ideology in this case
is not as belief or a world-view but an effect of social structures, which
contain contradictions and thus needs shared attitudes and/or beliefs to
conceal such contradictions. Appropriation of ideology in this context is
defined not by the content but by the function. In most cases successful
functioning of these social structures serve the interest(s) of a dominating
class. However, it serves these interests by covering up contradictions in
the systems and this obscuring effect present itself as a natural, universal,
or self evident truth.

Althusser underscores that the relationship between institutionalized

practices and modes of thought define the link between ideology and the
individual. In this case ideology becomes the imaginary relationship
between the individual person and his/her real conditions of existence.
Real, in this case interprets to specific roles, functions and social and
institutional structures an individual finds oneself in. An individual has no
choice over these conditions, and are already set and thus determine an
individual’s life. An individual thus adapts a behaviour that is almost
ritualistic in order to respect these structures and their functions, in order
to make sense of the world but also masks and represses ones real
relationship to it. Refer to my example on the role of a dirge above.

Althusser calls these structures ideological state apparatuses (ISAs). This

refers to the social and other institutions of power other than state power
and political matters. Ideological state apparatuses (ISAs) present
themselves to an individual in form of distinct and specialized institutions.
These include; the family ISA, the legal ISA, the religious ISA, the political
ISA the communication ISA, the tradition ISA and the cultural ISA. The
perception of these ISAs is imaginary since individuals respecting and
living with accordance to the value systems of these ISAs do dos believing
61
that they carry out these practices on their own volition but according to
Althusser they are imposed on them. On this premise, an ideology
therefore centres on the contradiction between subjective autonomy that
is, individuality and the prevailing constituting social structures. A
revolution, social/individual change, and generation of new ideas and
thought patterns therefore emerge as a result of people/individuals
challenging, and questioning of the existing ISA/ideology.

An individual’s universe and sensibilities are to a large extent shaped and

formed by the totality of the ISAs one brings to bear. These ISAs can be
termed as the institutionalized meanings. These are the extra semantic
texts that form an individual’s world view. However, an individual’s
ideology can thus be seen as that closed meaning one tries to establish,
which obliterates this link with extra texts—borrowing Lotman’s analogy of
institutionalized meanings as the meanings extra texts bring to bear in a
work of art while ideology of a literacy text is that, a work propagates
delinking itself from meanings of extra texts.

In defining the theory of utterance, Bakhtin grounds his philosophy in the

interplay of communication. Bakhtin in this context defines an utterance
as a dialogic process involving a speaker and a listener. Bakhtin posits
that contexts’, including non verbal elements, is an integral component
rather than external to utterance. Artistic forms, he observes is largely
influenced by extra-artistic reality. A word in this sense is loaded with an
ideological or practical content and meaning. Language at speech level is
thus subjected in advance to a personal, subjective and social evaluation.
In this level of performance, language is seen as a conventionalized, public
set of communicative meanings. “The ideological refraction of the word… in
cognitive, ethical, political or religious terms […is] a preliminary condition
for the entry of the world into the structure and content of a work of
literature” thus ideology is always centered in every level of the text,
ranging from the very words used, to its structure.

George Lukacs defines ideology as class consciousness. In this argument,

he posits that ideology refers to a set of beliefs, attitudes and generally
accepted and used meanings which are taken to be self-evident, natural
facts or truths with universal applicability when in fact they are
determined by tier social and economic function. In this Marxist approach,
real material practice is conceived, to determine consciousness. This
functions to protect the interests and power position of a particular
dominating class. However, Lucas have been faulted on the ground that
every individual at any one time is perceived to be in ideology regardless of
one’s class.

Defining artistic ideologies, Obote M. observes that: “the artists conceive

themes in a certain way, seeing particularly how they are related to their
individual persons. This is what we term as artistic ideology” (76). To
62
explicate the artistic ideology permeated in De’ Mathew’s songs, Obote’s
premise can serve as a point of departure in our analytical framework on
the one hand and augment it with Aesthetic ideology on the other hand.
Ngara E. defines aesthetic ideology as “… the literary convention and
stylistic stances adopted by the writer” (the artist, in our case). In line with
this understanding, Ngara observes “thus Romanticism, modernism,
realism and socialist realism are aesthetic ideologies”. However not all
ideologies are describable in terms of literacy movements. Since some
artists and authors incorporate non universal cultural elements to express
their nationalism. An example of this is Achebe’s incorporation of Igbo
proverbs and sayings in his novels and Ngũgĩ was Thiongo’s use of Gĩkũyũ
words and phrases in his works. On this premise Ngara observes that
aesthetic ideology is multi layered.

Ngara, in the broader sense of the term thus defines ideology as “… that
aspect of human condition under which people operate as conscious
actors. Ideology is the medium through which human consciousness
works.” Ones conception of religion, politics, morality, art and science is
thus deeply influenced by ones ideology. What we see and believe largely
depends on our ideology, ideology being the medium through which we
comprehend and interpret reality. Reality itself exists objectively outside
our consciousness and independently of any particular individual, but how
one sees and interprets it depends, in part on one’s level of ideological
development (11).

I therefore define ideology in this context as a coping mechanism informed

by how one conceives ones existence in terms of time and space, in the
perspective of the relationship one has with ones political, economic,
religious and (other) social conditions – as seen within ones mental state
as a discerning methodology of articulating ones sensibility relation to the
world of reality.

De’ Mathew’s ideological in this perspective is multifaceted. This is in

terms of the critical levels he brings into play in his articulation of reality.
This multi-facet is however traceable within the various understandings of
ideology articulated above. It thus falls within particular literacy theories
and is explicable in relation to the understandings of ideology posited by
the various critics above mentioned.

Johnson W. William observes that a work of art breathes the personality of

its author. In this light therefore, I discern the artist’s ideology as a tool
which the artist employs to comprehend and reflect upon social reality.

In this context, I perceive the artist, the implied audiences and the society
at large as critical agents who respond to the world of reality from their
relative ideological stands as conscious actors. I conceive the artist as an
ideologue who defines a dialoguing ideology whose conscience functions
63
dialogically upon the audiences’ conscience. The audience on the other
hand responds to the artist by way of listening, singing along, dancing,
and cheering the artist during a live performance.

Their conscience and that of the artist in this case can be said to enter into
an ideological dialogue that is defined by beliefs norms, social and
economic activities characterizing the world they share. To objectively
critique De’ Mathew’s ideology, we interrogate the conscience that informs
the beliefs, norms, social cultural and economic activities his immediate
society practice and investigate the reason why. We thus analyze the
concepts that define his world view and the motivation that informs his
view point, on the one hand while on the other we critique the functions
such beliefs and concepts serve in the immediate society.

Close analyses of the political songs for instance, reveal a Marxist reading
and interpretation of the society. The artistic social criticism voice
however, echoes a state discernible in terms of a failed prophesy this is
because De’ Mathew envisions a society too just and ideal in its
implementation of morals where ideal justice prevail and defines the social
order when read as political and economic state apparatuses.

This is a blurred vision since the artist fails to dissect the relationship
between the masses and the bourgeoisie. In this context I argue that the
bourgeois have mechanisms to sustain power and remain in power, in
addition to discolouring or camouflaging hegemony into artificial make
belief democratic ideologies where the subaltern interpret themselves as
empowered while in the real sense they are not.

Sentimental elements and subjectivism jeopardize objective social criticism

since De’ Mathew’s political world view is centered on a social political
moral fantasy that is more practical in imagination than in reality.

The artist—with the dawn of independence in 1963—envisioned a just

society but he is over taken by his hope for justice as an indication of
political accountability is yet a reality. This I would argue is ignorance in
the part of the artist and a misinformed folly that results from a state of
political wishful thinking. He ought to have conceded that some ugly
undertakings happen in power circles as hegemonic acts towards self
sustenance. Such awareness calls upon for a more engaging critical
approach in his criticism of political problems than the yearning for a
Nineveh, as described in words and nuances which allude to a promised
land, in the song “The Big Fish”, where all wrong doers will be questioned
and punished by an agent which the artist does not name and hence my
underscoring that wishful thinking informs his point of view-in this
premise.

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De’ Mathew’s world view in this context fits the Marxist perception of
religion as opium of the masses, which brings forth psychological
restoration where critical thinking and political manpower to change bad
governance are not an endowment bestowed upon the oppressed.

This invites us to question the credibility of the artists voice of vision and
hence read it as uninformed by history as it seems. This voice lacks
visionary credibility since it does not define and/or articulate a practical
methodology that can be applied as a mechanism to solve the political and
social rottenness articulated in the songs in order to achieve the ideal and
just society characterized by his over ambitious euphoric world view. The
songs thus articulate and visualize a moral social ideal characteristic of his
false consciousness. De’ Mathew’s political perception can therefore be
said to be parochial, ignorant and narrow.

A part from this political narrow mindedness, elements of ethnocentricity

in addition, characterize some of songs. In this context, De’ Mathew
defends and guards against the existence of a Gĩkũyũ nationality. He on
the surface appears as a cultural ambassador but his narrative is a
monologue that is exclusionist since it does not allow divergent positions.
His ethnic pronouncements thus point him more as a Gĩkũyũ nationalist
and a Gĩkũyũ centric ideologist. His perception and definition of God as a
“King post” one that supports the roof of a house from the centre is
imagery borrowed from Gĩkũyũ tradition.

This view however brings to bear elements of false prophesy appropriated

in the songs especially on national leadership. He posits for instance that
God destined Kenya’s leadership (the presidency) for Kikuyu’s and no
other tribe. Such a false conscious state of mind serves the artist and his
immediate likeminded tribe’s men and women to justify their insatiable
greed for power which as a result give them (the Gĩkũyũ) an undue
advantage over other tribes in the controlling of the country’s wealth,
means of productions in order to safeguard the economic well being of
members of their ruling class.

Such ideologies come as a result of the high competition for resources in

central province, the original geographical locations for the Gĩkũyũ people
in Kenya. But due to over population, adventure spirit and a wish to seek
new business opportunities they have spread to other regions in the
country in search for wealth, and are said “to own property almost in every
province in the country. They–the Gĩkũyũ–through their artists come up
with songs to propagate such notions in order to justify not only their
aggressive behavioral tendency in business and property acquiring nature
all over the country, but also as an ethnocentric attitude that serves to
echo their deep rooted wishful thought, to control the national resources
and institutions of power to safeguard their existence and their wealth.

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The persona’s voice echoes historical pains that decentre the voice of the
artist from objectivism. This is brought to bear in the creation of political
enemies who qualify the description of imagined foes. A more objective
precinct could have been to remove politics in order to see ourselves as a
state. Through the term “Anake” Gĩkũyũ word for young men, in the song
“Ithe wa rũrĩrĩ” translated as “Father of the Tribe” the artist underscores a
social embodiment of the youth who in this case refers to the emerging
new crop of young leaders. De’ Mathew advices young leaders should
embrace restraint in their quest for political leadership. This he says is to
prevent political mayhem.

Manifestation of capitalism in addition, its social order and disorders also

seem to form De’ Mathew’s means of looking at wealth and power on the
one hand. For the fifteen years Jomo Kenyatta, Kenya’s first president
ruled the country, the Gĩkũyũ, his tribesmen are said to have amassed a
lot of wealth both monetary and property. Other tribes since
independence term the Gĩkũyũ’s attitude towards money and wealth as
aggressive. To safeguard this notion and to give it an acceptable social
image, De’ Mathew sings that God should protect his people “the Gĩkũyũ”
because they are hated by others because they are hard working. This is a
euphemic interpretation of capitalism in de’ Mathew’s terms. This therefore
seems to inform this view point, in order to justify Gĩkũyũ’s capitalistic
attitude towards wealth, money and power where the three must function
in tandem.

On the other hand, social sufferings that come as a result of capitalism

seem to disturb the artist’s conscience. This appears to encourage his
critical re-examination of the essence of wealth and power since an endless
pursuit of the two leads to suffering, he seem to suggest. The economic
state definable as economic survival for the fittest is seen to lead to severe
economic strain by the majority citizens and political assassinations in
addition. In the song “Nengereria Kane” translated as “Pass me Kane” (a
locally prepared spirit that has claimed the lives of many youths especially
in central Kenya and rendered others impotent). A state describable as
social disarray defines a new and emerging social order.

The song’s title bears a tone of urgency interpretable as “kill me quick!”

This spells an implied assassination from outside and from an enemy
within (self destruction). Perceiving the society as one bent towards self
destruction informs De’ Mathew social perspective in this case. The word
finger in this song is metonymic to mean defensive or fighting power. The
song is both a social and a political criticism. In this case, the politics is
implied and the social is explicit.

The artistic voice echoes a Gĩkũyũ nationalist who talks from the centre.
Desperation leads to the youth over indulgence in alcohol consumption
which functions as an escapist paradigm through which they bury their
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critical minds from engaging the challenging reality, where poverty in all
its manifestations defines their social world. This is evidenced since the
means of production and the state has owners who deny the youth even
life itself.

The boil “ihũha” in this song, means that these social problems be
addressed once and for all especially the question of redistribution of
wealth and national resources. But such proclamations the artist
forewarns can lead to political assassination and he cites the assassination
of J. M. Kariuki as a historical allusion to ground his argument. He thus
argues that the products of the rich should not mourn the poor.
Connotatively, “Kane” is a product of the rich yet when the poor die the
rich come mourning because this is the face they must show (that of loss)
if anything they have lost a customer but at the same time laughing on the
sides because the consumers of Kane have lost their political
consciousness and hence cannot critique political and social realities that
surround them because Kane has killed their sobriety.

In this view De’ Mathew’s world view defines an element of moral criticism
which alludes to, the Socratic questioning since he invites deep
questioning into the different elements that form his immediate world of
reality.

The same frame of social criticism is advanced in songs on relationship. In

the song “Nduka ya thayũ” translated as “a shop where peace is sold” we
encounter a persona who has lost patience with impatience. The song
bears a discording tone, and the male personal does not wish the lady—
subsumed in the song—well; instead he appears to indirectly laugh at her
discontentment. The chorus in this case positions the artist as a sophist
who in Socratic terms has gone through a bad marriage experience by
marrying a bad wife and the beneficiary becomes the society when the
narrative of the marriage is recounted. This notion seems to anchor on
Socrates supposition that if one marries a good wife one lives a happy life
but if one marries a bad wife, one becomes a philosopher and the world
profits.
I am however, skeptical about De’ Mathew’s intent since he appears to
have a problem with members of the opposite sex when they challenge the
feminine submission which is evident in the social order of a dominating
male hegemony. Matters of concerns informing De’ Mathew’s world view in
this case cannot be totally envisaged within the Socratic upward critical
transcendence in terms of empowering the feminine gender by way of
giving way to the will of the oppressed gender; but instead posits a
subjective approach towards emerging social approaches that tend to
question and re-examine gender and social roles as traditionally
constitutionalised in the patriarchal society.

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Women empowerment as a social discourse that gives voice to the feminine
gender emerges as a trend that challenges the patriarchal status quo, but
at some point, the artist realizes that this social awakening is beyond his
control. As a result, he reframes his approach towards feminine gender in
rather cunning artistic craftsmanship where the masculine social order is
portrayed to indirectly give way to gender equality. In so doing, one reads a
contest between male domination over devoicing of the woman who ought
to reawaken from masculine subjugation that come as a result of
protracted inculcation of devoicing concepts upon which the feminine
gender trace its identity. This psychological gender reawakening thus
spells the gullibility which for long has defined the false consciousness
upon which women have defined their gender image(s) by identifying
themselves with condescending social images such as gossip, cowardice,
powerlessness, fear, foolish, to mention a few.

The patriarchal voice however, as echoed by the persona does not allow the
feminine subject to express itself from a feminine perspective. Instead, the
patriarchal voice dominates where women empowerment is envisaged and
incorporated in the new gender social order by means of the patriarchal
voice dropping male chauvinism which it appropriates as a social tool for
devoicing and looking down upon women.

There ensues a silence defined by the persona’s constant fear of ever being
left by the wife. For instance in the song “Garden of my Heart” I argue that
one cannot wake up one day and just walk out of a marriage. There has to
be compelling factors, and reasons that leads to such a decision. This fear
is traceable in the persona’s tone, lyrics and the gender social positions
that seem to emerge as a result of new emerging gender social order. These
songs ideologically tally with an era that brings social awakening to the
feminine gender where women empowerment and social advocacy on the
need for equal representation of both sexes in all social spheres in the
country define and dominate public gender discourse.

From the persona’s point of view, I surmise that the empowered woman, as
a complementing figure in the family is not only celebrated but also is seen
from a male perspective as an emerging new ideological construct and as a
social institution that is raising to challenge patriarch cal hegemony that
has long silenced and devoiced the woman – on the one hand while on the
other is seen as inviting the male gender into discourses of gender power
renegotiation and redistribution.

It is therefore a social change that defines a state of gender awakening that

patriarchal institutions cannot fight or suppress and hence should rather
contend with by way of redefining male gender power position in the
society. This provides a portal into the recognition and accommodation of
the feminine gender as an equal player both at family and social circles.
De’ Mathew in this case appears to celebrate women empowerment by
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recognizing women as equal to the man equal at family level where gender
roles are renegotiated and appear interwoven and the women represented
as an active partner in a competitive capitalist world.

However, patriarchy wittingly manipulates women empowerment to give

women a voice but not to relinquish or change the masculine gender power
status quo. This can be seen as a state of creating a space for the “weaker
sex” in gender power position discourses but a creation negotiation that
does not devoice or force the patriarchal social order to relinquish its
previously held power position. This thus becomes a state of gender power
equilibrium, where both genders exercise their powers in a symbiotic
relationship as opposed to feminine subordination that characterized the
patriarchal social order.

Femininity in this context is portrayed as a gender that is in pursuit to

recast and reconstitute its social image by way of modifying images of self-
viewership and articulation of the self. This is evidenced where the female
character in the songs is seen to take up responsibilities that were
traditionally a preserve for the masculine gender. These include owning
property, taking part as the breadwinner at family level, and taking up
leadership position. In the song “Ngai Tũrangĩre” translated as “God
protect us” there as a direct reference, mention and celebration of Martha
Karũa as a good politician and leader.

A critical reading of the tonal silences encompassed in the song “Mũgũnda

wa ngoro yakwa” translated as “Garden of my heart” reveals elements of
masculine submission. This argument is tenable because the artistic voice
in this song is marked by elements of meekness that is equally confirmed
by the lyrics. The soothing tone that can be construed to aesthetically
signal romance can be said to define a journey towards the end of male
hegemony (a masculine tone evidenced in De’ Mathew’s earlier songs).
Romance in this case serves as a trope, to camouflage masculine
submission into feminine social pressures to ratify gender equality.

What appears thus, as love songs can be read as De’ Mathew’s

interpretation and questioning male hegemony at family level – where the
“family” man woman relationship can be interpreted as an imagery
articulating the modern world and its respective balanced gender relations.

A close reading of portrayal of God and religion as a perspective reveals

that De’ Mathew appropriates a theocriticism approach towards the
discernment of human predicaments that are beyond human control and
comprehension. This can be said to be an element of criticism designed to
keep in check critical questioning into human experiences that
phenomenological nature puzzles the artist. Within this context, the artist
creates and ascribes to a deity who is all powerful beyond all humans. This
can be seen as a case of moralizing human mental constructions to give
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value to human weaknesses and strengths by subjecting either to an
external fate that has control over the human kind, their actions and
destiny.

In this case, human fate is defined in terms of greater forces of nature that
influence human action positively and negatively. These forces of nature
are defined in binarity forms such as good versus evil, God versus Satan.
Human action is thus said to be under the influence of either force of
anyone time. This assists the artists to define human behaviour in terms
of a fate to overcome an over powering evil. This defines a contradiction
since the binarity is a human construct well intentioned to justify
weakness of the human mind as a critical thinker by attributing poor
judgment to negative forces of nature on the one hand and while on the
other defining morality in terms references intended to serve the interests
of the moral maker.

This serves the artists psychology in defining human egocentrism by

defining concepts in terms of what they do not imply. In order to
popularize ones beliefs and douse beliefs opposed to ones egocentrism.

Dogmatism appears thus to take over at a point where critical thinking

appear to tire the human mind. In this case religion and fanatism appear
to define ideological apparatuses that characterize human belief systems.
In this context the artist defines a God who curses when he, the artist
wants him to curse, a God who blesses when he, the artist wants him to
bless, a God who punishes when he, the artist wants him to punish; A God
who’s deeds are silently manipulated by the human mind and which
manifest themselves in terms of the artists wishes and desires. A case in
point is where this God kills a woman who desires to leave her
matrimonial home to seek wealth like other people. The persona
manipulates “his god” and wishes he (God) subjects her into a painful
death.

This “religio-psychosis” functions to force women into submission to male

oppression. But the credibility of these traditional dogmatisms is
challenged as the society takes charge of critiquing its popular beliefs,
where this binary Unitarianism is challenged by new forms of social
critical consciousness. In this case the human kind is challenged to take
responsibility of their human actions. As a result, new forms of
consciousness such as democracy and feminism become embraceable
modes of articulating human thoughts and newly sought world views.

The moribund state of non questioning is clearly taken over by a growing

state of questioning which leads to an emergence of open criticism of
political and social issues such as poor governance, abuse of public office,
misappropriation of public funds as evidenced in songs such as “Thamaki
iria Nene” translated as “The Big Fish”.
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Apart from this critical awareness especially on gender and political social
order, morality as an entity seem to be highly gendered and sexualized in
terms of how the artist portray his perception of moral concerns. De’
Mathew advocates for instance for a sentimental sense of discerning reality
within a larger universe of meaning, beauty, imagination and fantasy to
conceal simple realities about the basic human nature, and human
motivations that characterize human actions. He thus appears to identify
with a make belief reality that floats on falsehood on the one hand but
advocating for moral uprightness on the other.

Human psychological stability in this premise anchors on hypocrisy and

self deception. In this case, the content of some songs which mistakably
can be perceived as love songs or songs on relationships reveal a silence
which the artist or the male persona consciously conceal from members of
the opposite sex. These songs in this case define a wooing discourse whose
aim and purpose is to meet a subjective need of the persona at the expense
of the women subsumed in the songs.

De Mathew in this context defines an unimpeachable state where discord

and disagreements between couples is blamed on a third party which is
(none physical) as an entity but one extrapolated and labelled as “gossip”.
Marriage breakups are thus blamed on this anonymous “evil” character
whose motif is to relish in marital instabilities. The artist in this context
unwillingly defines a persona whose speech is in the first person I.

I tenably link the first person voice of the persona to an unconscious

element characterizing the perspective that informs the artist’s point of
view consciously or unconsciously. The artists stand point in this context
begs the question, why does the artist define this “colourless” agent and
assign it a discording role in relationship?

In one of the songs, he tells the spouse directly to put cotton wool in her
ears and to seal them completely with super glue (a very strong and fast
drying adhesive), since this gossip has caused many marriages to break. I
read this as a chauvinistic sophistry appropriated in order to check
questioning and thus subordinate her into a silent powerless space within
patriarchal hegemony.

This I interpret to mean that a woman/wife should not question what a

man/husband does and for this reason should treat any information about
the husband (received from a third party) as mere gossip and should thus
treat such information with contempt.

This raises concern as to why the (persona) does not provide the wife with
the option to carry out an investigation about such information (about the
husband). This can be a provision worth considering before making any
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conclusion about such information. The personal therefore implies that at
no one time would he wish to be questioned or investigated or asked
about his deeds, carried out in his wife’s/spouses back even for the fairest
reason to prove his innocence.

This I read on the one hand as rigidity informed-at the very basic family
levels by the acts of infidelity which some couples occasionally engaged in
spite of being married, and when caught or suspected one would never be
willing to concede? For this reason therefore, the persona defines “gossip”
as a hypocritical trope to veil social immorality. Any evidence or complaint
levelled against one would thus be blamed on gossip which should thus
function as a scapegoat upon which social hypocrisy must anchor to
ensure social stability, peace and societal continuity. This notion I base on
the observation that most marriage relationships can be torn apart by
candid acknowledgement of one’s participation in acts of infidelity. Both
the liar and the lied find it safer to hide behind the guise of gossip at least
for the marriage to continue.

On the other hand, I posit that the silencing of women in this case is a
patriarchal ideological image functioning to devoice femininity in order to
maintain the status quo of a dominating patriarchal social order.

However, reading the texts in the context of the immediate reality

informing the artist, I also identify with De’ Mathew’s concerns that the
Gikuyu community (which has inspired most of his songs) and which
define his immediate target audience, gossip is prevalent and can be cited
as a vice that challenges stability of most relationships. But this social
weakness has now provided the male persona with a shield behind which
one hides when one intends to or engages in immorality as a means of self
defense, self cleansing and self reassurance.

The male persona in this case appears not only to encourage but also to
laugh at the state of poor judgment that informs non critical thinking
which characterizes the weakness of the mind that couples and the entire
society practice. Couples in this case as a realistic concept and as an
imagery referring to the society as a whole fall victim and hence end their
marriage or love relationship on an account of non verified information.
This is evidenced in the song “Geithaniai na Mutikaruue” translated as
“Shake each other’s hand and don’t fight” I observe that a loud silence
ensues in cases of marital problems. The persona leaves the wife he goes
and marries another woman.

In the song we learn that the wife was blaming him of unfaithfulness. That
she could refuse to open for him when he comes late at night, and refuse
to serve him with food. Food here can have double meaning, one being the
eatables and two the bridal food in terms of sex. While the artist talks of
gossip as a cause of family break ups, in this song, the male persona
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reveals his infidelity since despite blaming the wife of accusing him for
“crimes he does not commit”, this begs the question of his sincerity since
one can argue that the lady he marries identified in the song as Mercy is
probably the woman whom he was seeing privately. But when the wife
accuses him he would blame it all on gossip. The artist in this case does
not disclose the actual name of his wife yet he discloses the name of this
other woman who showed him love after being frustrated by the wife. This
disclosure of her name can serve to show where his passion lie and in
addition,--as a fictional character--one notes the allegorical semantics
within the name mercy. That is, one who show others mercy.

Artistic transcendence in this context questions John De’ Mathew’s

credibility in terms of the solutions he provides to a social ill well
discerned. Like all ideological stand points, I thus conclude that in this
particular context De’ Mathew’s solution as part of his ideology is self
serving. This is evidenced by the patriarchal voice which prevails in terms
of gender form to unconsciously suppress and emasculate non-patriarchal
voices or points of view.

One would thus surmise that however De’ Mathew appears conscious of
gender balance in his recent songs (those done from the year 2000 to date)
in his earlier songs (those done from the early 80’s to late 90’s) his world
view was greatly influenced by the patriarchal social order which
characterizes and defines the Gikuyu society. We could thus give him
credit and define him as a committed artist since he challenges his earlier
standpoints and rigidities that did not give allowance to the possibility of
other correct means through which gender issues can be articulated other
than the patriarchal perspective. His stand point, however, ideological in
the larger scale can be said to encourage critical dialogue with oneself and
ones reality as a responsive means to different social, cultural, political
and economic problems.

To make concession, I conclude this section by observing that De’

Mathew’s ideological stand point is dynamic and multi layered. He
articulates different social, political, economic and religious contemporary
problems and seems to argue that different social problems require
different solutions. This as an ideological premise reveals different pointers
to the various stages we can discern De’ Mathews growth stages as an
artist, his critical faculty and objective state of the self as a social
commentator and a voice of the societal conscience.

He thus seeks upward transcendence, in the definition of the contexts that

defines his songs. He advocates for social change where he calls upon
members of the society to correct gender stereotypes, and fanatical
approaches to religious matters. He advocates for political accountability,
and an embracement of morals by members of the society. Finally, he

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defines social roles in terms of a complementary state apparatus where all
genders should function in tandem.

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Chapter three
Stylistic Features Documentation and
Dissemination
This chapter contains three sections. Section one is a critical analysis of
the use of stylistic devices, section two, is a critical analysis of De
Mathew’s Performances and finally section three looks at how the artist
uses modern technological advancement to enrich his songs. For easier
reference, we have numbered the songs from 1-46 and this reference
number is reflected on the song’s title whenever a song is mentioned.

3.0 Stylistic features

INTRODUCTION
The impact of a of a song depends not only on the significance of what the
artist says about social reality and also on how effectively he/she
communicates his/her vision to the listeners. What one says about social
reality depends largely on ones social vision (artistic/authorial ideology)
and how successfully they communicate that vision depends on the
effectiveness of one’s employment of artistic forms (aesthetic ideology).

Stylistic devices aid in defining effective means of communication with the

audience. They help in the creation of mental pictures which are similar to
the reality the song addresses. Hence help to vivify the message and at the
same time function to give colour and sound to a literary text. This helps
in clarifying the objective(s) of the artist in defining the social mirror
encompassed within a text. Artistic devices thus aid in the articulation of
the intricate relationship between tangible reality and fiction and how each
define the other.

The question we have thus answered here is “how has the artist used
elements of style in his songs, for what purpose and to what effect?

The language use in these songs is different from the common ordinary
speech in terms of speech, prosody, choice of vocabulary, syntax and
purposeful use of linguistic artistic features. Any literary texts bears a
theme, and an underlying moral lesson which the artist intends to
communicate, however, artists avoid plain use of languages and opt for
embellished usage of language. This coaxes the ears of the listeners, and
thus serves to draw one’s attention towards the essential content of a given
text.

We sought to understand why De’ Mathew employs the stylistic devices he

employs in his songs. This is because stylistic devices aid in illuminating
the social vision communicated in the text on the one hand, while on the

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other hand, functions to create multiple layers of meaning in a given text.
This diversifies our cognitive skills in terms of how we respond to the world
of reality as well as the world of imagination.

The essence of style can thus be seen to transcend beyond the mere
creative use of language. Instead it should be seen as a means of seeking
the most effective means of communicating with the listeners to convey a
particular message for a particular purpose in order to evoke a specific
action-may it be physical or mental-within the listeners. The aim of art is
to call upon social members to embrace greater moral responsibilities, to
address and refine the moral conscience that define (the humanity) in all
human kind. This is because creative use of language helps the
humankind to address abstract concepts of life such as morals by use of
practical images and symbols thus helping man to understand himself
from an artistic perspective.

We focus on analyzing the “how” in terms of language use in these songs

in order to understand the “why”.

John De’ Mathew uses different stylistic devices for different reasons. It
was thus difficult for us to study stylistic usage in the songs combined
since one realized that a particular feature of style is used in more than
one song but for different reasons and functions. A metaphor for instance
in one song may be used to create emphasis while in a different song, the
same stylistic device is used for pictorial effect which creates vividity. This
study thus examines style in the selected songs as independent texts. We
followed the song’s categories in order to be systematic. This helped in
discerning the literary effectiveness of stylistic devices in songs that fall
under a particular category.

Artistic use of language attempts to approximate meaning in order to

arguably articulate an inner semantic world which the human conscience
can identify with by detecting its presence and sensing its influence upon
human life. However, human language is incapable of articulating this
transcendental world in its totality owing to the limitation of the existing
linguistic structures defining human speech. We thus look at how the
artist uses stylistic devices as a means of appropriating this semantic
universe.

TONE
The way we say something recreates the meaning of what is said, by how it
is said. Tone thus transposes meaning from general to particular. Tone,
Pitch, and glide, determine this semantic shift. In this context, the uttered
words express a meaning outside the general meaning associated with a
particular utterance. The analysis of tone reveals an artist’s attitude and
moral judgment of the subject of one’s songs. At artist is both conscience
and unconscious of the meaning one conveys with one’s nuances. The
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analysis of tone below is thus informed by these two premises where we
analyse the different semantic markers echoed in De’ Mathews tone. For
instance, in the song
“Thakame ĩria yaitirwo” “The blood that was shed” (36)
The tone in stanza one enhances the propagandists message in the song.
This runs across all the verses.
“Kĩmuhe Kabuuri” “Give Her a Grave” (18)
The persona is satirical in his tone. He ridicules the mother because she
was enjoying and benefiting from the daughters prostitution. Now it is her
time to provide her with a grave.
“Kwaheri Joyce” “Good bye Joyce” (44)
The tone of the voice is soothing, assuring and encouraging.
“Ndereba Rugama” “Driver Stop” (20)
The prosodic elements
The tone used to render the song contributes to the inherent humour since
the persona is very satirical in his voice.
“Nyeki” “Grass” (29)
Prosodic drama
Here the tone makes the audience to feel the helplessness expressed by
the words.
“Thiĩ biu” “Go for Good” (30)
This is a very ironical song. Here irony is expressed as a weapon to deal
blows to the lady within the song.

CAESURA
Willoughby D. in the book The World of Music observes that, “. . . silence
has become a conscious compositional device in modern music, not simply
a time for a performer to rest. Silences frequently have a powerful
aesthetic impact because of their length and their place in the music”.
(298) it is in this light we analyse silences in De’ Mathew’s songs which we
read from a literary context as a stylistic device in the poetic context as
caesura. A caesura in a transcription is marked by two parallel lines.

This is a rhythmic break or pause in the flow of sound which is commonly

introduced about the middle of a line of verse, but may be varied for
different effects. Usually placed between syllables rhythmically connected
in order to aid the recital as well as to convey the meaning more clearly. It
is a pause dictated by the sense of the content or by natural speech
patterns, rather than by metrics. It may coincide with conventional
punctuation marks, but not necessarily. When talking, the emotional
rhythm of what one is saying greatly influence the rhythmic breaks in
one’s speech. A similar observation is made in John De’ Mathew’s songs
where the artist employ such breaks for aesthetic effect.
De’ Mathew employs caesura to create what I call a rhetoric pause. He
does this in order to focus the listeners’ attention on the implied meanings
during a musical rendition.

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In this context the caesura functions as semantic marker by delineation.
In this case an artist draws the listeners’ attention towards important
segments of one’s message by avoiding its interruption by applying the
pause which gives the listeners a reflective instance to focus on the
immediate utterance before the subsequent line or message attracts their
attention. De’ Mathew uses the style in different songs for varying reasons
and aesthetic effect.

In the song “Menyemenye” translated to mean “Gossip”, he uses the style

to ridicule. The pause at the end of the lines not only serves the metric
rule but also emphasize the song’s message where the persona criticizes
men who engage in gossip. The pause serves to draw the listeners’
attention towards the vile in the act of gossiping which people commit. In
addition to criticism, the pause serves as a psychological weapon upon the
mind of those who practice the vice.

In the song “Nyumba Mwinau?” translated as “Who is with you our

people?” De’ Mathew employs the rhetoric pause to juxtapose the explicit
meaning—which is a question in this case—with the implied response
which is a wakeup call for the tribe to defend itself against the wrath and
harassment meted by other tribes.
The main subject in this song is the tribal animosity that arouse in the
after the 2007 general elections which was tribal oriented.

While the tone of the song articulates the pains and suffering the tribe
underwent, the rhetorical pause functions to call upon social members to
reflect on the heinous actions that ensued as a moral challenge to all
tribes in general. The pause thus defines a contemplative mood in the song
which the artist seem to suggest ought to be the climax of how best one
can engage the song in order to root for a social sensibility that transcend
ethnic and tribal frailties. However, he leaves the answer to this question
upon the listeners’ conscience. While the lyrics thus functions as a
retrospection trope the caesura functions as an introspection trope and
hence lure the audiences towards critical listening and interpretation of
the song.

In the song “Te Big Frog” the artist employs the pause for dramatic effect
in the first stanza and in the chorus. The artist in so doing creates
anticipation in the mind of the listener as he forewarns the male character
in the song of impending danger for falling in love with a woman perceived
as morally corrupt. The rhetorical pause in this case augments the
suffering that comes as a result of the weakness of the human mind to fall
victim of deception. It thus qualifies the artist’s attempt to comment on
these human weaknesses and in addition aid in the drawing—upon the
listeners’ minds—the painful emotions which befall the victim as a
consequence.

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The caesura in addition helps in showing the drama taking place in the
victim’s mind. As a result, his gullibility is pin pointed and the possible
outcome is fore grounded.

Hau uthiĩte mwanake ma nĩho twatũraga ‫׀׀‬

Natũkĩinũka twetaga mwathani na mihehũ ‫׀׀‬
Indo ciitũ hau niho cianyuire kagera ‫׀׀‬
Tũkiinũka, twahũraga nũgũ na mahiga ‫׀׀‬

There where you are heading ‫ ׀׀‬gentle man that is where we

used to be ‫׀׀‬
By the time we left, ‫ ׀׀‬we were calling Jesus Christ in
whispers ‫׀׀‬
That is where we lost our property, ‫׀׀‬
On our way home we were fighting monkeys with stones ‫׀׀‬

EXTENDED METAPHOR
This is a metaphor which is drawn out beyond the usual word or phrase to
extend through out a stanza or an entire poem, usually by using multiple
comparisons between the unlike object or ideas.

“Mugunda wa Ngoro Yakwa” “Garden of my Heart” (1)

Be the care taker of everything that is there

And never eat from the tree of the cursed fruit
Because I could not want us to ever part

In that tree I have fore warned you my dear

There are fruits that breed gossip
There are fruits that propagate hatred
Let us sweat well never bite them

This is used for artistic effect to vivify the content message by use of
physical images. This enhances the romance conveyed in this stanza.

“Njata Yakwa” “My Star” (3)

You are my star
The rib of De’ Mathew
The rest are just but the public
My joys is yours alone

This serves to draw lyrical power to convince for the recipient to get
emotionally moved hence accept the persona message.

“Reke Ngũtaare” “Let me advice you” (4)

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Stanza 4 lines “So that you can be my joy and a shield for a
stable home.” This serves to designate the responsibilities of the lady in
a relationship.
“Hoya Wendo” “Ask me for love” (5)
Stanza 2 lines 1-4, this is the chorus
If you want to see silver, go digging in the stones
If you want to know God, go read in the bible
If you want to know snow, go climb in the mountain
If you need love, ask me and I will give you
This serves to build to a climax when he uses other imagery to prepare the
lady by delaying the thesis of his main intention. It creates suspense and
strong desire in the listener’s mind when she hears this relationship
between the mentioned images and what each leads to. This serves to
undo the emotions of the lady so that she can accept the persona. He
tactfully put it to elicit in her the desire to pursue the course, so that they
can begin a relationship. This hence warns the lady and encourages her to
decide at once. The message in the last line is soothing and compelling for
the lady to say no.

“Marĩĩre Njaro” “Legerdemain” (6)

“That is the hyena of hatred”
“It stays in the hole where the goats feed on mũnyũ (salty
earth) mine”
“When they come to eat, it scares them away”
This is to emphasize the malice discussed in the preceding stanza.

“Sarafina” (7)
If I were you sarafina, I would plant the tree of love
I be giving it water
Any time the sun of gossip scotches it,
They get surprised to see it is ever green

I believe dialogue is the most fertile garden

In the life of many homes
That is the wealth with the most plenty of water
It never dries, talking is to say love

This is to request the lover to be critical in the decisions she makes, here
the persona by example of the images in the metaphor serves to help her
make the right decision. The message here is that she should be strong
both intellectually and emotionally. Using these images helps the persona
to be elaborate in his communication.

“Ngoro Ciao nĩ Ndwaru” “Their Hearts are Sick” (12)

That stone you have started pointing
It is the cornerstone that will finish the house
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This is indirect referencing for rhetorical purposes.
“Ngai Tũrangĩre” “God Guard Us” (13)
A man who leaves his gate open
He that never goes back to put on the local
He that never make weapons for his sons
Or even let the children and the animals to be eaten by
animals

This signifies an ignorant leader who forgets to empower his people.

What can these disableds in Gikuyu community benefit us with?

And it is not the will of God that we may say amen
Of men destroying “thingira” and the firewood is used by
women (Thingira is the house for the man in the gikiyu
community) mine

This is to emphasize the severity of the prevailing social recklessnes.

“Mbũri ya Rwanio” “The Noise Making Goat” (24)

There is no noisy goat true of God
Which makes noise with its mouth full
It leaves sweet potatoes vines to go and feed on peels
Truly, the ordinary hen must scratch

This serves to express the bitterness in the persona.

“Mũoyo ti Kĩbandi” “Life is not an ID” (25)

Because I can see you have assume life is a dance floor
You assumed my home is a market place and the way I am in
love
You be coming in trips, to Muthithi market
This time you have gone, you can go for good

Line one is to ridicule for rhetoric effect, line 2 is for vividity of message
while line 3-4 is to ridicule to emphasize the message.

“Ngũkũ ya Gũkua” “A Dying Hen” (26)

A dying hen must die
Even if you give it aloe vera
A dying hen must die
Even if you give it pepper
“Kĩũra Kĩnene” “Big frog” (39)
That pair of shears shaves a person even the eye lashes
It feeds on the best meat from your wallet
And the lies that child has are the sweet ones
She can tell you, your bulls will produce milk and you drink

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These images paint blankly that this lady is a gifted liar in order to win the
man because of his money but not love.
Dramatic Monologue
This is a revealing one-way conversation by a character or persona,
usually directed to second persons or to imaginary audiences. It involves a
critical moment of a specific situation, with the persona’s words
unintentionally providing a revelation of his character.
“Mugunda wa Ngoro Yakwa” “Garden of my Heart” (1)
Take this ring I put you my sweet heart
It is not a preachers ring but an oath we are taking
And it should not be a piece of ring for your body
Let it belong to your heart and we will never part

In that tree I have fore warned you my dear

There are fruits that breed gossip
There are fruits that propagate hatred
Let us swear will never bite them

I look at you and see Gods glory

God gave me you, to always impress me
When we are together darling, I feel so fulfilled
And I see my love is guarded

This serves to transcend the song from fiction into a realistic atmosphere
that convinces the audience to believe in the persona’s words.
Stanza 3 has an additional meaning which is to pass warnings to the
spouse.

“Nĩtũgakena” “We shall be Happy” (2)

How happy shall we be after completing the journey
We rare our children till they become mature
We stay on earth up to the bonus years
We shall be separated by death

This serves as a strategy to woo the listener as it brings out the drama
conveyed by the persona.

Should we amass wealth or have problems

I will be call you my star
But if you will open your private heart
There the devil will gain entrance
He will uproot our love and shake off the soil
You be left to say, you had one of your own who used to love
you.

This serves to pass warning and to encourage the lady to shun evil and
immorality.

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“Njata Yakwa” “My Star” (3)
Thank you my God
May your name be praised, father for giving me an owner
This is your gift
Knowing the much I have searched, for one who can stick in my
home
Truly before one finds his choice, one kisses many peels

What I will want my love

You to embrace with one heart;
The secret of our love my dear, hide it and let it be for
just the two of us
These people you are seeing in this world
Having derailed many homes
Their stories my dear are never conclusive, seal your ears
With cotton wool

This serves to give instructions, directly by addressing the presumed lover.

“Marĩĩre Njaro” “Legerdemain” (6)

So hold my hand now we go home, we live together leave people
along
Their stories are never conclusive, if you believe them
sweetie you will get derailed
Let’s go cast our foundation, because dear you are the only
one I love
This is a direct address to the lady he is singing to. Here, this serves to
signal the songs climax which follows in the proceeding stanza.

“Sarafina” (7)
Oh oh my love, stop going away
Oh oh my honey, go back to the house we talk
I give you two words my dear that will benefit you
So that you know we are together Sarafina

Here the persona wants to draw for the audience the true picture and
atmosphere (of the scene described) as his lover Sarafina is leaving.
Sarafina is leaving the persona for a reason we are yet to establish. This
style creates suspense in the audiences and captures their attention since
they want to know why Sarafina is leaving. The introductory interjections
in lines: 1 and 2 signals that something bad has happened. This style
makes the stanza to be dynamic and active in the way it captures the
scene of departure.

“Nitũrĩane Matu” “Let Us Discuss” (8)

This child you hit and abuse, please understand well
Things child you starve, his intestines constructed
Abusing him that he is as foolish as the mother,

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Until you made him develop high blood pressure my dear
Remember his is God’s creature, remember may be he is
Your stability of the fulfillment of your wishes

I wouldn’t want this to go beyond the walls

Remember home affairs cannot be told in public
Look for peace while at my place you will find it
You will see and even feed well
But there where you are trying to complain
You dry completely and after wanjeri from Ngong of my
sister’s a witness
This child you are starving is my own blood, and that is
where we are
This serves to show the conversation between the persona and his second
wife. That is in the form of a narration.

“Ithe wa Rũrĩrĩ” “Father of the Tribe” (11)

We can also look at it as a dramatic monologue where God is presupposed
to be the audience and thus listening.

“Menyemenye” “Gossip” (17)

It became a disease, though forgive them friends.
That someone cannot go to bed before mentioning the words so
and so did
When you get married, they say that is your end because of
poverty
And if your wife runs away, “See, he doesn’t care for her

This emphasizes the content by drawing active listening to the audiences.

“Niũndukanĩirie” “You have concocted for me” (22)

This is in the chorus, effective in enacting dialogue between two people.
The persona launches complain but we do not hear the lady’s response
since it is a monologue. But this serves to emphasize the implied ill
treatment the persona is launching.

I have been paying the house

Njoroge buys the food
Guku has paid the dowry
Truly, on old goat doesn’t make noise for nothing

“Mũoyo ti Kĩbandi” “Life is not an ID” (25)

I have seen sweetie my life is mine alone
And I have discovered your love is not milk
I was seeing like it’s you who makes me to breathe
But I discovered the air belongs to God
“Nyeki” “Grass” (29)

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The entire song is a one side dialogue here the persona bids farewell to his
wife. This makes the song to capture the same mood in the audiences’
feelings and the song appears authentic.

“Nduka ya Thayũ” “A Shop for Peace” (34)

Take these clothes you have been leaving them with me
Take this ring you derailed me with it
First adventure when you will know your are mature
You will come
I m not leaving them world soon

However, the style is used to render all the verses. Here the persona talks
directly to a character that is within the song to evoke immediacy.

“Mĩkunde Biũ” “Drink as you can” (35)

Here the persona has a preacher within the song whom he is addressing.

“Kwaheri Joyce” “Good bye Joyce” (44)

Through the use of dramatic monologue we learn the positive side of
both men and women as the persona expresses his love to his girlfriend
and hence giving her moral advice.
“Ni Wanyumĩria Bara” “You Have Betrayed Me” (45)
This style is used in this song to portray violence between brothers. This is
effective on the ground that the persona is addressing the brother who is
within the song.

BIBLICAL ALLUSIONS
There is an extensive use of Biblical allusions in most of De’ Mathew’s
songs. For instance, in the song “Mũgũnda wa Ngoro Yakwa”
“Garden of my Heart” (1)
And never eat from the tree of the cursed fruit
This serves for emphasis.

“Reke Ngũtaare” “Let me advice you” (4)

“I know very well my love, you, you can’t be like Eve”,
“Don’t get deceived and make us eat the forbidden fruit” these are Biblical
allusions crafted from the Bible for emphasis and to show the lady with an
example follies committed by a woman in a relationship, so that she (the
woman) can reflect on the painful consequences that can befall their
relationship as a result of her moral weaknesses.
“Sarafina” (7)
Thew artist refers to a story he had been given by the father for the sake of
emphasis.

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My father had taught me to say thank you, if Im given food
and am satisfied I say thank you for food
If I will be shown nice love I say thank you
And after you have eaten food and your clams I tell you thank
you

“Ngoro Ciao nĩ Ndwaru” “Their Hearts are Sick” (12)

In the desert on their way to Canaan
The told Moses its better Egypt
There was pumpkin here is only hunger
They forgot miracles that had been performed for them

This is an allusion from the Bible where the political situation is compared
with the story of the children of Israel on their way to Canaan. This is done
for emphasis since after the death of KANU regime Kenyans after sometime
wished for the same governance, like the children of Israel telling Moses to
take them back to Egypt.
“Nyũmba Mwĩnaũ” “Our People with Whom are you” (14)
…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..
Which were shown Nebuchadnezzar in the wall of the house
………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

After John preached to the Israel about the living God

This is to compare the political situation with Biblical characters John and
Nebuchadnezzar. This emphasizes the ill fated nature of lack of political
good will in our leaders without being radical rather ascribing to a more
critical perspective of looking at our political situation.

“Ndeto Ciao Itihinyaga” “Their Stories Never End” (21)

The song open with a biblical allusion which serves to show that human
arrogance traces its roots back to the time of Noah. This is effective in
emphasizing the same character in today’s generation.
“Urathi wa ma” “True Prophesy” (23)
Who has ever heard the story of those hyenas?
Which the pied crow dragged into the sky for a feast
They held on her fail then the feather got unplaced
Kariuki of Kiarutara and I discovered so early

Here De’ Mathew cites a Kikuyu oral narrative to emphasize men’s greed
which is compared with that of the hyenas which were trickled by the pied
crow to go for a feast in the skies. They thought the white clouds are
chunks of fat meat. This is very effective in warning these men who are all
after a good looking lady whom they know little about.

“Kĩgũtha kĩa Ngai” “God’s whip” (31)

Here God is seen to avenge for the weak and to punish the wicked.
If slapped, turn the other cheek
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………………………………………………………………………………….
You will be avenged for twice

Biblical allusions for emphasis

“Mundu wina rwake” “One with his own issues” (33)
Njogu son of Njoroge, do you read about Jesus when he was on
earth

This is a dramatic introduction to set induction.

Wanjiru of Ngogu do you read the bible and learn

The farmer who was sowing long ago during plant season
Those that fell on the edges gave him no harvest
But those that feel on dry land were a total waste

This is a Biblical reference for emphasis.

“Mũndũ wathĩ Ndaiganagĩra” “Earthly People Never Get Contented”

(32)
After Adam was given a fertile land full of fruits
And the power to rule all the animals there in
Imagine he never got satisfied, he ate the cursed tree
Intending to become wise like God stead instead he became
cursed
This is a Biblical reference for emphasis.

METAPHOR
“Mugunda wa Ngoro Yakwa” “Garden of my Heart” (1)
These children of ours are God’s blessings
The persona calls children “God’s blessings”. This serves to emphasize the
perception as special beings.

“Nĩtũgakena” “We shall be Happy” (2)

And also he is aware of the much I treasure you, your are my

tap root
The lover is compared with a tree’s taproot without which it cannot stand.
This serves to illuminate the power the persona accords his wife, without
whom he cannot stand on his feet; to mean he cannot be complete.

“I’ll be calling you my star” to show his love.

“Prayers are food for people, once they are living
together.” This signals a final remark in his speech.

“Hoya Wendo” “Ask me for love” (5)

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“You don’t have some where to grow, come I give you a garden
in my heart” here love is seen as something that can be planted like
seeds –which the lady has but has nowhere to plant. The persona also
likens his heart with a garden where seeds are planted. This serves to
enhance romance in the entire discourse.

“Reke Tũtũranie” “Let Us Live Together” (9)

A sweet fruit mercy you are I was given by God
Mercy is compared with a sweet fruit. This signifies romance by comparing
her to a fruit in terms of taste, appearance, and value to human health.

“Ciũngũyũ Iria Nene” “The Big Fish” (10)

That is why you have failed to tend the tree
This is to pinpoint reckless in our leaders because of being feeble in their
leadership.

“Ithe wa Rũrĩrĩ” “Father of the Tribe” (11)

The title here God is called father, this is to signify the origin of the tribe as
having descended from God himself.
“Ngoro Ciao nĩ Ndwaru” “Their Hearts are Sick” (12)
You will not lack a Jesus you will crucify
This is also rhetorical, to warn people against betrayal or political
assassination.

“Nyũmba Mwĩnaũ” “Our People with Whom are you” (14)

Those we sent to do the shepherding
They eat the sheep including the slang
This is to avoid being too open to avoid victimization because he is
criticizing the leaders.

“Nengereria Kane” “Pass me Kane” (15)

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
I then discover, one strength of the tribe has been lost
This signifies political assassination.

“Ndeto Ciao Itihinyaga” “Their Stories Never End” (21)

These are the same children of Israel who were in the desert
They insulted Moses and told him
Its better Egypt, there was pumpkins
This is to emphasize the discontentment members of the society have. It is
magnified by company it with that disregard the children of Israel had in
the bible- after they were taken from Egypt, while in the wilderness.

“Urathi wa ma” “True Prophesy” (23)

The seriousness of the theme in this song is clinched by use of a metaphor
“There is a monster in the goats pen” this signals danger and

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hence the need for one to observe morals. The monster in this case is
HIV/AIDS.

“Thiĩ biu” “Go for good” (30)

“You called me a rained on basket” this portrays the lady’s abusive
tongue, pride and arrogance.

“Ngai Wĩrehe” “God Bring yourself” (37)

There is a church baram is hiding oh God
It convinces the audiences by alluding to the Bible. Evil in the church is
called Baram refer to the Baram in the Bible.

“Kĩũra Kĩnene” “Big frog” (39)

The title of this song is metaphorical. The woman in the song is regarded
as a big frog. This serves to paint the image of deception which one gets on
seeing a beautiful woman. One thinks she is equally morally upright but in
most cases this is not the case. The persona here thus uses the metaphor
to warn men against the weakness of judging human character from the
character’s appearance. This is compared with catching a frog instead of a
fish. Only to get home and encounter the big surprise.

PROVERBS
“Reke Ngũtaare” “Let me advice you” (4)
“Axes in the same basket never fails to knock each other” to
mean people living together never fails to differ but this should not draw
them apart. Hence the differences “we” face in relationships should not
make us separate but lead to greater understanding between couples.

“Marĩĩre Njaro” “Legerdemain” (6)

“Friendship is salvaged by visiting one another” this is to ratify
the need to visit the persona in his house.

“Nitũrĩane Matu” “Let Us Discuss” (9)

A disease worsens if its diagnosis fails, used for emphasis that
there is no problem without a solution.
Used for fore grounding purposes “an accident does not have a
hero” “Dirty linens are not washed in public” this is aphoristic.

“Ciũngũyũ Iria Nene” “The Big Fish” (10)

When it is thrown to the ground
It can resist to be branded
This is to imply that change is inevitable.
‘Ngoro Ciao nĩ Ndwaru” “Their Hearts are Sick” (12)
This is for emphasis that is, “better the devil you know than an
angel you don’t know”

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“Ngai Tũrangĩre” “God Guard Us” (13)
This serves to encourage those who are suffering especially after 2007
general elections mostly the IDPs “ĩtarĩ gĩtong’oe ihuragwo mĩndwĩ ndomba
nĩ Ngai” “an animal without a tail is whisked off the flies by
God” Here it is implied that God restores the suffering who have no one to
wipe their tears.
“Nyũmba Mwĩnaũ” “Our People with Whom are You” (14)
This means you contradicted yourselves rather put in flowery Kikuyu
to sound mild despite the pinching truth addressed.
“Nengereria Kane” “Pass me Kane”
The fleas finish the slain by a bite
This serves to give the song a dramatic opening and to foreground the
infolding episode.

“Kĩmuhe Kabuuri” “Give Her a Grave” (18)

The chorus opens with a proverb for emphasis “when a knife becomes
too sharp, it cuts the owner” other proverbs another proverb used
for similar effect is. “Better a crooked piece of stick than a
crooked person”.

“Niũndukanĩirie” “You have concocted for me” (22)

Truly John the year of the hyena one doesn’t beg from others
And misfortunes destroy the shield as it comes
The song opens with these two proverbs. This serves to set induction. It
draws the audiences’ interest to follow the rest of the message as the song
unfolds.

“Nitũmũgocithie” “Let’s Praise Him” (27)

The frogs eyes never scaes the cattle from drinking
Being laughed at is not being emphasized by the hyena
I will never stop telling people poverty is not a bus
“Purity” (28)
An old farm has harvest oh purity
One returns to an old wife in tears
This is to emphasize the content
“Thiĩ biu” “Go for good” (30)
One sick of over feeding, whom can he blame
This serves to sharply point at the woman’s wrongs so that she can see her
mistakes.
“Mũndũ wathĩ Ndaiganagĩra” “Earthly People Never Get Contented”
(32)
“The neck will never go above the head” This is applied to mean
that human beings can never be superior to god.
“Kĩũra Kĩnene” “Big frog” (39)
“If you are bitten by a snake you runaway when you see a rope”
this serves to emphasize the warning message inherent since in previous

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stanzas we learn that the persona has also been a victim of female
exploitation.

“Kihara” “Bald head” (40)

Respect is not bought with money
This is to give the song a strong introduction that sets induction so as to
arouse the listener interest.

SAYINGS
“Njata Yakwa” “My Star” (3)
Truly before one finds his choice, one kisses many peels
This serves to add emphasize that it is hard to find a life partner who
suits one’s dreams.

“Hoya Wendo” “Ask me for Love” (5)

“Every intelligent person has an ease of understanding” this is a
popular saying in kikuyu used to encourage one to unravel coded
information in a given message so that one can interpreter for him/herself
what he/she is being told.

“Reke Tũtũranie” “Let Us Live Together” (9)

“Someone’s luck never passes him”
“Distant waters never quench thirst” and “too much waiting
breeds anxiety”

“Thiĩ biu” “Go for good” (30)

“My children are still in my feet” to means one has not fathered.

IMAGERY
“Reke Ngũtaare” “Let me advice you” (4)

Axes in the same basket never fail to knock each other

Here a home is likened to a basket. This is to show the inevitability of
differences between people living under the same roof.

“Hoya Wendo” “Ask me for love” (5)

“If you want to know the way pass through me you will know it”
here the word road is used to imply love. This indirect reference serves for
euphemism purpose so that the persona can avoid being two open in order
to be decorous in his speech. This is an enhancement of morals by use of
figurative language.

“Sarafina” (7)
If I were you sarafina, I would close my ears with cotton
wool and super glue
To mean I would keep myself off from listening to gossip.
“Reke Tũtũranie” “Let Us Live Together” (9)
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Gikuyu said for waters never quenches thirst
This juxtaposes generosity versus selfishness. It evolves the need to care
and to be sensitive about others.
“Ciũngũyũ Iria Nene” “The Big Fish” (10)
The big fish can first feed on grass
The small fish are finished in the sea
Like the fish that swallowed Jonah
When we get to Nineveh it is a must it will be made to
confess

“Ithe wa Rũrĩrĩ” “Father of the Tribe” (11)

We first ask for the healing of the rashes we were
Put by the colonizers

In case they make noise and disturb the country’s peace

Here social problems are compared with a cloud. This is to vivify of the
inherent message.
Those who tend your flock now are shepherds of money
This is for satirical purpose.

“Ngai Tũrangĩre” “God Guard Us” (13)

And the river over floods and blood is still
In the nail of the hypocrites
This signifies the worsening of a situation. Coding the language makes it
poetic and emphatic.
“Nyũmba Mwĩnaũ” “Our People with Whom are You” (14)
The boy of the house should bring
Here tribal leaders are concealed and referred to indirectly. This is to avoid
being too open and hence the political theme in the song becomes artistic
rather than bias prejudice. It also helps to associate different Kikuyu
politicians with the imagery hence enriching its meaning by diversifying its
plausible meaning(s).
A fig tree has fallen in Gatanga
This is to dramatically imply the end of the KANU regime.

“Urathi wa ma” “True Prophesy” (23)

Here a woman is compared with fertile plains. Some men who are attracted
towards her are fore warned since they are all attracted towards her.
Stanza one this is termed as drinking from the same calabash (chorus) the
effectiveness of this is to pass the moral message at the same time being
decorous.

“Ngũkũ ya Gũkua” “A Dying Hen” (26)

I had smeared your body with far
Dipped you in money but it didn’t stick on you
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If I gave you “mikengeria” you asked for grass
And when I cook for you green maize your could ask for dried
ones
This is to heighten the exaggeration
God is great, he that saw me
In the river drawing water with a sieve
He gave me a rope I had a string
Now things are a bit better
This is to express futility of the personas endeavors to control his lover.

“Thakame ĩria yaitirwo” “The blood that was shed” (36)

Don’t your children pain you, your cows and the goats?
They were destroyed by the clumb
Our land we had sweat for
And are were chased away and you say
We lie like an envelope after the enemies have eaten

This is used to conceal the propagandist message in the song

“Kĩũra Kĩnene” “Big frog” (39)

This is in the chorus where the personal describes an animal which is a
linguistic cross breed of a frog and a chameleon. We may look at this as
surrealism since such an animal does not exist in the world of reality. The
chameleon in the animal is metaphorically employed to explain the
changing faces of human characters plausible in immoral people. This is
the hypocrisy that marks human behaviour in most people. The frog is the
deceptive end product of such a character. This style is effective in the way
it articulates these abstract qualities of the human character. It thus
effectively serves to illuminate on these weaknesses which define most of
human character and behaviour.

SYMBOLISM
“Reke Ngũtaare” “Let me advice you” (4)
“Let me go back to work and may they not follow me as I go”.
This is a prayer meant to beseech God to protect the persona and his
wealth from the evils that cause poverty. (To follow him as he goes in
Kikuyu is implied to mean to become poor) Here, the animals are perceived
as having left the compound. The mood and tone of the persona in this line
denotes the explanation above when these words are put in vernacular.

“Ciũngũyũ Iria Nene” “The Big Fish” (39)

“All that you have swallowed is in your tummies”
Swallowing in this context is used to imply that you are conscience of all
this, the symbolism inherent is thus terms of being conscience.

“Nengereria Kane” “Pass me Kane” (15)

Young women are only complaining

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As they ask where the sower of the seed will come

This is to echo pains in kikuyu women due to the inability of their young
men the reproduce sexually because of too much illicit brew. This serves to
heighten the drama encompassed in the song.

“Nyeki” “Grass” (29)

Because I will not afford to inhale the smell of beer
You know our family has a curse we don’t drink
And I don’t have the strength to fight for you with men
My strength is for tending my children till they mature
This is to paint the possibility of future problems which he must work
hard to avert.
“Mundu Wina Rwake” “One with his own issues” (33)
Yes Njoki of Ndegwa tell them
That one with his own issues
He is injured by the garment of his own wife
Dies and leaves her behind
This serves to give voice to evil forces which reside in human beings.

Gikuyu said a deep end in a river, is first tested its depth

with a stick
Before putting our feet
Because the most calm part in a river is the
One that drowns someone

This is aphoristic to give moral advice.

I will never forget Kabeu Kamau son of Kibicoi

He told me he is not a fool to hunt an elephant with a
walking stick
This is poetic to imply that one is aware of his limitations as a human
being.

RHETORICAL DEVICES
“Nĩtũgakena” “We shall be Happy” (2)
The devil knows what is in your heart
Rhetoric invocation
This creates suspense, and calls for one to deeply contemplate upon the
message of the persona. This is to draw the listener towards the thesis of
the importance of them sticking together, and the achievement they will
make as time goes.

Rhetorical devices
Autro; this is for emphasis and to use examples as a convincing tool that is
“Like son of Mũthoni, with his sweet heart” “Or Mũriithi, and
his darling”

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 “Sarafina” (7)
Have you heard Maureen father, if your will be given
Sweet love or food till you are satisfied, say thank you
Used for emphasis at the Autro of the song.

“Ithe wa Rũrĩrĩ” “Father of the Tribe” (11)

Preachers of money, God come and don’t send any one

And peevish them with a stone
That they may not mislead the people
That they may stop our prayers before reaching you
Let’s cleanse our selves
We reconcile, so that God can listen to our prayers
This comes at the end of the song for emphasis. This part is not sung
rather spoken.
“Ngoro Ciao nĩ Ndwaru” “Their Hearts are Sick” (12)
Rhetorical questions
In Kenya who owns the big farms
This is to put emphasis of the yawning gap between the rich and the poor
in this country in terms of land ownership.
“Nyũmba Mwĩnaũ” “Our People with Whom are you” (14)
Rhetorical question
The title is a question to invite critical introspection into the violence the
Kikuyu faced in Rift Valley.

Rhetorical devices
De’ Mathew, mine is only to mention
As they seek the leadership of this country
Let them first give the squatters land
Those that measure as big as nyanza
And the preachers seeking leadership should tell us first
Who is the owner of the children?
They should first cleanse themselves

Uttered not sang at the end of the song to tie up the message in the song.
This invokes the audiences to think critically about the issue discussed. It
also helps the artist to emphasize his argument.

SIMILIES
“Nĩtũgakena” “We shall be Happy” (2)
“He could not hate me seeing you like a sac” to convince the lady
and win her heart when she believes in what he is saying.

“Reke Ngũtaare” “Let me advice you” (9)

“When I hear that, I develop roots like a tree planted near a
river” this services to show the effectiveness of the ladies words to the
man. This rejuvenates his spirit to face bad times.
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 “Hoya Wendo” “Ask me for love” (5)
“… and I know my songs are entering you like an injection”
this is for aesthetic effect.
“Ithe wa Rũrĩrĩ” “Father of the Tribe” (11)
All the activities we commit ourselves with like a squirrel
Human hassling is likened to what of the squirrel. This is for emphasis

“Mwĩhũgũro” “Head Turning” (19)

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..
Then I heard him start make noises like a hen
………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
He was opening his mouth like a spanner

This is to vivify the picturesque created in the song.

“Mũoyo ti Kĩbandi” “Life is not an ID” (25)

You drag me like the cubins of a train
“Thiĩ biu” “Go for good” (30)
“Remember how you were famous like Karatina buses”
“Kĩũra Kĩnene” “Big frog” (39)
We have been munched and left like the leftovers of sugar
cane
And looking at her, she pretends holly like Virgin Mary
These explain the hypocritical nature in this woman.

FOIL
“Nĩtũgakena” “We shall be Happy” (2)
Foil
Looking at you I see you are the one that was born for me
And all this, the devil was aware
And he can’t hate I be seeing you like a sac
Because he loves coughing at (people [mine])
Far far that is where you find him
Destroying the works of God
The mention of Satan and his malice is used to foil the goodness of God’s
intent in uniting the personal and his lover.

IRONY
“Marĩĩre Njaro” “Legerdemain” (6)
Climax
“They fight a fire in the neighborhood while their own homes
are burning”
This serves to ridicule those people who pretend they understand other
people’s problems yet they are going through the same. The moral lesson

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here in is for the lover to open her mind so as to be cautious of people who
break and spoil relationship with vile.
4.3.1 “Ciũngũyũ Iria Nene” “The Big Fish” (10)

The Kenyan public had really fattened

A lot of this oil you have harvested
I want you to know; now that have lost weight
You can teach yourselves to eat un-fried food

This is to ridicule corrupt leaders

The horses drawing the wheat curt

Should now be taught to harvest without eating
We see if the food stores will have something
At least for our descendants to have a future
This is for ridicule.

“Kĩmuhe Kabuuri” “Give Her a Grave” (18)

The major style in this song is irony. It is a very ironical song where the
persona ridicules the mother of a lady who has died of Aids. The style is
effective since it captures the mother’s recklessness in failing to foreworn
the daughter who takes up on prostitution.
The persona is satirical in his tone. He ridicules the mother because she
was enjoying and benefiting from the daughters prostitution. Now it is her
time to provide her with a grave.
This style is effective in capturing effectively the moral degradation sine it
helps the artist to make the song sound satirical. Satire here serves to
illuminate the consequences of immorality

“Ndereba Rugama” “Driver Stop” (20)

This song infuses humour and drama to show how people cheat on their
wives. The persona is able to see through his character mind as he plots
how he will go home and cheat the wife after spending a night in a
“mũgithi night”. Here humour is used to capture wickedness of the human
soul. The persona is laughing at the articulated social follies which the
song explicates.
“Mũoyo ti Kĩbandi” “Life is not an ID” (25)
I thought if I would be thrown into prison
You could stand in the court and beg we be imprisoned
together
Because of the way you cry for me oh John my sweetie
So a luggage becomes heavier after spending a night alone
This is to show the hypocrisy in this woman where she feigns love but in
the real sense she does not love the husband.
“Thiĩ biu” “Go for good” (30)
This is a very ironical song. Here irony is expressed as a weapon to deal
blows to the lady within the song.
What has made you so thin? Where did the calves go
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You look like “cucu was njoka” (a grey bird that feeds on
beetles from the cows doing) mine
Now who can get attracted to you?
You insulted me that I look like a basket that has been
rained on

3.1 Performance
Willoughby David in The World of Music observes that the performance
process is interpretive. Its goal usually is to adhere as closely as possible
to the intentions of the creator. Within certain styles, however, the
performer may deliberately deviate from the creative work. Performance
thus has its own creative element, intentional or unintentional. Performers
will sometimes interpret a piece of music on the basis of deliberate choices;
but at other times they will follow their musical instincts. Performance of
popular music for example, performs a melody by adding their personal
interpretations, within stylistic limitations.

Within this premise therefore this section carries out a critical analysis of
De’ Mathew’s non linguistic performance techniques which the artists
employs as a means of enriching his verbal text. This section brings to
bear the fact that gestures used by an artist during a performance are
symbolic and bears semantic functions related to the entire performance
as a discourse. The credibility of a performance in terms of quality
therefore can be said to be defined by the relationship between the oral
text and the accompanying non verbal texts where the two function in
tandem.

This section therefore looks at the relationship between the text meaning
and the non verbal texts. We look at how the artist uses facial expression;
eyes, lips, general facial contortions; hands movements; legs; other body
languages; props and costumes in order to bring new meanings to bear on
the one hand and on the other hand as a means of making explicit
meaning permeated in the oral text.

At an interpretation level therefore, this section sheds light on how the

performance as a social functions, serves as a vehicle through which the
society peers into its own conscience via the performance space. I posit
that through the performance, the society is able to look at itself, take
stock of its moral conscience in terms of (strengths and weaknesses) and
hence critique its rights and its wrongs.

The performance space thus serves as a cultural tool for societal self
improvement. In this case therefore, the society is able to celebrate its
achievement, transmit its norms to younger generations and at the same

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time draw attention to social weaknesses that the members need to
ameliorate.

I observe that performance in this content is an enactment of societal

assessment of the self against a universal moral scale of human values in
order to address itself to matters defining humanity, which each member
needs to uphold.

In this analysis therefore performance expressions, are classified in two

levels, one, conscious expression (intentional) and two, unconscious
expression which are non-intentional. I observe that an artist is capable of
eliciting two levels of semantic expressions during a performance and
which reveal a lot about the meanings inherent in a song on the one hand.
On the other hand, it reveals the different semantic associations an artist
is capable of making in terms of the levels through which one identifies
with the inner semantics of the song. This notion is underpinned on the
context that a song and how one responds to it are two entities that are
independent of one another.

I define conscious expressions as those non linguistics body gestures and

facial expressions which an artist makes consciously during a
performance. That is, the artist is fully aware of the facial expression one
is employing during a performance in addition to other body languages.

I classify non-verbal expressive texts into two broad categories. One, what I
call conscious expressions and two, unconscious expressions.
Unconscious expressions on the other hand are non-intended gestures
facial or otherwise, which an artist expresses during a performance rather
unconsciously and which in my view can assist the critic to uncover
concealed meanings encompassed within a performance. My argument
here is that during a performance an artist selectively chooses the facial
expressions one wants to give the audience by one’s choice of (conscious
expression) while at the same time suppressing/censoring (particular
personal/private attitudes) which one bears as a private point of view.
Unconscious expression define attitudes and stand points which an artist
may want to hide from the audience, however, through a critical
explication of the unconscious gestures and expressions the critic can peer
into the private conscious of the artist. This can shed light in underscoring
the silences plausible in a work of art at performance level.

In the analysis of facial expressions, this analysis defines its basis on

Matsumoto D. and Ekman P. research and findings on facial expression
analysis. The two in their respective works acknowledge that facial
movement, are specialized for expression. They observe that facial
behaviours are used for various functions. These include: speech
illustration; conservation regulations; emblematic gestures; that is,
(movements that symbolically give verbal meaning that can be conveyed by
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words) such as happiness, sadness and doubt, cognition’ for example,
furrowing of brows when concentrating, talking and eating; emotion
signaling; and expressive regulations this is the use of facial muscles to
regulate our emotion signals.

This research is limited to the analysis of emblematic gestures, emotion

signaling and expressive regulations. This is because this study
acknowledges the three functions as the most essential since they are the
ones an artist employs most during a performance. This proposition is also
informed by Darwin’s claim that facial expression are the residual actions
of more complete behavioral responses, and occur in combination with
other bodily responses-vocal, pastoral, gestural, skeletal muscles
movements and physiological responses.

(Masumoto: 2001) observes that “… a small set of facial expression are

universally recognized … and that when emotions are aroused, the same
facial expressions of emotions are reliably produced by people all around
the world and from all walks of life.” Ekman and Friesen, 1986, also
observe that facial expressions of emotion are part of a coordinated
response system that involves unique physiological signatures, specific
cognitive activities, preparation for motor behaviours and specific feelings.
They are signals of a rich, complex response system all humans have.

These observations profound as they may be in my view do not however,

account for expressions that are specific and particular to individuals
produced as a result of cultural orientations. I hereby observe that
Masumoto and Ekman’s findings greatly rely on facial expressions that to
a large extent emanate from an external stimulus. During a performance
however, an artist’s ideological standpoint, culture, subjective judgment (of
the immediate reality), prejudice (in forming one’s point of view) all can
lead to a facial expression otherwise non-universal and more particular
specific to an individual.

Reading unconscious expression as contributing factors to additional

meanings, permeated in a work of art, I observe that this can function as a
relevant point of criticism of a performance where in this case an artist’s
personal attitudes regarding the implied meanings one communicates
during a performance is revealed.

Facial expressions an artist displays when performing in front of a camera

are also different from the facial expression one produces while performing
(the same song) to a live audience. This study observes that a performance
in front of a camera is accompanied by natural facial expressions to a large
extent while a performance to a live audience is greatly influenced not only
by the semantic context envisaged within the song text but also by the
patterns of reactions the artist reads on the faces of the audiences. One
gets from the audiences. The audience’s facial expressions during a
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performance reflect back to the artist and consciously or unconsciously
influence the artist’s expressions. It thus becomes a two way traffic state of
reading interpreting and reflecting facial dialogue which permeate
semantic attitudes that a performance bring to bear.

The interpreting of expressions however relies greatly on the context. As a

result, both the audience and the artist are unconsciously involved in a
psychological filtering process where one chooses the expression to display
and which one to suppress. To use Masumoto’s words he observes that
“Human social life requires expression regulations because the non-
regulated, unadulterated expression of emotion would lead to social chaos
“… humans differ from other animals in that they have been endowed with
an elaborate set of neuroanatomical structures that allow the alteration of
the linkage between the tendency to response and the actual responses.”
With regard to facial expression of emotions these regulatory mechanisms
are known as display rules (Ekman and Friesen: 1969). As observed above,
display rules are learned early in life and dictate the management and
modification of facial expressions depending on the social circumstances.

According to Ekman and Friesen, 1969, there are seven ways in which
expressions can be regulated.
1. Expressed as is
2. Deamplified, showing less than what is actually felts
3. Neutralized, showing nothing
4. Qualified, shown with other emotions
5. Masked, concealed by showing other emotions all together
6. Amplified, shown more intensely than what is actually felt.
7. Simulated, shown when not felt at all

This study thus analyses De’ Mathew’s facial expressions, bringing to bear
the above set of regulations as points of reference in order to underscore
the meanings communicated by these expressions and motivation behind
each expression since as Masumoto observes, cultural norms for
expression differ depending on the nature of social context; there are
however, few studies that have examined exactly what these cultural
meanings are.

While performing the song “The Big Fish” for instance, John De’ Mathew is
very sarcastic in this lyrics, tone and expressions. In one instance, the
artist wears a sneering face which this study underscores as an amplified
expression. This is immediately followed by a cynical smile. This study
underscores the former as an unconscious expression which functions to
reveal the bitterness the artist harbors about these corrupt leaders.
However this expression is regulated by deamplification where the artist
chooses to show less than he actually feels (when he gets back to his
actual senses in the context of the performance). He thus masks his anger
by putting on a cynical smile. I underpin the smile as a dousing criticism
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whose aims is to ridicule and criticize these leaders because they use the
leadership positions to enrich themselves at the peril of the entire nation,
and hence he seems to imply that they do not qualify to be defined as
leaders.

Facial expressions thus function during a performance to enhance implied

meanings which are otherwise hidden or not present in the verbal text.

While performing the song “Mũgũnda wa ngoro yakwa” translated as

“Garden of my heart” (love song) the artist augments the romance
communicated in the song’s lyrics with both facial expressions and hand
movements. The artist points at is heart with one hand holding the
microphone with the other and finally touches his chest next to the heart.
As he does this, he closes his eyes while singing the phrase. “Take now
this garden of my heart”

I observe that the artist touches his heart when mentioning concepts that
elicit emotions and hence deserving to be identified with by way of feeling. I
interpreted the closing of the eyes as a trope whose function is to
transcend the sensibilities of the lady implied in the song so that she can
identify with the personal sincerity and hence accept to take his love. The
artist in this context hence seems to transcend from the immediate reality
defining the context of the performance into a more psychological reality
encompassed within the song and its deeper semantic essence. He thus
closes his eyes to disconnect with the live audience in order to connect
deeply with the songs inner fictional reality which is very emotional and
philosophical at the same time. I observe that while the former articulate
the poetic reality of the performance, the latter serves to articulate the
sincerity of the performance. I interpret this to mean therefore that the
artist is not making a mechanical performance rather that his creative and
artistic expressions—during the performance—emanate from his inner
being.

The artist in addition uses his hands to seek for the audiences appeal. He
does this by stretching his hands towards the audience and establishing
strong eye context. This he does in a manner to beg the audience to side
with what he is saying. These gestures accompany semantic contexts
which the artist expresses as he conceives them. W observed that these
gestures accompanied contestable sections and arguments which an artist
may articulate during a performance.

During the performance, the artist uses dancers on stage for various
functions. First, the dancers serve to make the performance enjoyable with
their choreographed dance moves. This serves also to give the audiences
cues on dance movements that can accompany the song. The audiences
copy the dance movements of the stage dancers, and are thus able to take

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part in the performance in an active engagement by taking part in the
dancing.

Secondly, the stage dancers serve to enact coded messages within the song
text. While dancing to the song “Nengereria Kane” translated as “Pass me
Kane” for instance the artist comments on the effect of over indulgence in
too much intake of strong spirits which has rendered most young men in
central Kenya’s province impotent. This message is coded in the song text
but during the performance, the dancers enact the inability of such men to
father children by using both male and female dancers. The dance moves
suggest love making but towards the phrase that implies inability to
performs, the male dancers (who dance, each behind a bending a female
dancer) retreats away from the bending female dancer and the act of love
making enacted by the male swinging their waists forward and backwards
is replaced by a dance move that implies the staggering manner in which a
drank walks a he staggers home. In this move, the male dancers jump-
backwards-away from the ladies, then their right foot trip over their left
foot and they all in unison fall towards their right side—the way a drank
trips and falls to the grounds; but before they get to the ground they take
on the next dance move.

In addition to the dance movements, the artist uses a variety of costumes,

props and stage lighting techniques for a variety of reasons. De’ Mathew’s
choice of costumes is largely determined by the occasion, time of the
performance and the choice of audiences. When making live performances
in clubs at night, the artist dresses in colourful western shiny “metallic”
attire which makes him appear unique to the audiences in addition to
giving him that pop artist look. These clothes respond well to the disco
lighting system since they contribute in giving the artist a carnivore
semblance which fits the occasion.

During the day, different choice of costumes defines the artists wear. For
instance, when performing in very formal occasions the artist dresses in a
full suit which this study underscores as defined by the seriousness which
such a function falls for. However, in formal occasions the artist dresses in
Kaunda suits. In less formal occasions, he dresses in artistic attires while
in very informal occasions he dresses in casual clothes which are defined
by a golfer’s cap, short sleeved un-tacked shirt and a casual trouser. This
however is not the case in the other three classes of occasions mentioned
above where the artist uses a cowboy’s Stetson and not the cap.

The dancers on the other hand colour their hair including men, and dress
in decorated trousers. This serves for aesthetic effect and to vivify and
emphasize the choreographed dance movements.

The choice of costumes therefore aids the artist in defining the mood and
atmosphere of the performance. In some cases, instance of melodrama are
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aided by the choice of customs. For instance during the performance of the
song “Mwĩhũgũro” translated as “Turning the head” we observed that the
artist uses ladies dressed in very seductive costumes hence revealing all
the details of their sexual organs in order to capture the prevailing
fashions of dressing which deters men from other things to concentrate on
the women and their body details.

While the text of the song makes a commentary on this mode of dressing
defined by miniskirts and hip stars, the artist uses a real woman who is
dressed in this manner. I look at the lady in this occasion as a prop that
aids the artist to vivify his message during the performance. While the text
understates these modes of dressing, the artistic prop on the other hand is
hyperbolic.

We thus can construe that manner of dressing–as seen within popular

culture fashions as dressing codes-espouse particular ideological
underpinnings when perceived from a semiotic contexts and encompasses
political aesthetic devices within their semantic discourse. This notion is
reasonable by tracing these modes of fashion wear within particular
cultural contexts, on the one hand, and on the other as premises of highly
politicized dialogic of global populism.

An artist’s choice of costumes therefore identifies with, and defines ones

ideological standpoint regarding a particular social problem. We thus can
summarize De’ Mathew’s costumes as dressing codes as follows: the full
suit as an official wear reflect images of the bourgeoisie who are the
makers of social sensibilities. He thus dresses in a suit to articulate social
concerns definable within the context of class power. This is evidenced in
most political songs. The casual wear defined by checked short sleeved
shirts define images of the workers and /or the providers of labour.

So when the artist wants to reach out to the respective members of each of
these classes be adopts their mode of dressing. The dancers in jeans, and
hip stars finally can be read as the images of the liminals and the
proletariats in fact even in De’ Mathew’s songs these class of people is seen
providing their labour by acting as his dancers.

When performing very emotive songs like “Ngai Tũrangire” and “Nyamba
Mwinaũ?” translated as “God Guard Us” and “Who is with you our people”
respectively, the choice of Kaunda suit as a costume aids the artist in
making concessions. This argument is tenable because of the militant
mood conveyed by the text meaning since these two songs are political
commentaries on the ethnic killings that ensued after the two thousand
and seven general elections. The mood of the songs is solemn and painful
however, the costumes during the performance help the artists to
neutralize and hence lessen the effect conveyed by the mood and tension
in the text.
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The musical accompaniment this study observed also plays a very critical
role during a performance. Some musical instruments in this case the
snare drum and the lead guitar signal the beginning of a song. A change in
the drums tempo also signals the onset of the climax, the melodic
ensemble thus helps in the graphing of the unfolding episodes of a song. In
this case the melody acts as pointers to the artist and the dancers in their
executions of their theatricals where the climax of the message, the climax
of the song and the climax of the performance determines the body
movements in terms of frequency, rate, and overall behavioural patterns of
an artist’s body language.

The accompaniment hence act to heighten the dramatic action and hence
influence the audiences to share in the artists mood and feeling at the
same time, it functions to psych the artist to give out his best at different
stages of the song’s performance. The accompaniment in this case serves
to add to a songs audio aesthetic effect where a variety of musical
instruments functions to draw and elicit particular emotional responses in
the minds of both the artist and the audience. This defines the catharsis of
a performance where both the artist and the audience finally transcend to
a more subtle, ritualistic reality which defines the psychic reality of a
performance which exists outside the physical world as they are engulfed
by the frenzy of the performance.

During performance and especially towards the creation of this fictional

reality; the lighting system colours the performance thus defining a
fictional transcendence that reflect and identifies itself with the song inner
fantasy.

This study also observed that out of the many songs De’ Mathew has sung,
choice of songs which he sings during live performances are determined by
the context including the choice of audiences. The accompanying gestures
also vary with the time. Explicit gestures are incorporated while
performing songs with much coded messages at night. This applies to love
songs where choice of audience such as children force the artist to censor
some indicative gestures which he otherwise employs without fear at night
in clubs where all the audiences are over eighteen.

While the artist does his best to entertain the audience we observed that
the audiences on their part take an active participatory role during a
performance. The audiences engage the artist by cheering, clapping,
smiling at the artist, echoing song phrases and dancing along. In most
instances they join the artist in singing sensational stanzas especially the
chorus when the artist sings a familiar song. Towards the climax of a song,
the audiences take part in the dancing and copies movements employed by
the stage dancers and occasionally a few members of the audience may

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join the artist on the stage. If he is singing to familiar audiences, he may
also call out the names of some of the audiences.

We thus conclude that a performance is both a physical and a

psychological cultural engagement site via which the artist and the
audiences transcend into a ritualistic metafictional world only definable
within the context of their performance space. Body actions in response
music or song is an act of how the human flesh is affected by the
particular music as a form of energy or an impulse that acts upon both the
human flesh and the human mind.

A song in this context is an entire body of a metaphysical reality

empowered with meaning and its effect upon humans is reflected by how
humans respond to a given song. Music or song’s effect upon the human is
manifested within the human conscience and the bodily actions (in form of
dance-or otherwise) are not an interpretation of such music but a body
response as a result of how the human flesh feels affected by the song. An
interpretation of a song involves more than simple body movements and
encompasses an entire universe of meaning. Most of the dance movements
dancers employ today acquire them by copying and adapting from other
cultures and not by engaging with the deeper semantics of what a song
entails. Dance movements as a result emerge as the body commodifies the
song and chooses what to respond to and what not to respond to. The
totality of a song during it composition and performance this study
observes transcends beyond any physical reality evincible by the human
flesh in its entire physical manner.

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 Use of Technology
3.2
Means of Storage and Dissemination
INTRODUCTION
Traditionally songs and others forms of oral literature were purely
composed from peoples mind. An artist could pick on an existing story and
from it he/she make a song. Others could craft a song from a dialogue or
from other experiences that marked one’s life. The aims of this study
however is not to look at the intricacies of song composition rather our
point of departure is to look at a song as a social product intended to fulfill
a given social function(s). This could be to entertain, educate, inform or
inculcate moral values—in the context of the songs studied here in.

Traditionally, these songs existed but the manner of recording,

documenting and disseminating was limited to an individual’s ability to
observe remember and report. The performance was thus stored in ones
memory and disseminated orally. With the advent of technology this has
changed significantly. This is because the modern artist exploits
technological advancement which was not there traditionally to enrich
his/her creativity.

This chapter examines how the modern oral artist uses modern
technology, as evidenced in the songs of John De’ Mathew to enrich his
art. This is observed at various levels; these include: recording,
documentation and dissemination.

Technology here is defined as the use of manmade electronic equipment to

improve on oral creativity at the level of recording, documentation and
dissemination, on the one hand, and as a means of generating secondary
themes and styles on the other hand. (Mbugua:2008) observes that “. . .
visual recording is a critical aspect of ongoing transformative cultural
innovation in which the VCD form has come to impact significantly on
popular musicians’ ability to influence viewers self/other perceptions.(1)

Recording and Documentation of Oral Texts

As observed earlier, traditional artist relied on non technical tools to record
their oral performance. Mbugua wa Mungai observes that “a key argument
is that visual recording is a critical aspect of ongoing transformative
cultural innovation in which the VCD form has come to impact
significantly on popular musicians ability to influence viewers/others
perceptions”.(1)

De ‘Mathew uses digital cameras to capture his performances. This in

addition adds to the former audio tapes mode of recording the songs for
posterity uses. Unlike the traditional artist, he thus no longer relies solely
on his memory to recall lines and verses in his songs. The audiences on
the one hand can trust their memory while on the other hand they can
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obtain the recorded songs texts for future use from music shops. Hence
they are able to re-visit the performances later either via the audio tapes,
audio CDS, VCDs or DVDs.

This technology has afforded the popular artist the most exhaustive means
of documenting his performances. Consequently, there is no more loss of
data and original oral performance(s) resulting from (death of an artist),
both at biological or performance level.

There is no more losing of lines, stanzas or melodic contour which

traditionally could have resulted from memory lapse. Technology has thus
enabled the capturing of a song’s tune and the entire melodic text which
the printed text leaves out as one transcribes the song.

The use of the VCD and DVD has enabled the capturing of the visual
performance. The audience can thus—in the absence of the artist--
(through the VCD and DVD) identify with the artists gesticulations, facial
expressions, body language and dance movements like a live performance.
This technology has thus enabled the artist to capture his performances
which aids in analysis of performance of popular songs in academic
circles, provides the audiences with the forum for re-enactment of a
specific performance and also serves as a storage means for posterity in
order to serve the needs of future generations.

Such functions for instance include; preservation of culture. Through

some of the songs, for instance, “Nguku ya Gukua” De’ Mathew
contributes in the preservation of Kikuyu culture; this is seen in the video
where the audiences see what “githuri” is. Languages grow adopt new
words and drop old vocabularies. Through a proverb, in the second line of
the chorus, it is stated that a dying chicken must die even if you give it
“githuri”.

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This is not a common Gikuyu term and thus it is not in every day usage by
Kikuyu speakers hence a few people especially the young generation may
not know what “githuri” is. Consequently the terms as a vocabulary would
die and with time the future generation would not know what the artist
meant. But through the video the artist displays the plant called “githuri”
that is Aloe Vera. To mean a dying chicken must die even if you give it aloe
vera. Here we thus see the use of technology helping the artist to preserve
culture by preserving such words through the song and enriching the
language of his audiences by using rare words. This serves to meet the
function of an artist as a teacher in addition to being an entertainer.
Technology is thus here seen, aiding the popular artist to elaborate his
language and storing the same explanations for future generations.

Dissemination
Brummet observes that most of our communication today is visual. (70)
The popular artist as a result packages his/her product to fit in the social
taste of the present society. He/she thus packages his oral art using both
visual and audio technology in order to (a) reach wider audiences and (b)
to be relevant to the prevailing fashion(s); of manner expression in which
artistic products like songs are consumed today.
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John De’ Mathew as an artist has exploited this technology in various
ways. Today De’ Mathew packages his songs in all the four electronic form.
These are: the audio tapes, the audio CDs, the VCD and the DVD. In
addition, he disseminates his songs in soft copy form via the internet. His
music is thus available in Cites such as U-tube which markets popular
culture artistic products globally.

The traditional artist relied on invited occasions where he/she could avail
him/her self to perform. Today the popular artist in addition to giving live
shows uses technology as enlisted above to reach wider audiences.

One of the major functions of popular music today is to pass coded moral
lessons in addition to entertainment. De Mathew has diversified the
accessibility of his songs by availing his music in all the above forms. Each
of his albums is available locally and internationally in any of the
electronic forms listed above.
This enables the artist to reach greater numbers of audiences. The poplar
artist, like the traditional artist earns his daily bread from his oral
preferences. Finnegan (1970) observes that traditionally we had court
poets, free lance poets, wondering poets and part time poets. From this
premise, one can classify John De Mathew as a social commentator who
would fit as a free lance poet.

As a social commentator he thus strives to reach the masses in all

manners possible. Mbugua observes that the popular artist (like the
traditional seers) is the modern seer.

Be it as it may, the popular artist thus uses the electronic forms of

communication so as to reach the targeted audience in order to perform
the intended function of influencing people’s thoughts and the manner in
which they interpret critique and respond to social issues encompassed in
the songs.

By use of audio tape, De’ Mathew reaches the audiences in the villages
who rely on cassettes players and cannot afford the sophisticated VCD,
DVD and CDs technology. The audio tapes are cheap and can be operated
on the battery powered radio cassette players in the absence of electricity.

This enables De’ Mathew to sell his ideologies to members of the society in
the rural areas. The VCDs, DVDs and audio CDs meet the prevailing
fashion trends in urban centres. As a result, members of the public who
can afford these electronic gadgets find his music in the manner that
meets their life style. Consequently, the artist indoctrinates the moral
values inherent in his songs to member of the society who buy his music.

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This gives the artist his daily bread from the wide sales--in addition to
fulfilling his calling to inculcate, and propagate moral values among
members of the society in order to improve upon humanity.

Means of Generating Primary and Secondary Themes

In several songs, John De’ Mathew employs complex imagery, unusual
sentence construction, old Kikuyu phrases which are no longer in use, old
sayings, slogans, and bizarre symbolism.

This to a greater extent; however, artistic it appears renders his message(s)

inaccessible in some of the songs. To compensate for this, the artist uses
the video text(s) to elaborate what he meant by giving his audiences clues
and pointers via the visual text.

This use of technology thus provides the artist with a means through
which he unfolds his message to the audiences. We thus argue that the
VCD and DVD images guide the audience in the quest to access the artist’s
deeper meaning in most of the songs. For instance, in the song “Reke
Tuturanie” in the opening stanza, we find the lines “Nase na Mercy murata
ikiritu cai rurira i” and the line,
“Mene mene tekeri ni thiomi” in the song “Nyumba Mwanau?”

These are none Kikuyu phrases and thus the message communicated by
these lines is not clear. One may look at the first as a traditional tongue
twister whose meaning has disappeared with time. In the song “Ngai
turangire” De ‘Mathew talks of “these disabled who now fill the country” by
use of the Gikuyu word “Cionje” which means the disabled members of the
society. From the audio text one cannot tell exactly what the artist means
or is alluding to, however, through the video one learns that “Cionje” refers
to members of the society who have over indulged in alcohol that is, the
cheap locally manufactured spirit’s which have rendered most young
people in central province sexually unproductive.

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Here, without the video, the implied message in this part of the song could
not have been clear to the audiences. In the same song he talks of Martha
where he says “greet for me Maritha” through the audio text, one cannot
tell who Maritha is, and thus the relationship between these greetings,
Maritha, and the rest of the song is lost or not clear at all to the audience.
But through the video one learns that Maritha is Martha Karua. This is a
political songs hence the political role women should play to emancipate
this country from the dungeon of bad governance comes out clearly. The
image of mother Karua in the video thus brings out strongly the message
that women have a major role to play in Kenya’s politics.

The audio/verbal text carry’s nuances that convey the helplessness which
faces most of the Kenyans today as a result of power struggle between
political parties. Through the video the artist indirectly empowers women
and suggests indirectly that they hold the solution to the political
problems in this country.

This message is not directly conveyed by the verbal text however one
understands the implied meaning through the video. We could thus say
that the artist uses the video to enhance implied messages which are not
openly stated in the verbal text. In this context therefore, I argue that that
the popular artist uses the visual technology to reconstruct gender
perceptions. De’ Mathew in this view uses the video images as a
compensational tool through which he empowers the feminine gender by
setting up strong pictorial images which consciously or unconsciously
contribute in defining the woman’s self perception as a strong and
powerful gender as opposed to the traditional Gikuyu perception which
portrayed the woman as a weaker sex. The viewers are thus able to relate
to the reconstructed image and hence drop gender stereotypes the society
holds towards women. As portrayed in the caption below from the song
“Pass Me Kane” in this view, the artist-via the video-enters the hotly
debated platform of gender politics and women empowerment. Juxtaposing
this with the images of male drunks thus seems to suggest that the social
conscience of our society and its fate lies squarely in the hands of women
as we can see above.

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I construe the images of women dancing above to mean that women are
dancing and celebrating their sought freedom which they have finally
attained through education as a tool of instilling awareness and gender
emancipation.

In the images below we see women dancing inside a river. I construe this
as semantic superimposition intended to imply—from the old adage that
water is life—that metaphorically women should be viewed from a similar
perspective thus to mean that no society can claim to be complete today
without equal gender representation and empowerment of women.

The same visual motif is repeated in later songs namely “Nengereria Kane”
and “Ngai Turangire” in these videos women are portrayed as learned
members of the society wearing graduation gowns. The verbal texts in
these songs laments about the political ills which ail our society as a result
of political male recklessness. These ills include death of innocent
Kenyans for instance after the 2007 general elections, acute poverty
resulting from too much alcohol intake by young men, and acute poverty
which is seen to affect poor families especially women and children.

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Here one can argue that while the verbal text conveys the social follies, De’
Mathew uses the video (visual texts) to suggest the solution. This is what
this study refers to as generation of secondary themes.

In the song “Nyumba Mwinau?” De Mathew says that a fig tree has fallen
in Gatanga. It is not clear what this imagery alludes to and hence one
faces difficulty locating the interconnection between “mugumo” “fig tree”
and the rest of the song’s text which bears a political message. But on
watching the video, the concealed meaning becomes clear that the fallen
“mugumo” refers to the fall of the KANU regime.

In the same songs the artist talks of Githii’s father and Muthengi as
fictional characters in Kenyan politics. The verbal text does not explain
who these are but through the video, we learn that the artist is talking
about George Saitoti and Joseph Kamotho. These are a few instances
which makes us conclude that De’ Mathew uses video technology to give
pointers, dues or even after elaborations to
the verbal messages(s) that is/are very
hidden in his songs.

Technology is here seen as a vehicle through which the audiences identify

with the hidden meaning(s) encompassed in the artistic features employed

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by an artist. The relationship and connection between fiction and reality is
thus made clear by use of visual imagery in VCDs and DVDs.

De Mathew also uses visual images to fight gender stereo types and male
chauvinism. For instance in the two videos “Nengereria Kane” and “Ngai
Turangire” women are portrayed as equal to men. Women are seen as
educated members of the society wearing graduation gowns as observed
earlier; both male and female dancers complement each other in the
dances. Women are also seen staging protest due to too much alcohol
indulgence from the male counter parts. The scenes can be said to fight
gender stereo types on the one hand and can be said to be empowering
women on the role they should play to change the society on the other
hand. This is a secondary theme since it is captured in the visual text but
does not appear in the primary verbal text. The thematic essence of such
images is important in correcting the traditional stereotypes which defined
the women within the kitchen. We can thus say that De’ Mathew uses
visual texts technology in his songs to fight gender marginalization. De’
Mathew thus uses visual technology to fight for gender equality in his
songs. His role as a teacher and as an entertainment thus prevails both in
audio and visual texts of his songs.

Mbugua Mungai observes that “one of the arenas in which the localization
of global culture has conspicuously happened is electronic communication
particularly in regard to film viewership trends and music production”.
“The nature of modernity is such that realities in one part of the world can
have far-reaching ramifications for people in diverse and far-off places.
“The truth in this observation is evidenced in De’ Mathews both videos and
audio production of his songs.

Here we observe dances choreographed like the Zairian and Congolese

dances. The dancers hence borrow a lot form Lingala dancers in form of
dressings, dance movements, and non verbal cues which contribute to
secondary meaning(s) envisaged in the video texts. For instance, in most of
the songs the dancers imply (with their gestures and body languages)
meaning(s) that are parallel to the one envisaged by the verbal text. This
leads to secondary themes which are only plausible in the visual text. Here
one finds dancers enacting the love making gesture. In the Zainean dances
—from which the dances are grafted—the verbal text bears a similar
message. One thus finds these dances in love songs. This is not the case
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with De’ Mathew, since they run a parallel theme to that communicated by
the verbal text.

In the following songs: “Wetuire Ngara”, “Ngai Turangire”, “Tiga Guteta”,

“Mikunde Biu”, “Yakuhithio”, and “Turiane matu” these dances
gesticulating love making actions appear while the song conveys totally
different themes. One thus finds a parallelism of theme between the verbal
text and the visual text. The same apply to dances which are adapted from
the Tanzanian dance TAKEU popularized by Mr. Nice. Here one thus
argues that De Mathew uses technology to blend performance from other
cultures into his own songs. This may enrich the song’s text by diversifying
its meanings but when poorly done, it may confuse the audiences, in
terms of discerning the message communicated.

In other songs such as “My dear Nduku “and “Ndeto Ciao Citihinyaga” the
artist uses video clips from religious films. This acts as an allusion in the
context of the message conveyed. One can thus argue that De’ Mathew
uses video clips as allusions to vivify the content in his songs. In addition
this as a style plays the function of emphasizing what he is saying. Here
we observe that through the songs it is assumed that the artist is in a one
way dialogue with his audiences. The borrowed images add emphasis to
the message conveyed while at the same time adding variety that reduces
monotony so as to maintain the audiences’ interest.

Looking at technology as a means of communication that enables

communication between different cultures, De’ Mathew borrows a lot from
the country music songs by musicians such as Kenny Rogers and Don
Williams. In some of his songs he not only borrows their tunes but also
modifies some of their lyrics and fits them into a Kikuyu song. Here we
find a song such as “Hoya Wendo” which borrows from Kenny Roger’s song
“If you Wanna Find Love” which bears the same chorus as De’ Mathew’s
and the same tune. We could thus say that technology and interaction of
cultures enables the artist to tap from other cultures and thus he is able
to diversify his creativity.

As Mbugua Mungai observes “Kenyan musicians are aware of the politics

of (mis)representation and they are consciously deconstructing this
discourse by placing themselves and other “ordinary” persons (hawkers,
shopkeepers, matatu drivers, and bar tenders amongst others ) as central
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performers in their VCDs. “This gesture might be understand as an
attempt to shape not just artists’ self-perception but also perhaps more
significantly, viewers’ sensibilities” We find this a lot in De’ Mathew videos.
In the song “Nengereria Kane” “Ndeto ciao citihinyaga” “Ngai Turangire”
and “Nituriane Matu” to mention but a few.

De’ Mathew features ordinary Kenyans. The gap between the artist, his
song text, and the audience is thus bridged if not finished by the visual
text. This has been made possible by the VCD and DVD technology.
Hence, as Mbugua argues, De’ Mathew uses the DVD and VCD to shape
and influence his viewers sensibilities.

This on the other hand can be seen as demonstrating a movement away

from the one-start shows towards communal collective performances as
Mbugua describes it.

We could thus argue that the visual technology helps De’ Mathew to
generate thematic discourses “with” his viewers which otherwise could not
have been possible in the absence of the technology. He thus uses this
technology as an advocacy tool to compel the viewers’ perceptions to
believe that his songs are not about “him” or about “them” but about
“they” at a collective social entity. This helps the audiences to identify with
his messages at both personal and communal levels.

Means of Generating Secondary Styles

In oral narratives, song is used as a transitional device to link different
episodes as the narrative unfolds. The same device is seen in John De’
Mathews songs where dance as an art is employed as a “transitional
device”. Here dancers appear on the videos as a transitional device
between stanzas. They entertain the audiences as one watch them dancing
in most parts of the songs which lack the verbal text.

Visual images are also used as “juxtaposition” to put emphasis to the

songs text. In the song “Ngai Turangire” the chorus has the proverb “itari
gitengoe ihuragwo mindwi ndomba ni ngai” that is; an animal that doesn’t
have a tail is whisked off the flies by God. In this video, the IDPs are
likened with the animal without a tail (images of IDP camps) is thus
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juxtaposed with images of a rescue team that is rescuing plane crash
victims. “Animals with a tail” this is juxtaposition at visual level.

The audio text is euphemic in its expression of the pains and sufferings
Kenyans undergo while the video draws the sharp contrast that exists
between the rich and the poor.

The song “nyumba Mwinau” meaning, who is for you our people, opens
with the following lines.
“As we sing, others too are singing”
“Oh hunger and problems”
In the audio text, this message sounds mild because of the nature of the
songs tone but in the video one finds images of wounded people lying in
hospital beds, a hunger stricken man who is barely a skeleton. This acts to
emphasize the message since these images appear as visual hyperboles.
We could thus say that the video is hyperbolic while the audio text is
euphemic in nature.

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De’ Mathew in some of the videos superimposes exotic back grounds from
Europe in his videos. This technology of using the blue screen thus aids
the artist in mix-matching images. This adds variety, state and hence kills
monotony and boasts viewer’s interest.

The identity of the present generation is shaped by cross pollination of

different cultures. We are thus a product of our African past and western
civilization. De’ Mathew uses visual technology to represent these elements
that define our identity. Here we find blending of the two cultures acting as
motifs in most of the songs. In so doing, the songs contribute in the
shaping of viewers self identity, on the one hand.

On the other hand, the audio production makes use of modern music voice
processing softwares such as Cool edit, Adobe Premier, Cubase and
Platinum logic. The effect of these software processed vocals is audible in
the audio texts of the songs. Here the effect of music production
techniques such as the application of delay, reverb, flangers and vocoders
adds to the audio aesthetic effect(s) of the artist’s voice. This gives it a
richer melodic contour which contributes to the emotional appeal of each
of the songs.

The essence of a song as a communicative discourse is to pass information

that is intended to create, generate, and/or initiate some practical
action(s). In addition, to engaging the human brain into critical
introspection into one’s life either private or social; the use of these effects
hence draws the audiences’ critical faculty into grater engagement with the
verbal texts hence one discerns the intended meaning to its deeper
confines. This secondary audio stylistics hence assists the audience to get
deeper into the songs content in addition to enhancing the songs
emotional appeal.

Here we could cite such effects in songs such as: “Ngai Turangire” here the
vocal effects enhances the empathy generated by the songs texts,
“Nitugakena”; here the effects enhance the romance conveyed in the song,
”Nengereria kane”; here the effects boosts the satire especially in the
chorus, and ”Kwaheri Joyce” where the effects boosts the mood of
departure in the singers voice to cite a few. Were it not for technology De’
Mathew could not have been able to use voice enhancers as he does in this
case.
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Projection of oral nuances to elicit humour, to convey irony, satires and to
enhance direct ridicule as well as to express comic relief is plausible in
various songs. Such nuances are magnified by use of audio processing
techniques that vivify the tone and intonations of the artist. We find this in
the song “Kiũra Kĩnene” where reverberation enhances the warning
conveyed by the artist. This effect modifies the texture of De’ Mathew’s
voice and hence vivifies the picture drawn by the message. Humour is
brought in, in the last line of the chorus as a result. Technology here can
thus be seen as adding to the richness of the performance at the level of
voice production which is the basic principles defining any oral
performance.

De’ Mathew also uses the video to graft imagery and symbolism in his
songs. Here he uses the video technology to capture social follies which ail
the present society. This is evidenced in the song “Nengereria Kane” to
signify the presence of sexually impaired youths who cannot reproduce
because they can no longer reproduce as a result of taking too much illicit
alcohol. The artist laments “mũhuri wa mbeũ angiuma nakũ?” i.e. where
will the sower of the seeds came from? The imagery here of drunk
members of the society serves to represent the social rottenness in the
world of reality.

By use of a foil, to illuminate on the reproductive weaknesses addressed.

De’ Mathew uses the image of dancers who vigorously dance gesticulating
the act of love making. The video is thus satirical in this case, since it
satirizes social ills which are found in our society.

Images of romantically dressed women are also prevalent in most videos.

These we could argue act to attract viewers and hence could be said to
function as visual hooks. They generate suspense and anticipation in the
mind of the viewer, as one admires the ladies, the artist conveys his
message to the viewer(s). This is a tactic that has been aided by visual
technology.

On the other hand we could argue that these half naked girls dressed in
body revealing costumes act as elements of distraction. This is because
one may concentrate on their body features and the sexual movements
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that characterize their dance moves at the expense of the central message
inherent in a song’s verbal text. From a moral stand point, this contributes
to the loss of artistic integrity of the performance. The aim of the artist as
one would argue is to attract young people by using these images however,
there is an over dose of this “Hook” in terms of usage frequency since they
over shadow the main text in most cases.
               
Use of drama to enact the message(s) in the songs is also common in most
songs. Here the artist uses real life characters to enact what he is singing
about. We thus find merging of literacy genres such as song and drama,
song and oral narrative within the song texts. This serves to concretize the
fictional element conveyed by the verbal text. The audiences are thus able
to see the reality side of life the singer is referring to; on identifies with the
artists message since the characters in these drama(s) are members of the
same society as the audiences and in some cases local celebrities of our
local TV drama shows such as “Kanini” who acts in the KBC TV local
drama vitimbi. She features in the song “My Dear Nduku” other songs
where this style is employed include: “Nitugakena”, “Mikunde Biu”, “Tiga
Guteta”, “Koma Kuraga Dadi”, “Nituriante Matu”, “Kwaheri Joyce”,
“Menyemenye” to mention but a few.

“Tiga Guteta” “Tiga Guteta” “Koma Kuraga Dadi”

“Menyemenye” “Menyemenye”

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“Mikunde Biu” “Mikunde Biu”

“Kiura Kinene” “Arume Kwina Mbu”

“Arume Kwina Mbu”

The artists also uses motif as a stylistic feature. Here we define a motif as
an image or icon that keeps re-curring in a literary text. The motif of
women wearing graduation gowns to suggest women empowerment,
knowledge and wisdom is a characteristic feature that runs through the
entire album entitled Kane. In this album, the images of women in
graduation gown are present in the following songs: “Ngai Turangire”,
“Wetuire Ngara” “Tiga Guteta”, “Mikunde Biu”, “Yakuhithio” and “Turiane
matu”.

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Comic relief as style is also present in the song “Ngai Turangire” here these
comic dancers serves to reduce tension created in the viewer’s mind by the
verbal message which gives an account of the 2007 general election
massacre that befall the country after elections. Some dancers are comic
and thus serve the function of reducing tension caused by the message.

De-centralization of Theatre and Performance

Brummet observes that “television has given people easy access to a wide
range of sights and sounds that they used to have to travel to theatres to
experience. . .”(70) this observation finds room in this study since through
the use of the VCD and DVD audio and visual technology De’ Mathew has
decentralized theatre and defined its place in peoples sitting rooms. By the
purchase of the visual CDs, one thus witnesses actualizes and shares in
the performance offered by the artist through the electronic form. The
traditional artist did not have such technological advantages as the
modern artist.

The traditional fire side narratives and the moonlight dances have now
been replaced by the TV screen through which the modern viewers meet
and interact with the artist.

Through the video, one observes the artist’s paralinguistic features which
convey meaning hence enriching meaning conveyed by the audio text. This
is witnessed in songs such as “Ciunguyu iria nene” “The big Fish” “Muoyo
ti kibandi” “Life is not an ID, and “Kigutha kia Ngai” “Gods Whip”. De’
Mathew uses gestures in his performance to elaborate on his message.
This serves to enhance the video performance in order for it to be as
authentic as the live performance.

Through the video, De’ Mathew has succeeded in capturing the aesthetic
elements of dancing as an art. This has been employed in the songs for
aesthetic purpose. Here we could talk of a song like “Wetuire Ngara” here
the dances are choreographed to meet the aesthetic purpose of the visual
text at performance level. This serves to arouse interest in the viewers at
the same time fulfilling the function of entertainment.

While the artist delivers the musical interludes that link stanzas in the
songs. Instead, we get the dancers filling these gaps. Here, in addition to
acting as transitional elements, they also serve to create anticipation in the

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viewers. In a performance, this is necessary in maintaining and arousing
the alertness of the viewers. One thus keeps following the songs message
as it unfolds. In some instances, the dancers act as reinforcers to what the
artist is saying.

We thus can conclude that De’ Mathew has taken advantage of visual
technology to illuminate his song texts and to ensure he reaches the
widest audience possible.
Technology at Instrumental Level
Technology at instrumental level is employed where upon the instruments
function to enhance the songs text meaning. In this context, De’ Mathew
uses musical instruments whose sounds images reflect and emphasize the
mood conveyed in the verbal text. This is prominent in the following
songs.

“Reke Ngutare”: the lead guitar at the intro part of this song has a strong
soothing effect” which enhances the convincing power that is conveyed by
the content.

“Marire Njaro”: while the words appeal to the senses, the guitar appeals to
the emotions hence creating an even soothing effect in the love message
conveyed by the song. This is an artistic effect that acts upon the audience
who fill the part of the pre-supposed lover within the song.
“Nitugakena” Here the intro guitar vivifies the romance subsumed into
deep reflective mood of the song; to enhance the message.

“Mwihuguro” The guitar sound in this song has a lamenting effect. It

draws one to greater introspection into the songs content which laments
about the way men keep turning their heads towards women.

“Kwaheri Joyce” Here the guitar enhances the mood of departure

conveyed by the song as the persona bids farewell to his love.

“Nitumugocithie” the intro guitar here has a reflective mood that echoes a
painful past which the song explicates as the persona remembers his past.

“The Big Fish” in this song the instruments function to enhance the satire
inherent in the song.

We thus conclude by observing that modern technology helps the modern

artist to diversify and enhance themes and styles found in Popular Songs.
And in addition create previously unconceivable meanings both at audio
and visual levels.

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CHAPTER FOUR
FINDINGS, CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS
In our study we set out to analyze thematic concerns, ideological stand
points, stylistic devices, performance and use of technology in John De
Mathew’s songs.

This study made the following observations about John De’ Mathew songs.
Several thematic concerns define his music. These include Love, politics,
relationships, contemporary issues, philosophical issues and women
issues. We observed that love songs underscore that true and sincere love
from both parties defined a successful relationship where hard work,
respect, honesty, faithfulness, trustworthiness, sincerity, and
commitment.

Political songs articulated the moral concerns that leadership should be

defined in terms of commitment of the leaders to mind the welfare of the
members of the society. Hence leadership is seen as an opportunity to
serve others for the welfare of all human kind.

Relationships between people in the society we observed are defined by

ones awareness that one should embrace morals as a guiding principle
that governs how one treats others at all times, physically, psychologically
and spiritually. In any relationship one thus needs to value other people
and to respect their rights.
De’ Mathew underscores that human life encompasses some things which
are beyond human comprehension. One thus needs wisdom, intuition, and
spiritual wisdom to handle problems far above the realm of plausible
reality.

In matters of national identity De’ Mathew observes that Kenyans need to

redefine their identity in terms on their nationality and not along ethnic
lines.
He underscores the essence of both genders in the society to give equal
opportunities to members of both sexes in education as well as in all other
areas where women had been looked down upon. Men are also encouraged
to change their attitude towards women and to accord them equal chances
to develop their potentials since they are the foundation of a strong
society.
The songs analyzed in this study also revealed that popular songs as a
genre is revolutionary, anti conformist and rebellious towards neo colonial
perspectives both in form and content—in the context of articulating the
plight of the subaltern.
In this notion layers of semantic languages running parallel communitas
concurrently define De’ Mathew’s songs. There is a surface language
characterizing obvious meanings and implied meanings explicable within
non-obvious linguistic contexts.

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Within the coded language is an intentional function to define a specific
audience closing out others. The specific audience in this case is a
particular age group defined by distinct historical and cultural awareness.
In this context De’ Mathew envelops his message within none familiar
linguistic contexts definable within cultural paradigms bound to a
particular time thus discernible only by those who share those specific
cultural experiences.

To discern the multiple meanings one needs to pay critical attention to

multiple Para-texts and contexts defining the songs. These songs as a
result articulate different realities that face the intended audience. They
hence mark out social reconstruction as a function in order to establish
new forms of viewing and articulating both the self and others.

To achieve this, De’ Mathew employs oral history, traditional oral

expressions, unfamiliar sayings, riddles, proverbs, and traditional clichés
to code the massage to enrich its form and multiply its meanings. We
construed that De’ Mathew does this to target the critical listener whose
conscience remains informed by the critical intricacies which mark our
daily lives.

The social circumstances surrounding the composition of each song and

the cultural nuances the artist employs thus reveal a point of view that is
self documenting on the one hand and on the other, social critically
deconstructive of the social realities.
We read a conscious Endeavour which the artist employs to emancipate
the subalterns from political hegemonies enforced upon by the plutocrats
on the one hand and on the other as an emancipation of the oppressed
from the weaknesses of their own conscience.

Popular songs thus we concluded function as a tool for cultural, social,

and power negotiation between social classes in a quest to re-member the
devoiced members of the society.
This comes as a result of the complex and sophisticated global interactions
which merge and intertwine to form a culture that is democratic in nature
in terms of its social institutions and structures.

The cultural elements that define this society are thus not only complex
and intractable but also fast changing as they adapt to global trends and
cultural forces that seem to hold sway of the global culture and politics.

During oral performances we observed that oral features and stress

patterns shape and give cues to implied meanings. Additional meanings
are thus discernible at close reading of speech patterns in terms of oral
nuances. The rhythm, tone and melody in orthographic structures reveal
the artist’s attitude towards the subject and through critical analysis of
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these features one gets closer to embedded meanings within the song text.
Critical explication of oral discourses therefore calls for critical listening to
the artist’s voice within the text by paying attention not only to the “what”
but also to the “how”.

IDEOLOGY
Proponents of ideology’s studied in this research define their approach,
understanding and interpretation of ideology as a discernment of the world
view upon which an author or artist centres their judgments of reality.
These include J. Herbermas, Larrain, Geuss, Althusser L., Macherrey P.,
Lotman, Bakhtin M., Ngara E., Obote M and Raman S.

However, there ensues a protracted silence that brings to bear a loose

treatment of the subject. This characterizes a one way centered approach
of discerning and explicating ideology, that is either author or artist
centered. This approach seem to ignore the fact that the critic themselves
operate within a particular ideology in their fete to explicate an artist’s or
author’s ideology. I read this as a loose treatment of the subject, and
which in turn can hamper objective assignment of credibility envisaged
within a work of art—as a point of departure—in terms of discerning and
articulating an artist’s ideology. As a result, a one sided interpretations of
ideology therefore seem to inform the discernment and articulation of
artistic/authorial stand points. I therefore argue that this proposition and
interpretation of ideology is relative since a critic discerns ideological
viewpoints in relation to ones ideological stand—as a cognitive tool that
informs ones criticism.

My finding however is that ideology on the one hand is a non

straightforward entity characterized by a treatment and assignment of
value defined in terms of the world view from which an author or an artist
critiques reality. On the other hand, it is about how the critic sees and
conceptualizes appropriations of the concept as articulated by the artist.

To critique and understand ideology objectively thus involves an informed

recognition of the ideological stand points within which we operate as
conscious actors (critics and artists) and to accept to break with such
ideology in order to dare to be the beginning of a (subjectless) discourse of
ideology as Althusser Luis recommends.

We need therefore to identify our ideological stand points as critics and

accept to break from them. We need thus to observe what subjects we
crate as critics in order to justify the objectivity of our criticism. Criticisms
of any ideology for instances, begins with the questions of its functioning
upon its subjects.
An ideology either recruits its subjects that is, its practitioners or
particular subject that is, practitioners of a particular belief form a given
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ideology. Formation of Christian subjects on the one hand – as a subject of
an ideology on the one hand is balanced by the creation of a belief in the
existence of God on the other hand. Christianity for example can thus be
argued to emerge as a belief as a result of a creation of God as a subject. It
is in this context that William Blake observes in the essay “The Marriage of
Heaven and Hell (1790)” that “…. men forgot that All deity resides in the
human breast”. (Sic)

The artist, the audiences and the critique each operates within a particular
ideology. A critic’s criticism of an artist’s ideology can thus be interpolated
as (ideology dialoguing and critiquing ideology). My concern in this case is
what I term as the placement of critical objectivism. That is, within what
perspective must or does the critique operate to foreground a valid and
objective criticism of what one accrues from a work of art about the artist
and their ideological stand point? Within what premise therefore does
critical transcendence in the criticism of an artist and their ideological
standpoints suffice? And to what extent is this criticism affected by the
ideology within which the critic operates – as a perspective informing the
critic’s discernment of the artist’s ideology?

However, simple this question may appear, in the context that objective
criticism defines its basis on a work of art as a point of departure, but this
not withstanding; the text (either printed, or oral, or in any other form) does
not inspire itself. Instances of extra and intra textualities augement the
semantic sway a work of art holds as an independent entity (what Lotman
calls textual independence meaning) on the one hand and on the other
hand meanings within a text (what he calls the institutionalized meanings)
—however colourless, functions to determine the totality of a work of art.

We thus can talk of an artist’s ideology as permeated within the immediate

text at one level and two as a fete to critique instance and circumstances
surrounding the creation and existence of a work of art. And thirdly the
critics stand point.
The first level is centered on the immediate work of art while level two is
centered on prevailing circumstance (not articulated directly in a work of
art) but which leads to its creation in terms of space and time. A critic in
addition employs ones judgment of a work as defined by ones cognitive,
socialization and experiences as a critical tool to explicate a work of art.

The physical, historical and cultural distance between an artist and the
critic thus determines what the critic makes out of a work of art. A
multiplicity of semantic possibilities thus emerges in terms of the critical
perspectives and approaches which different critics operationalize to
discern the ideological stand point of an artist. That is how the critic sees
the standpoint of the artist and hence defines relativism in terms of the
findings and conclusions one espouses, as a critic.

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This argument posits therefore that in the explication of John De’
Mathew’s ideology, I am not only informed by the tangible evidences
encompassed within the song texts in their content and form but also by
fact of sharing the artistic environment of the artist which informs and
inspires his creativity.

I call this the first hand cultural reading of an oral text and I juxtapose
this with a reading and analysis of the same texts by one who does not
share this cultural background and environment with the artist and call
this the non first hand cultural reading of an oral text.
I observe that in the first hand cultural reading, of an oral text, the critic
and the artist share a greater amount of (institutionalized meanings) that
is, cultural semantic environments that surround the creation of a literary
text (and even possibly the nuanced motive and intention) and that non
members of that particular culture are closed out in the sharing of such
semantic discourse and their motivations which inform and surround the
creation of a text, and that such meanings remain unarticulated in the
actual text.

In both instances therefore, a critic who shares in the first hand cultural
reading on the one hand may identify an element of silence permeated
within a work of art that leads to a particular proposition in a work of art,
which a non member of that culture may fail to underpin. On the other
hand, non first hand cultural reading of an oral text may bring forth
semantic underpinnings which define the cultural nuanced environment of
the first hand cultural background of the critic.

This can be cited as the plausibility of a work of art to articulate universal

meaning as one of its functions. A critical explication of a text from a non
cultural reading can also bring to bear cultural meanings and standpoints
which transcends the artistic intent, and therefore which one addresses in
what I may term as expression of unconscious artistic states. What thus
prevails in one culture (as an active inclusion) in the active conscience of a
given people thus defining the first hand cultural reading of such people
may manifest itself in the form of a non first hand cultural reading or
unconscious state apparatus of another culture. In this context I observe
that a non first hand cultural reading of an oral text can lead to instances
of grater reading of the artist subconscious especially when such criticism
brings to bear semantic underpinnings which are encompassed in a work
of art but which even the artist is not aware of and was unconscious about
of during the creation of a particular work of art.

The critical transcendence within which the critic operates (as a premise)
defines not only ones findings but also the degree of credibility of what one
underscores. The explication of an artist’s ideological stand point thus
becomes not only an analysis of the ideologies of an artist but also a
reading of oneself (as a critic) in terms of one’s stand point regarding state
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apparatuses that define the active conscience of a critic, since the critic
identifies elements in a work of art by employing a particular elements of
one’s critical cognitive faculty. What a critic makes out of a work of art is
determined thus in the first place by what critical tools inform the critic’s
mind. Consciously this informs the critic’s motif and methodology of
criticism. A critic’s objective reading and critique is hence greatly
determined by the degree of willingness to guard against egocentric
criticism of a work and also the strength to identify such biases when they
come to play. The objectivism of one’s analysis lies therefore within ones
fidelity to transcend outside oneself as a subject.

Criticism of ideology is thus determined by the totality of the universe

defining a critic’s cognitive faculty, and the willingness to use it in totality
—which includes ability to critique the weaknesses of one’s criticism. It is
therefore necessary to centre ones approach of ideological explication
within and without oneself and ones experiences on the one hand and to
consider the views of others in order to be objective in one’s criticism. This
includes both in the criticism of form and content encompassed within a
text and in the explication of extra texts as premises of discerning an
artist’s ideology.

STYLISTIC DEVICES
This study found out that John De’ Mathew employs different stylistic
devices for a variety of reasons. Tone as a stylistic feature is used to give
an utterance secondary meaning. De’ Mathew also uses extended
metaphors in his songs in order to draw complex imagery that enables him
to articulate abstractions in an aesthetic manner. Like most creative
artists, he uses allusions, proverbs, metaphors, similes and rhetorical
language not only to colour his language but also to put forward a strong
argument that is convincible to the audience.

PERFORMANCE

Conscious expressions during a performance serve as an engagement site

through which the performer passes to the audience his/her personal
interpretation of the meaning he/she accrues from the topic defining
his/her song. We found out that an artist does this, to consciously give the
audiences an interpretational perspective of the song, which the artist
favours.
Unconscious expressions offer essential critical instances since they reveal
concealed attitudes an artist bears towards, the subject of the song, the
audiences, and the society at large.

I observed that conscious expressions can sometimes be argued to be

deceptive and as a result can give false impressions of the inner
relationship between the artist and the song text. Passive or unconscious
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expressions can on the other hand reveal critical levels of criticism that
define and artists inner being and actual standpoint, but which remain
suppressed by one’s ego in ones conscious effort to give the performance
an objective human face. In this context human ego is seen as providing
means of appropriating an individual’s hypocrisy. This is opposed to a
critical examination of suppressed unconscious expressions, which can
lead to greater artistic credibility and reliability of the artistic voice and
artistic conviction. This is because in the instance of expressing an
unconscious non-verbal statement—during a performance—the audience
can connect with non-intended and suppressed expressions of a
performance and hence the sincerity of a performance is brought to the
fore.

In so doing, the audiences can discern inner meanings concealed in the

performance text and this can lead to a transcended engagement not only
with the text but with the entire performance. In this case, the artist
functions as a conduit between the audiences and a cosmic embodiment
which defines the universal essence of a performance, but rather
unconsciously.
The impression one gets from a displayed expression we found out, affects
ones interpretation of the accompanying utterance and also one’s attitude
towards the utterer, the artist in this case.

Analysis of non verbal features reveals an artist’s attitude towards the

topic of the song. In addition, it reveal the bias of the artist and their
subjective outlook in terms of the context the artist propagates in cases
where a text is capable of eliciting multiple layers of meanings and
interpretations.
The performance space in this context both recorded and live functions as
artistic space for shaping and informing the conscience of the masses and
hence defining the masses sensibilities.

The artist and the audiences get actively involved during a performance—
as a form of entertainment—on the one hand and on the other, as a means
for deconstructing meaning by bringing to bear various interpretations of
the surface and the implied meanings.
Non verbal cues and body language of the artist influence how the
audience perceives, interprets, discerns and identifies with the content of a
given song. This in addition reveals how an artist connects with the
meaning inherent in the song and hence one's credibility in terms of
sincerely of the performance is thus relative since it is determined by how
an artist connects objectively with the songs meaning. A performance
therefore transcends beyond ones intended purpose to encompass
universal social values, in order to ameliorate norms and values of one’s
society.

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The performance space in this context thus become self reflective where
upon the artist utilizes the performance space not only to advocate for
ones standpoint but in addition to self critique ones ideological stand
point. In this case a performance qualifies as a statement of value
assessment in terms of what one advocates.
A song’s central meaning we found out is centered in the chorus. The
audiences after identifying with this inner meaning joins the artist in
signing this part while letting the artist sing the verses. We interpreted this
as the central essence of a performance where both the artist and the
audience by use of the performance space engage in a musical dialogue in
order to redefine themselves in the context of the performance in order to
celebrate their value systems.

John De’ Mathew uses rhetorical comments and gestures to engage the
audiences during the performance. While performing a song which the
audiences are familiar with, he pauses in some instances for the audiences
to fill the lines and this helps to keep the audiences engaged.

The performance context we found out defines the rhetorical comments

and the respective gestures the artist employs. The place of performance,
time, age and gender of the audience are major factors we cited, which
define the rhetorical statements and gestures the artist employs.

We observed instances of artistic intrusion to qualify the persona. De’

Mathew does this so that the performance can suit the occasion in terms
of his audience and to actively involve the audiences consciously and
psychologically. However, this contributes to the shaping of the perceptive
attitude of the audiences since in so doing the artist influences how the
audiences identify with the performance and consequently affect the
interpretation they make.

Towards the climax of the song, the body movements of the artist and the
stage dancers sometimes transcend to a frenzy which this study
underscored as a human fete to come to terms with concrete and abstract
realities that affect and influence human life and behaviour. We
underscored the performance space thus as a premise through which the
human kind identify with forces of nature that seem to affect human kind
directly or indirectly but which is evidently manifested in the psychological
self which defines human behaviour. The performance space thus provides
a site through which the human kind commune with their inner nature.
The Aesthetic choices an artist employs to articulate this inner beauty is
defined by deep rooted cultural meanings which an artist and the
audiences identify with during a performance. Artistic choices therefore we
observed function as a vehicle through which an artist articulates deeper
meanings which are otherwise non plausible in everyday life and speech.
In the frame of thought and criticism, the performance space not only
reflects the world of reality but embraces in addition a second function of
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portraying how the human kind interprets both concrete and abstract
realities. This as a result, reflects and reveals the respective dialogue
between conscience of the human and the super natural world which
humans conceive to have an influence in determining human life and
human destiny. This is closely observable at a critical readings of the
songs classified in this study as philosophical songs.

The artist in this context functions as a “priest”—through—whose artistic

engagement the audience peers into the metaphysical world in order to
come to terms with the place of the human kind in the larger universe.

Through what I termed as “identification rate” I observed that every

audience who appreciates a performance sees as element of that
performance, which one can identify with. This study observed that the
higher the degree of identification rate, the greater an audience appreciates
a performance. Sharing a common world view with the artist in this case
was cited as the greatest contributing factor defining an audience’s
identification rate. That is, the rate at which an audience identifies with a
particular performance. However, this does not translate to a similar
degree of critical objectivism. Credibility of a performance should thus not
be measured in terms of identification rate, unless a particular
methodology of criticism is to be applied in order to distinguish
identification rate that is credible in terms of objectivism from
identification rate that results from a subjective and prejudiced
interpretation.
An artist’s ability to transcend beyond ones prejudices, bias, fears and
egocentrism is thus the marker of artistic credibility and not the masses
euphoria, in their response to a performance as an identification rate.

A performance in addition brings meanings otherwise not transcribe able

and which the artist intended or did not. While the song text bears a
particular meaning, the facial expressions and gestures an artist employs
carries additional or parallel meanings all together. A song text may
express one kind of emotion while the performance text may reveal a
different meaning and emotion. This for instance was observed during a
performance of the song “Thii biu” translated as “Disappear for good”. The
persona in the song text dismisses the wife in what can be interpreted as a
celebrated dismissal. However during the performance, a solemn tone
which marked the artist’s voice and a sullen face was observed. I
interpreted this as an artist’s ability to identify with, the bitterness which
comes as a result of a failed marriage. Through the performance, the
audience observed masculine helplessness which is otherwise not
expressed in the song text.

This was revealed by a combination of body language which the artist

employed either consciously or unconsciously. In this context, we observed
a partial eye closer with tightened ends at the corner of the eyes—as if to
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suppress some pain. In addition, the artist dropped his arms to the sides
and brought the elbows close to his ribs, he arched the stomach inward
and carved the chest inwards. However while reading the song text; one
encounters an angry persona who hurls insults to the wife as she packs
her belongings. The anger however is also manifested in the performance
but rather mildly. This we interpreted from the act of the artist clenching
his right hand palm into a fist. We surmised this to represent an amount
of suppressed anger, which is reflected even in the songs title. “Thii”
translated as “disappear or go” and “biũ” which on translation would mean
“completely” or “for good”. The word “biũ” in this context bears an
imperative tone that brings with it an element of hostility.
In another song “Nengereria Kane” translated as “Pass Me Kane” the song
text understates the underlying meaning in the song. We perceived this as
a litote. We thus observed that while the song text is “Litotic” in nature,
the social concerns addressed is serious and urgent. In this song, an
entire community is in the verge of its extinction since its men can no
longer sire children as a result of too much intake of the hard spirit called
Kane. The tone of the artist and the text of the song are litotic on the one
hand, the facial expressions of the artist especially the wince look in his
eyes and the mild sneer in his lips reveal the deep irony in the artist’s
voice when he says “pass me kane”. In this statements, De’ Mathew is
ridiculing these senseless drunks who keep asking for more kane at the
peril of their health and families. The artist underscores that these men
can no longer serve the nation as well as their wives since neither do they
take part in economic activates nor can father children or rescue
themselves from their over indulgence. And instead of giving them food
which they rarely take, the rottenness of the entire society is captured in
the irony which we witness when we find that this society sends a
preacher to the drinking dens to preach to these men. The artist asks, will
they listen to the gospel, or will they yawn? This is a question which he
leaves the audiences to provide an answer.

We thus concluded that a contra puntal semantic coherence exists

between a songs text meaning and the non-verbal acts which an artist
employs during a performance. The performance space thus provides a
counterpoise through various layers of meanings through which oral
discourses can be discerned and appreciated. Dynamics defining audio
expressions provide additional portal through which literary meaning in a
song can be discerned.

TECHNOLOGY
We observed that De’ Mathew uses visual images to fight gender stereo
types where women are seen as educated members of the society wearing
graduation gowns in the videos.

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Digital technology influences the nature in which the artist packages his
songs today. The previous use of audio tapes is augmented with audio
CDs, VCDs and DVDs as additional means of storage and dissemination.
Technology has afforded the popular artist the most exhaustive means of
documenting his performances through the use of audio tapes, audio CDS,
VCDS and DVDS. Consequently, there is limited loss of data and original
oral performance(s) resulting from (death of an artist), both at biological or
performance level.

The use of the VCD and DVD we found enables the capturing of the visual
performance. The audience can thus—in the absence of the artist--
(through the VCD and DVD) identify with the artists gesticulations, facial
expressions, and body language and dance movements like a live
performance.

We found out that De’ Mathew employs modern technological

advancement to enrich his creativity and as a means of preserving culture.
Through some of the songs, for instance, “Nguku ya Gukua” De’ Mathew
contributes in the preservation of Kikuyu culture; this is seen in the video
where the audiences see what he is talking about when he use vocabulary
that is not in common usage.

Technology as a result provides the artist with a means through which he

unfolds his message to the audiences. The VCD and DVD images guide the
audience in the quest to access the artist’s deeper meaning in most of the
songs. Artists therefore, use the video to enhance implied messages which
are not clear in the verbal text.
Technology it was also observed enables communication between different
cultures.
We found that technology magnifies oral nuances to elicit humour, to
convey irony, satires and to enhance direct ridicule as well as to express
comic relief as observed in various songs.

The use of modern technology in addition enriches popular songs in terms

of style and themes. Secondary themes are generated by use of modern
technology on the one hand, while on the other hand stylistics devices are
enhanced, and others generated. This is evidenced at audio and visual
levels. Audio technology enhances the artist oral artistic features; visual
texts generate additional themes which the audio text does not convey.

John De’ Mathew like most popular artist employs the genre as a means of
passing social commentaries in the process of critiquing reality. The
collective conscience of the society and the major issues that characterize
a society hence define the major concerns of the artist. Here major issue
which defined the artists concerns includes HIV and AIDs, gender, politics,
love and relationships.

135
We found out that popular artists use musical instruments to enhance the
songs meaning by use of sounds that elicit similar emotions to that
communicated by the song’s text. In this context, electronic audio effects
function not only for aesthetic purposes but also to articulate finer
meanings otherwise inexpressible in the absence of such technology. This
is traceable within the audio metafiction.

The fact that artists recognize and use these effects to blend their voices
indicates that they associate these electronic vocal impressions with what
they intend within their subconscious. I thus underscore that modern
technology enables the popular artist to articulate a deeper and richer
aspect of one’s creative audio imagination—which acts upon the text to
give it a diverse semantic authenticity.

These effects thus function to articulate metaphysical semantic realities

otherwise difficult to articulate with one’s natural voice. Audio editing thus
transforms the literal meaning within the artistic voice to encompass
transcendental aural textures more appealing to the human spirit and soul
in addition to its aesthetic effects that excites the human flesh. This
argument is tenable and permissible on the context that the artist relates
consciously and consciously to an internal semantic environment which
one discerns both in the synthesized audio and in the natural unprocessed
voice. Technology thus serves the popular artist in this case with what I
term as audio vocal aesthetic compensation which an artist natural voice
is incapable of expressing. This can be read both as an augmentation and
as an instance of aural intentional fallacy. The sensational effect of
electronic audio programming however needs greater analysis to be
appreciated fully as elements of form defining today’s oral literary
discourses both analogue and digital.

At a more direct literary performance level, we observed that these audio

devices enhance the aural dramatic effect communicated in an artist’s
voice. At the level of performing orality, the audio effects function to
compensate for artistic in efficacies which result from poor or lack of
enough practice and hence the use of these synthetic musical dynamics.
This enables the less vocally endowed artists to have a sweet sound which
is appealing to the human ear for maximum audience attention. In this
view electronic audio effects serve to transpose the listener’s perception
and attitude in terms of manner of relating to and identifying with inner
meanings encompassed within a song.

We observed that technology in this perspective has not only contributed

to job creation by employing a great many sound engineers but also an
increase in the number of recording artists.

The use of foreign musical instruments and technology has thus brought
the Africans a new way of expressing their world, new tastes of African
136
music, and new relationships between performers and audiences and new
ways of appreciating music performed in new contexts.
Popular songs have thus brought new cultural contexts and can thus be
viewed as a reflection and a reaction to the dynamic cultural changes in
any society. Popular songs in this context reflect these changes which
expand the repertoire of traditional African themes. New musical forms
and styles could thus be viewed as paradigmatic shifts to encompass new
social concepts.

RECOMMENDATION
This study recommends that further researches be carried out in the study
of popular songs as literary discourses since there is very little that has
been researched in this field. A theory of popular songs needs to be
developed to inform future studies and researches. However, this should
not be confused with popular culture as a theory rather should be seen to
emerge from it and its respective branches and hence narrow down to the
song in particular.

We recommend that further analysis be carried out on the songs of John

De’ Mathew since they contain more than meets the eye in terms of literary
knowledge themes and styles. This study cannot claim to have exhausted
the literary knowledge inherent in John De’ Mathew’s songs since out of
the 120 songs we collected we only analyzed forty six due to limitation of
time and resources.
Other possible areas of study that we’d recommend on John De’ Mathew
songs include; the auto biographical voice in these songs, a gender study
on De” Mathew’s songs, and a critical analysis of oral nuances in these
songs.
A course in critical listening skills in oral literature need to be set in place
to nurture oral literature students and researchers with aural critical tools
with which to respond to performed texts.

We also recommend that popular songs be transcribed and translated into

literary texts—however much is lost during translation—for and be
incorporated as educational materials for use in schools, colleges and
universities, especially in the study of music and literature. This has been
informed by the knowledge that despite the literary knowledge in these
songs, they are not recognized as educational materials since they are
mostly valued for their entertainment purpose.

In this context we recommend that higher institutions of learning should

design a unit to teach the practicing artists critical elements of language
aesthetics and to nurture their critical faculties in terms of critical
thinking in order to shun mediocre compositions in terms of form and
content since what they produce is fed on the conscience of the listeners.
So for the society to transcend in its critical conscience we need to feed our
minds with cultural productions whose content has been refined and
137
thought through by the composer. This would enrich mental emancipation
as a human Endeavour by augmenting the power of the pen with the
power of the microphone.

In future literary studies, I recommend for the application of Facial Action

Coding System (FACS) as Action Units (AU) to incorporate their relevance
in the analysis of literary materials at the level of performance. Further
researches therefore need to bring to light the relationship between FACS
and a performed text’s surface and implied meanings. In addition further
clarity need to be made to account for the (AU) that express both the
explicit and the implied meanings in performed texts.
We recommend further research in the role of audio technology in music
production since this provides a portal through which new elements of
form and audio semantics are generated. This argument is in line with the
management and production of sounds as audio devices by use of
electronic sound generators such as fluty loops, cool edit, cube base, and
platinum logic which characterize the production of most popular songs in
Kenya today. The effect of flangers, vocoders, and other electronic sound
features has become a common attribute of our popular songs. Further
research in this area should thus culminate to the formation of a literary
theory of popular songs which can aid future researchers with critical tools
which can be employed to analyse audio images inherent in today’s
popular songs which fall outside music as a discipline and within
literature as a field of study.
In literary studies and research, can be significant since a critical analysis
of the sound images present in a song furnishes one (the researcher) with
the mental capacity to create not only new patterns of reasoning with
which one can employ to analyse the songs but also can give new cues
which the researcher can employ to recognize previously un plausible
meanings articulated in a song.
I underscore that sound images in a song play a complementary role and
thus influences the process of discerning meanings within a song and
which can only be extrapolated and explicated by applying the right
theoretical tools. As Rosenberg observes, “. . . songs do indeed convey
much more than meets the eye –or ear-of listeners” (5). To use Christopher
Waterman words, “. . . scholars studying African musical creativity pay
insufficient attention since they fail to understand or articulate the
profound and far reaching messages that it communicates because ‘it is
often the case that the musical practices and musicians that we study are
more sophisticated than the theories we apply on them”.(33)

138
139
APPENDIX
LOVE SONGS
1.”Mũgũnda wa Ngoro Yakwa”

Ũyũ mũgũnda wa ngoro yakwa rĩu kĩoe

Ũtuĩke mũrĩithi waindo iria ciothe irĩkuo
Na ndũkanarĩe mutĩ ũrĩa wa itunda rĩrume
Tondũ ndingienda ithui tũga tigana

Twa cambirio gugĩtuika twĩtũhũ

Nagũgĩtuĩka ithuĩ tũtikeguna
Unyitie guoko ndari ma na ndwandigire
Riu nĩ tũgethe kĩrĩa twahandire

Ndari ĩ
Yukia mbete ino gwikire my dear woi
Tiya muhuunjia ni muma tukunyua
Na ndigatuike ta gicuhi kia mwiri
Ituike ya ngoro tutigatigana

CH
Ayaiyaiya ya seiya
Hau mũtĩinĩ ũcio ndagũkania my dear
Harĩ matunda moimaga mũcene
Hari matunda mathegeaga rũmena
Riu nĩ twĩhĩte tũtikamarũma

Saiya iyaiya

Ngũroraga ndari ngona riri wa Ngai

Ngai waheire we tu ũngenagie
Twinawe sweetie njiguaga ndĩkuo muno
Na wendo wakwa ngona wimũrangĩre

Rũrĩmĩ rwaku rũtuĩke rwakũrathima

Ndũkanareke rũtũĩke rwa kũruma
Mata maku mahũthagĩre ũgĩthuthĩra
Na ndũkanareke maragie mũcene
CH
Ciana ici citũ ma nĩirathimo cia Ngai
Iria tũtũraga tũmuhoyaga
Twaciga wega itueke riri wa bũrũri
Naningĩ twakua igatũnyita mũtwe

Ndarii
Indo ici citũ cikomererie ta itumbi
Nĩui ũria twana cikurumĩra
Nanĩuĩ twerire Ngai atũhe tũtikai yurunja
140
Njiarwa na njiarwa ikona gia kũgaya
CH
Aiya aiya, shama shama
Leta leta, mbogo-inĩ ya waka waka

1.”The Garden of my heart”

Take now this garden of my heart
Be the care taker of everything that is there
And never eat from the tree of the cursed fruit
Because I could not want us to ever part
CH
We were defamed, we were said to be useless
And it was concluded, we will never help ourselves
My hand, darling you held and you never deserted
Now let us harvest what we planted.

Take this ring I put you my sweet heart

It is not a preachers ring
but an oath we are taking
And it should not be a piece of ring for your body
Let it belong to your heart and we will never part
[CH]
In that tree I have fore warned you my dear
There are fruits that breed gossip
There are fruits that propagate hatred
Let us swear we will never bite them.
[CH]
I look at your and see Gods glory
God gave me you, to always impress me
When we are together darling, I feel so fulfilled
And I see my love is guarded
[CH]
Let your tongue be a blessing tongue
Never let it be a cursing tongue
Always use your saliva to soothe
And never let your saliva to gossip
[CH]
These children of ours are God’s blessings
The ones we have always asked for
We keep them well they become the country’s glamour
And when we die they will hold us by the head
[CH]
This property of ours, sit on it like eggs
You know how much we have struggled
And you know we told God if he gives us we will not squander
That our great grand children may get something to inherit
[CH]
2. “Nĩtũgakena”
141
Saiya, shama shama
Caitani nĩoĩ kĩrĩa kĩngoro yaku
Atĩ nĩ wendo muiyũrĩrĩru
Naningĩ nĩoĩ ũrĩa niĩ ngũkuwĩte,
Nĩwe mũũri wakwa waitimũ
Wendo ũcio witũ nonginya aũthukagie
Agatahia nĩguo ũgatingiara
Tũgakena atia twarĩkia rũgendo
Tũrere ciana citũ cigane
Tũtũre thĩno nginya mĩaka ya mbonathi
Tũgatigithanio nĩ gĩkuo

ndari-ĩ
Tũngĩkagĩa indo kana tũrĩe thĩĩna
Ndĩgwĩtaga njata ya niĩ
No ũngĩkahingũra ngoro yaku mwanya
Hau caitani nia kaingĩrĩra
Akamunya wendo witũ na aribaribe
Ukoigaga warĩ waku wa kwendete
CH
Rĩrĩa ũkuona ndari ndĩhingĩte icera
Nĩkũguoranĩrio kũmenya
Wendo ũyũ witũ nama ndũkenagia andũ othe
Amwe no mawethere kĩrĩi
Ti wendo ũmwe wa nainamio ũkaharagana
Ta wakamande marĩ na cirũ

CH
Ngũroraga ngona nowe ndaciarĩirwo
Noũ wothe ngoma nĩamenyaga
Na ndangĩthũũra nguonage ta ikũnia
Tondũ nĩ mwendi gũthekerera
Kũrĩa kũraya hau niho akoragwo
Oagĩthũkia wira wa Ngai
CH
Ungĩtwo cũcũ toguo mami aretwo
Tũngitwo guuka ta your father
Maritwa maya mationekaga raithi
Nigũtua minyororo ya ngoma
Mahoya nĩ irio ciandũ megũtũrania
Mĩtino na thĩna maticionaga

Ĩ ta wa Msoo, na kĩndu wake

Kana mũrĩithi, na ndari yake. Saiya x2 Shamax3

2. “We shall be Happy”

The devil knows what is in your heart
That it is immeasurable love
And also he is aware of the much I treasure you
142
You are my taproot
That love of ours it is a must, He will be shaking it, draw
from it so that it reduces.

CH
How happy shall we be after completing the journey
We rear our children till they become mature
We stay on earth up to the bonus years
We shall be separated by death
Should we amass wealth or have problems
I will be calling you my star
But if you will open your private heart
There the devil will gain entrance
He will uproot our love and shake off the soil
You’ll be left saying you had one of your own who used to
love you.
[CH]

When you see me darling avoiding company

I have a hunch
Our love does not impress the majority
Some could plot its demise
Like that one of Kamande and Ciru

[CH]
Looking at you I see you are the one that was born for me
And all this, the devil was aware
And he can’t hate
I be seeing you like a sac
Because he loves laughing at (people [mine])
Far far that is where you find him
Destroying the works of God
[CH]
If you would be called grand ma like my mother
Or if we are called grand pa like your father
These names don’t come easily
It is by breaking the devils chains
Prayers is the food of people once they have united
Bad luck and problems, they don’t encounter
[CH]
Like wa Msoo, and his love
Or Murĩithi and his darling

3. “Njata yakwa”
Wendo mwega wĩmurĩo ĩ
Wendo ũnjiganĩte
Njiguaga njiganĩire wega,
Ona ngaigua maisha me mega
Na ngarigwo munyendi ĩ, niũndũ ũrĩkũ ũcio ingĩona
143
Ũthũkie mũtwe niĩ ngũhĩtĩrie
Ũi mwendwa twĩ gũkũ thĩĩ

Wenĩwe njata yakwa

Rũbatu rwa De’ Mathew
Acio angĩ nĩ muingĩ wa gathagu
Ikeno ciakwa nowe wiki

Ngai wakwa nĩwegaĩ

Rĩtwa rĩaku rĩgocwo, baba nĩũndũ wakũhe mwene woi
Gĩkĩ nĩ kĩheo gĩaku
Ndamenya urĩa ndanetha ĩ, Ũngĩkindĩria gwakwa
Kweri mũndũ agĩkona wake, amumunyaga makoro ĩ maingĩ

CH

Ũndũ ũrĩa ngwenda sweetie ĩ Ũrũmie na ngoro ĩmwe

Thiri ya wendo witu murata, mĩhithe ĩtuĩke oitu ithweri
Andũ aya arona thĩĩno ĩ, matete mĩciĩ mĩingĩ
Ndeto ciao citihinyaga sweetie Ũthinge matũ na mbamba

CH

Aciari aya aku na akwa, nĩkĩo kĩhumo gitĩ

Twaumire mĩthirimo-inĩ yao, kwoguo tũkĩmahe gĩtĩo
Ciana ici citu nawe ĩĩ, nĩcio mahũa maitũ
Ũcige wega imetametageĩ ndarii igatũnyita mũtwe

Ni njũĩ wega sweetie onawe nĩ ũnyenda

Wa njagũrire gatagatĩ-ini kaingĩ angi mari na mbeca
Tũhoe Ngai wituĩ, atũige na ngoro ĩmwe
Na thuthainĩ ni tugakenaga woii tukĩria matunda

3. “My Star”
Nice love, that is so sweet
Love that satisfies me
I feel so comfortable, and I feel life being nice
And I fail to understand my love, What that is, I could see
That could make me hurt your feelings darling while we are in
this world.
You are my star
The rib of De’ Mathew
The rest are just but the public
My joys is you alone
Thank you my God
May your name be praised, father for giving me an owner
This is your gift
Knowing the much I have searched, for one who can stick in my
house
144
Truly before one finds his choice, one kisses many peels
[CH]
What I will want my love
You to embrace with one heart;
The secret of our love my dear, hide it and let it be for
just the two of us
These people you are seeing in this world
Having derailed many homes
Their stories my dear never end, seal your ears
With cotton wool
[CH]
These parents of yours and mine
They are our origin
We came from their shanks, so we should respect them
These children of ours,
they are our flowers
Keep them sparkling, darling they will hold our heads (ie to
mean, they will bury us when we die[mine])

I know very well my love, that you too love me

You chose me amongst so many, some with even money
Let’s pray our God, to keep us united
And at last we shall be happy, as we eat the fruits

4. “Reke Ngutare”
Leta leta leta leta, shama shama
Reke ngũtare kĩndũ wakwa mathanwa me kĩondo kĩmwe
Matiagaga gũkong’orania mĩciĩ nĩ ũkiranĩrĩriĩa
na wona rĩrĩa twĩna thĩna ũgatira maitho kwĩ Ngai
No gĩkorwo ũmwĩhokete, ui ũtarĩ nĩ mũigĩre

Tondũ ndakĩrĩ thome atoi, reke kĩrĩndĩ kiaragie x2

Ngwenda ũririkane mwaka ũrĩa mũnyendi twa hikanirie

Na tũgĩikarania thina wakagia ta cia mĩtamaiyũ
Nda kuongera ũkĩnjĩra thĩna atĩ ndũtũraga ta ihiga
Noka ndirikania kaingĩ atĩ we ndwa nyendeire mbia

Ndaigua ũguo naniĩ ngagĩa mĩri ota mũtĩ urĩ ruĩnĩ x2

Ni ngũthũra mũthenya mũũru, ũcio ũũngĩũka tũmenane

Nĩ ngũkũmithia ngoma mũũru ũrĩa ũngĩtũma ngwĩte mĩrura
ndamenya ndokagĩra tene ngathiĩ gucaria koroga
Nawe ugathiĩ Marigiti kwanĩrĩra mathũkũma

Nitwa kirerire na thina riu rora haria tũri x2

Shama shama

Riu ni tũinũkĩre maitu agia ndutu ũkamũruta

145
Mũhe gĩtĩo uĩwega nowe tu ungĩtũrathima
Na wĩ menyerere kĩrĩndĩ mĩario yao ndĩ hinyaga
Getha utuĩke gĩkeno gĩakwa, na ngo ya muciĩ mũrũmu
Ningakena oronawe ugoce twakĩrĩkia kũhotana x2

Nĩ Njũĩ wega my dear, we ndũngĩgĩtũkia Hawa

Ndũkanahenio ũtũme tũrie matunda maria marume
Mwendwa kĩmenyage mũciĩ ũyũ we nĩwe mũri wa itimũ
Tondu nĩũrona rĩu aciari akwa nĩ magĩkũrire

Reke tũtuĩke ũtheri wao, nakĩo kĩrĩndĩ kĩaragie x2

Ciana ici citũ nĩ kĩheo twatũraga tũhoyaga ndingĩenda kwuona

ũrekereirie tangĩ nyonaga itũũra-inĩ
Mbũri mũnyendi kana ng’ombe nginya itina cia kahũa
Menya nĩwe mũrĩithi wacio, ũgĩcitangĩkagĩre

Reke niĩ njoke wĩra na citikanyume thutha ngĩthiĩ x2

Shama x2 salimia wa Mso ndani yake

Setting ni ile ile tu
Kanyarĩ ni waigua, twacoka muciĩ tũkarĩmĩre wendo

4. “Let Me Advice You”

Let me advice you my dear,
Axes in the same basket
Never fail to knock each other, Homes are made from tolerance
And even when you see us facing problems, look up to our God
Having trust in him, knowing that one who doesn’t have,
is reserved for.
Because he knows every look and cranny, let the public talk
x2

I want you my love, to remember the years we married

And we stayed together. Poverty was blazing like fire on dry
hardwood
When I talked to you, you told me problems never last like a
rock
And you often remind me, you didn’t love me because of money
When I hear that, I develop roots like a tree planted near a
river

Now let’s go home to my mother, when she gets jiggers you

remove her,
Show her respect knowing too well she is the only one who can
bless us
And you take care of the public their stories are never
conclusive
So that you can be my joy and a shield of a stable home
146
I will also be happy when you also rejoice when we emerge
victorious x2

I know very well my dear, you cannot be Eve

Never get deceived and make us eat the cursed fruits
Darling, be aware that in this home you are the taproot
Because now you can see my parents have become old
Let us be their light, for the public to remain to talk x2

These children of ours, it is a gift we kept asking for

I would not want to see you neglecting them, like some I see
in the village
Sheep and goats my love or even the cows and the coffee
Get to know you are their care taker, be attending to them
Let me go back to work
And may they follow me not
As I go x2

5. “Hoya wendo”
Tondũ riu nĩtwa cemania
Nyumbũrĩra ũrĩa wendaga
Nĩnjũĩ harĩ na hinya, kuga John I love u
Ona kana gũtarĩria ũrĩa ũĩguaga ngoro
Ngoro ona ndũngĩhoteka njũria njĩra niĩ ngwĩrĩre

Ũngienda kwona silver, thiĩ ũgacienje mahigainĩ ũngĩenda

kũmenya Ngai thiĩ ũthome Kĩrĩkanĩro
Ũngĩenda kũmenya sinow, thiĩ ũkahaice kĩrĩmainĩ
Ũngĩbatara nĩ wendo, hoya niĩ nĩ ngũkũhe

Mũndũ wothe mũgĩ, ndarĩ mĩhere yohoro

Ndariri nĩ cinyonagia, harĩ ĩndũ ũrakũrĩa ngoro
No mahinda ngũheaga, wĩruge na wĩihure
No mũndũ ũracaria njĩra, oragia ni rĩkũ a kerĩrwo

CH

Harĩa hothe niĩ nyinaga, nĩ nyonaga nĩ ũkaga

Ngũroraga ũgĩthũngũtha wĩ gatagatĩ ka andũ
Na ngamenya nyĩmbo ciakwa ira kũingĩra ta cindano
Ndahurũka ũngeithagia, ũkanjĩra Ngai anda thime

CH

Korwo wendo nĩ ũrĩhagwo, we ũngĩaumirie nda tene

Korwo wendo nĩ ũtonga, rĩu ũngĩrĩ millionaire
Korwo wendo nĩ ũkũragio, ũngĩaumirie mĩthuka tene
No ndũrari ha gũkũrio ũka ngũhe mũgũnda ngoro

147
CH

Rĩu ihinda nĩ rĩkinyu, rĩaku ũtige gũthumbuka

Nĩnjuĩ wĩtigagĩra ndigagũtue mũmaraya
No harĩa hothe nguonaga, ndionaga ũri na muongoyo
Ũngienda kũmenya njĩra, gera hariniĩ ũmĩmenye

5. “Ask For Love”

Because now we have met
Tell me what you have been wanting
I know it is hard to say John I love you
Or even to explain how you feel in your heart
It’s not possible; ask me the way I will show you

CH If you want to see silver, go and search in the stones

If you want to know God, go read in the Bible
If you want to know snow, go climb in the mountain
If you need love, ask me and I will give you.
Every wise person my love, does not take much to understand
The signs always show me, there is something disturbing your
heart
I only give you time, to cook and serve yourself
But someone who is looking for the way, asks so that he or
she is directed
[CH]
Wherever I go to sing,
I see you always come
I watch at you dancing, when you are amidst the crowd
And I notice my songs, are entering you like an injection
When I take a break, you greet me and say “God Bless you”
[CH]
If love is paid for, you could have developed a pot belly
long time ago
If love is riches, now you could be a millionaire
If love is grown, you could have flowered long time ago
But you didn’t have somewhere to vegetate, now come I give
you a piece of land in my heart
[CH]
Now time has come, for you to stop worrying
I know you always fear I may assume you are a prostitute
But whenever I see you, I never see you jittering
If you want to know the route, pass via me to discover it

6. “Marire Njaro”
Karĩkĩ kĩũru ũndũ ndakũhutia ĩ, my dear wanjia kũrĩra
Na ndamenya atĩ tũgĩtigana, tweraniire irĩko cii mũrio
Wa njĩrire ngiumĩra wĩrainĩ, ngacuka thitĩnji ya kwanyu
Ngoka nguiyĩre tũgatũranie sweetie

148
Nĩnjũĩ wega ndũgũ mũnyendi, woi ĩtharagwo na makinya
No thũũre ngoma na ngoro yothe, ũcio ũngĩkora akũingĩrĩire
Kana agatonyerera aciari aku, makona tiwega tũhikanie noatũme
niĩ ndĩrute muoyo rĩu

Nĩnjũĩ he mũtumia wa gwitũ ĩ, wehĩtire ndikagĩa na mũka

Ũcio araraga agĩthiĩ notukũ, o ndoimbĩka kagwacĩ akoimbũria
Na noagĩkorwo athiĩte kwanyu, tondũ arĩ kanua thumu mũrũrũ
wona ndamenya ma tũkwĩhumba ĩmwe orĩu

Ĩyo nĩ hiti ĩrĩa ya rũthũro

Ĩ ikaraga irima-inĩ rĩa mũnyũ Oharĩa mbũri irĩyagĩra
Rĩrĩa cioka kũrĩa ĩgacimakia na uĩ wega ndĩngĩrĩa mũnyũ ĩ
Ndũkareke tũnũhe wendo tũhũ, nĩ twĩhĩte na rĩtwa rĩa Ngai
arotoma

Handũ hothe harĩ wendo sweetie, Ohau nĩho Ngai aikaraga

Ndamuhoya atũhe ũmĩrĩru, ‘twehererie magerio ma ngoma
Tũthambie na thakame ya mũriũ ĩ, na atuohe mbete ya wendi
wake ‘Twakĩra mũciĩ andũ makwĩnogia tũhũ

Kĩnyite guoko rĩu tũinũke, tũgatũranie tigana na andũ

Ndeto ciao ndari citihinyaga, ungĩmetĩkia sweetie nĩ wora
Tũgakoroge mũthingi witũ ĩ, tondũ niĩ ndari nowe nyendete
makwaria na matũtige ohamwe, sweetie.

Andũ a mũcene ĩ, sweetie, ũmarĩre njaro ndũka mathikĩrĩrie x2

Mahoragia kwene okwao gũkĩhĩaga, ũmarĩre njaro
ndũkamathikĩrĩrie x2

Na ngeithĩrio Kaboci, Gikonyo Tutu na Kadesh wa Tiboroa

6. “Legerdemain”
What is wrong my dear, I have touched you darling
You have started crying
Knowing too well when we left each other,
We had sweet agreements
You asked me to a light at the bus stage of your place on my
way from work.
I come for you we go and live together,
Sweetie I know very well friendship my love, is mentained by
visiting friends
And you hate the devil with all your heart,
If you would find him, having intruded or having wedged
himself within your parents, so as not to want as to stay
together
He could make me commit suicide now

I know there is a woman from our place

149
Who swore I will never get a wife, she always walks at night
Any time I put a sweet potato in fire to bake
she removes it
May be she has gone to your place, because she has a
poisonous mouth
If I discover, we will fit in one dress rightnow.

That is the hyena of hatred

It stays in the whole of brackish, just where the goats feed
from
When they come to feed it scares them away and knowing too
well
It does not feed on brackish
Don’t let us ruin this love for nothing, let’s swear buy Gods
name
May she be defeated

Everywhere, there is love my dear, that is where God stays

I ask him to give us courage, to clear the devils temptations
To cleanse us with the blood of the son, and we ask for the
ring of his will
If he makes for us a home, people will tire themselves for
nothing.

So hold my hand now we go home, we live together, leave

people alone
Their stories are never conclusive, if you believe them
Sweetie you will get derailed
Let’s go cast our foundation, because dear you are the only
one I love
They will talk and leave us together darling
People of gossip, sweetie, don’t disclose yourself to them,
don’t listen to them x2
They put off other peoples fire, while own house is burning
don’t disclose yourself to them, don’t listen to them x2

7. “Sarafina”
Woi woi mwendwa wakwa tiga gũthiĩ
Woi woi honey coka nyũmba twarie
Ngũhe ciugo igĩrĩ my sweetie wakwa
Nĩguo ũmenye tũrĩ ohamwe Sarafina wakwa

Korwo wendo nĩ kĩgacwa niĩ ndakũhe

Ũmenye harĩa ngũigite ngoro thĩinĩ
Hekahinda tu ndĩyari ũguoranĩrio ĩ
Atĩ nĩwe tu nyendete Sarafina woi

Kaĩ uhetwo irĩkũ ciakwa sweetie,

150
Ici iratũma ume ngoro ta ĩngĩgũa
Arĩa matendaga kuona andũ mendaine,
Aria mangĩkenera downi follo itũ

Korwo niĩ nĩ ni ĩ we sarafina,

Ingĩhanda mũtĩ wa wendo ndĩ ũheaga maĩ
Oriua rĩa mũcene rĩa ũcina,
Makamaka mũno mona ũrĩ o ever greeni

Ngũria nĩkĩ ingĩhe aciari aku munyendi,

Mumenye ũrĩa thĩnagio niũrĩa makũrerete
Mburi na Ngombe na mbeca itingĩigana
No ndĩmacokeirie ngatho na tũtũrie ndũgũ

Korwo niĩ ni niĩ we sarafina

Ingĩhinga matu na mbamba, na super glue
Na hĩndĩyo ikeno na wendo itingĩkaga,
Ũngĩhana taniĩ nda kuona gũcanjamũka tu

Njĩtĩkĩtie kwaranĩria nĩ mũgũnda,

Ũrĩa mũnoru mũno ũtũro-ini wa mĩciĩ mĩingĩ
Nĩkĩo gĩthima kĩrĩa kĩ maĩ maingĩ, gĩtahũaga kwaranĩria nĩ
kuga wendo

Awa nĩandutĩte kuugaga nĩ thengiũ,

Ingĩkaheo irio hũũne ngauga nĩ thengiũ nĩirio
Ingĩkonio wendo mwega ngoigaga thengiũ, na warĩa irio
ukahorera ndakwĩra nĩ thengiũ

Shama shama
Nĩ waigua ithe wa Maureen, ungĩkaheo wendo mwega kana irio
Ũhũũne umie gatathira, sema asante
Ale ale lae saiya saiya aiya ya ya ya ya

7. “Sarafina”
Oh oh my love, stop going away
Oh oh my honey, go back to the house we talk
I give you two words my dear that will benefit you
So that you know we are together Sarafina
If love was a prize I would give you
So that you know where I have kept you inside my heart
Just allow me some time so that you receive the
awareness
That you are the only one I love Sarafina oh

What information have you been told about me?

This that makes you heave almost your heart out
Those who never like seeing people in love
Those who would rejoice our down fall
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[CH]
If I were you Sarafina, I would plant the tree of love
I be giving it water
Any time the sun of gossip scotches it,
They get surprised to see it is ever green
[CH]
I’m asking what I can give your parents my love;
For you to know how I’m amazed by the way they brought you up
Goats, cows and money would not be enough,
I can only thank them and we remain friends
[CH]
If I were you Sarafina, I would close my ears with cotton
wool and super glue
And that time, joy and love would never lack
You would be like me brightening all the times when I see you
[CH]
I believe dialogue is the most fertile garden in the life of
many homes that is the wealth with the most plenty of water,
it never dries, and talking is to say love.
[CH]
My father had taught me to say thank you, if I’m given food
and I am satisfied, I say thank you for food
If I will be shown nice love I say thank you
And after you have eaten food and you are calm I tell you
thank you

[CH]
Have you heard Maureen’s father, if you will be given
Sweet love or food till you are satisfied, say thank you
8. “Nĩ Turiane Matu”
Ikarathĩ turane matũ Ĩ woi yĩiya ĩ kĩndữ wakwa
Tondũ ita rĩtarĩ ndundu rĩhũragwo ĩ na njũgũma ĩmwe
Mũrimũ ũnenehaga ũngiriga, nakuo kwaria ndari nĩ kwendana my
dear tũgĩthondeke mũciĩ
Tondũ kĩonje kĩmenyagwo nĩ mwene kĩo, no timumi na thoome

Mũtino nĩ mũru na ndũrĩ njamba neneĩ kĩndũ wakwa

Tũkĩhikania ndakwĩrĩte mữciĩ ũyũ tiwe wambere kwarĩ ũngĩ Na
wa Ngai ndĩri mũgarũri, agethaga kĩrĩa ahandĩte tuĩ
my dear ningi ndakĩrumagwo
No kĩo twakĩendanire twake mũciĩ ũyũ, no ti kũũmomorania

Ririkana mũthenya wa ritho rĩakwa kuona sweetie wamũico

Twaumaga Karatina uthoni kũgũra Wanjũgũ wa Bradoni
Tũcaga nake akĩnjĩra rũgama, agũre bicorĩ iria theru I ya
mũciĩ
Naniĩ ngiiga ngari kando
Agĩkĩra bara agĩtũnga mũtoka ona ndakaire maita merĩ

152
Ibuku rĩa Ngai riugaga umwe nĩagathiaga mbere atige ũngĩ
Onagũtuĩka ma nĩ twendanĩte, nginya mũbĩa ni mũira
Ũguo kana gaka cunga mũno, nĩkĩo kĩrĩkano ndatigĩĩrwo nĩ
nyina
Na hau nĩho tũri
No ririkane nĩ thakame yakwa, ũmũigananie naicio ciaku

Mwana ũyũ ũgũthaga na ũkamũruma woi yiiya menya wega

Mwana ũyũ ũhetagĩra kaihũri, mara nĩmakũnjarire
Kũmũruma akĩgite ota nyina, nginya ũgatũma ahaicie thakame my
dear
Ũmenye nĩ wa Ngai, menya no gũkorwo nĩ we gĩtugĩ gĩaku
nginyanĩro ciaku

Ici ndingĩenda cikĩre rũthingo

Menya cia mũciĩ ti como
Caria thayũ wĩ gwakwa nĩũkũwoma ũrĩona nginya ũnyue wega
No hau we ũrageria gũteta, ũkuma biũ na ũrie Wanjeri wa
Ngong’u wa my sister ni mũira
Ino arohutia nĩ thakame yakwa, na hau nĩho tũkĩrĩ

8. “Let’s Discuss”
Sit down we discuss this my love
Because a battalion that is not united is finished with one
bludgeon
A disease worsens if its diagnosis fails, and talking my dear
Is loving so we make a home
Because a weakling is known by the owner but not a stranger

An accident is bad and it doesn’t have a hero my love

When we married I told you, you were not the first one there
was another one
This is God’s will, it doesn’t have an alterer
He harvest where he has planted my dear again he is not
insulted
That’s why we fell in love to make this home, but not to
destroy it
Remember my last day for my eye to see my love
We were coming from Karatina marriage negotiations to pay the
bride price of Wanjugu of Brandon
Tucage asked me to stop. she buy the clean pishori rice from
home and I parked the car.
Crossing the road she met a vehicle, she didn’t even scream
twice.

The book of God says, one will proceed and leave the other
behind
We loved each other, even the priest is a witness

153
So take care of this child, it is the remembrance the mother
left me
So that is where we are
And remember it is my blood; treat him like you treat your
own.

This child you hit and abuse, please understand well

This child you starve, his intestines constricted
Abusing him that he is as foolish as the mother,
Until you made him develop high blood pressure my dear
Remember he’s God’s creature, remember may be he is
Your stability of the fulfillment of your wishes

I wouldn’t want this to go beyond the walls

Remember home affairs cannot be told in public
Look for peace while at my place you will find it
You will see and even feed well
But there where you are trying to complain
You’ll dry completely ask Wanjeri from Ngong of my sister
She is a witness
This child you are starving is my own blood, and that is
where we are
[CH]

9. “Reke Tũtũranie”
Leta leta leta leta
Iĩĩ mũnyaka wa mũndũ mũnyendi ndũmũhĩtũkagaĩĩ
Na Keke atigirwo nĩ make agĩkũnja irũtũ
Nase na Mercy mũrata ikĩrĩte cia rũirai
Kũrĩa ũrĩ mũthenya ũgakĩa ũkorwo ũkĩrĩa wega
Reke tũtũranie ĩmbere ĩmbere tũtigane na raha ciathĩ tondũ
itithiraga

Mũthenya ũrĩa nyumĩte wĩra-inĩ tũkonana nawe ĩ

Njiguaga ngoro ĩkenete tanda ciarwo rĩngĩ
Ona Mercy tũrĩ mũraika umĩte naigũrũ itunda rĩega Mercy we
sweetie ndaheirwo nĩ Ngai

Ndũrĩ wanjiga ta meirutu-inĩ, aingĩ mananjigaĩ

Ni i ndakune wendo na nyungu, ukane na kaihuri
Kwoguo nĩ njũĩ nĩ ũnyenda na ningĩ hĩkahĩka ĩ
Ũke ũihũrĩte matũtigagĩite tũkĩonoria

Gĩkũyũ oigire marĩ kũraya matininaga nyota

Thuthi cia wendo na tũbuthia ndarĩ marĩ njĩra
ngonja ngonja huumiza gogo, hatironia ndarii tuikarĩte mercy
my dear twĩ balibali

154
Mũthenya wa njuma ni ngoka tũrĩ na Kĩgia I, Wamũmbe, Makibi
na Kĩoi my dear
Onao aciari aitũ mamanye wendo witũ tiwa bakũ ĩ
Nao anake arĩa meciragia waku mariganĩ-ĩrwo
leta x4

9.”Let us live together”

Someone’s luck never passes him
Nakeke was left by his water folding an arrow root leaf
Nase and Mercy my friends are of similar breed
Feeding poorly there is a day that will come you feed well
CH Lets live together once and for all
We leave behind earthly pleasures because they
never end x2
The day I arrive from work and we meet with you
I feel my heart over joyed like I have been born again
I see Mercy like you are an angel from heaven
A sweet fruit mercy you are I was given by God.
[CH]
You have never kept me waiting, many have
I give you love in a pot, you give me in a calabash
So I know you love me, and again be fast
You come full that we may not pour as we empty
[CH]
Gikuyu said far waters never quench thirst
The spoilers of love and rumour mongers darling are on the
way
Waiting breeds impatience, it is not promising dear
When we stay far from each other
[CH]
On Saturday I will come in the company of Kigia
Wamumbe, Makibi and Kioi my dear
For our parents to register our love is not fake
And the gentlemen who think about you can forget
[CH]

POLITICAL SONGS
10. “Ciunguyu Iria Nene”

Ithuĩ no ithuĩ twarĩ kũuĩ mũtitũ

Ona thakame tũgĩitwo inyuĩ mwarĩ otoro
Ona ithamĩrio tũgĩtwaro mwarĩ omũciĩ
Onĩkĩo mwaremwo nĩ gũthikĩrĩra mũtĩ

Ciũngũyũ iria nene no ciambe cirĩe nyeki

155
 Thamaki iria nini nĩthiru iria-inĩ
Terĩa yameririe mũtũmwo ta Jona
Twakinya Nineve nonginya igatahĩkio

Nondamwĩrire kũrĩ kĩgũtha kĩa Ngai

Gĩtihiuhaga naningĩ gitihĩtagia
Kũu kwanyu gũkũhonokia wamũru
Ng’ombe nĩigũikio mũnanda ngũha citĩke

CH (4) Twakinya Nineve imenye no igatahĩkio

saiya

De Mathew ndĩroria kũgĩe thibitarĩ

Yagũthondeka Mũrimũ wĩtagwo ihaki
Njanji ũtangĩetha kĩhoto hatarĩ ihaki
‘Cenjio thakame yaihaki ekĩrwo yama

CH (4) Twakinya nineve imenye no ĩgatahĩkio

Ngũria mbunge mũrĩũragia ciũria irĩkũ

Nĩ barabara kana nĩ thibitarĩ
Kana nĩaĩ‫آ‬mi mũgũtetera mar‫آ‬hwo
Macio mothe nĩmũmeretie menda

CH (4) Twakinya nineve imenye no igatahĩkio (makahũrie)

Ikũrũndwo ma ndĩregaga ruoro

Nondamwĩrire ihĩĩ itiĩtagwo ũthoni
Ngũria hihi nĩmũĩ ciakwa irĩ ruo
Ona ũngĩnora hihi noanga itina rĩmwe

CH (1) Ciunguyu iria nene niciambe ikarie nyeki

(4) Twakinya nineve imenye noigatahĩkio
Kweri mũingĩ wakenya ũrarĩ mũnoru
Maya maguta nĩmwagathima maingĩ
Ngwenda mũmenye riri twahĩnjire rĩu
Nomwĩbundithie kurĩa itarĩ ngarange

Ch (4) Twakinya nineve imenye no igatahĩkio

Mbarathi iria iratwara ngari ya ngano

Nĩcithomithio kũgetha rĩu itekũria
Tũkore kana makũmbi magĩa kĩndu
Narĩ njiarwa citu cikona mwĩgitio

CH (1) Ciũngũyũ iria nene rĩu cikarĩe nyeki

(4) Twakinya Nineve imenye noigatahĩkio
NB: The above chorus the lines 1 and 4 are changed as shown
in the respective instances. (Mine)
156
10.”The Big Fish”
It is us who were in the forest
And when our blood was shed you were still a sleep
And when we were taken to exile you were still at home
That is why you have been unable to tend the tree

CH The big fish can first feed on grass

The small fish are finished in the sea
Like the fish that swallowed Jonah
When we get to Nineveh it is a must it will be made to
confess

I told you there’s a God’s whip

It never hurries and it never misses
In your place it is only the innocent that will be saved
The cows will be dipped so that the ticks can fall
Ch
When we get to Nineveh, it should know it will be made to
confess (4)

De’ Mathew I am wishing there be a hospital for treating a

disease called bribe
A judge who cannot look for justice without bribe
That his corrupt blood be changed for the real one

CH
When we get to Nineveh, it should know it will be made to
confess (4)

I wonder the questions you will be asking in parliament

Is it the roads or the hospitals?
Or it is the farmers you will demand that they get paid
All that you have swallowed
It is in your tummies

CH
When we get to Nineveh, it should know it will be made to
confess (4)
If it is thrown to the ground
It cannot resist to be branded
My share I have earned through pain, and I don’t give for
free
And even if you fatten, may be one buttock.

(CH)
The Kenyan public had really fattened
A lot of this oil you had harvested
I want you to know; now that u have lost weight
You can teach yourselves to eat un-fried food
157
(CH)
The horses drawing the wheat curt
Should now be taught to harvest without eating
We see if the food stores will have something
At least for our descendants to have a future

11. “Ithe wa Rũrĩrĩ”

Aiyaiya, Ngai

Nĩtũthiĩ mahoya ma bũrũri ũyũ

Kaihwa woi ona gacũkũrũ
Bũrũri Gĩkũyũ kĩrĩa ngũria ĩ twĩte mwene Nyaga

Mĩhang’o tweigĩrĩire ta ya nduru

Yothe rĩu yambe ĩrũgamio
Twambe tũgĩe kĩrĩko na Jehova tũkĩanagĩrĩra
Ithe wa rũrĩrĩ baba twa kũhoya ũgĩtũigwe

Shama
Twambe tũkũrie ũhonie mĩtunda twekĩrĩirwo nĩ mũmbemberu
Na tũgĩe mũthenya wa gũkĩng’etagia arĩa marĩ itungati
Arĩa moragĩrwo maciaro mao, Tũtiagĩrĩire twa marugamia
Matikana korwo nĩ ma nugunaga gũkagĩa na gatũ
Ithe wa rũrĩrĩ baba twa kũhoya ũgi tũigue

Ngai yiiya
Arĩithi aya matũhithia ng’ondu
Ciaku magĩtua arĩithi a mũcara
Jehova rĩu ma memende na ihiga rũrĩrĩ ruone
Ndũkanakĩreke tũrũmagĩrĩre ahunjia arĩa agũtũhĩtithia
Nĩguo mahoya magagũkinyĩra hatarĩ ihinga
Ithe warũrĩrĩ baba twa kũhoya ũgĩtũigue

Ngai tũnyitithanie na ndũrĩrĩ ciothe ci ĩ thĩ yothe handũ

ya rũma,
Ũguo tũrumagwo tũgĩtagwo kabira magarũre ngoro
Ũthamaki witũ baba ũ wamũrage
Ũkaiguo ni ndũrĩrĩ ciothe, na ndũkana tũhe ngoro
Cikwĩ yenda kana kũhahama
Ithe wa rũrĩrĩ baba twa kũhoya ũgĩtuigue

Ona wa mso

Wĩra ũyũ mũritũ baba tũraruta, wa gwaka bũrũri ituri ciothe

Andũ aitũ magetua matirĩ maitho, rĩu mahingũre
Gĩcambio gĩkĩ baba tũcambagio, nginya nĩandũ arĩa tũciaranĩ i
rwo
Acio mekire matũhũhũ rũrimi matikaiguo
Ithe wa rũrĩrĩ baba twakũhoya ũgi tũigwe
158
Andũ aitũ maingatirwo mĩgũnda yao
Nĩũndũ wa ũthamaki wa rũmena
Twamaiga moko-inĩ maku matheru nĩ ũkamacokia
Na nowe baba ũkamanyitithania
Naicio thũ ciao maiguane, na ũite thayũ migũnda yao
tũtikanakinye
Ithe wa rũrĩrĩ baba twakũhoya ũgĩtũigwe

Thai thathaiya Ngai

Ciana citũire ititikithĩtio mĩrigo ya kũnyarara maithe Kwaga

gĩtĩyo ona kũmahũthia baba magarũre
Mahe ũkirĩrĩria hĩndĩ ya ituka athuri nĩ makainũka
No ndũkanareke bũrũri witũ wathuo na wĩthĩ
Ithe wa bũrũri baba twakũhoya ũgĩtũigue

Anake, a! Anake ĩtiai ituĩka kahora

Ahunjia amĩcara rĩu, Ngai ũke na ndũgatũme mũndũ

Ũmamemende na ihiga
Matikahĩtithie rũrĩrĩ na tũtikahoyage magatũma mahoya maitũ
matũguge matanakinya hari we Awa
Saiya x2
Andũ metherie, mamirio mara, maiguithanie, nĩguo makaiguo ni
Mwene Nyaga
Aiya iyaiya

11.”Father of the tribe”

God
Let’s go for prayers for this country
From A to Z
This country, Gikuyu silence the crickets so that we call
Mwene Nyaga (kikuyu name for God [mine])
We stop all the activities we commit ourselves with like
squirrels
We first get an agreement with Jehovah as we shout

God father of the tribe please hear us [Refrain]

We first ask for the healing of the rashes we were

put by the colonizers
And we set aside a day for visiting the war heroes
Those who were killed, we ensure they are stable
In case they make noise and disturb the country’s peace
[Refrain]

159
Those who tend your flock now are shepherds of money
God now destroy them for the world to see
Protect us from following misleading preachers
So that our prayers can reach you without obstacles
[Refrain]

God unite us with all races all over the world

Change their hearts from the way they see us and call us a
tribe
Be the definer of our leadership
That it may be respected by all tribes and don’t give us
selfish hearts.
[Refrain]

This work we are doing of developing the country from all

corners
And our people pretend they don’t have eyes, now open their
eyes
This spoiling of our name, even by our own people
These ones, confuse their tongue that they may not draw
audience
[Refrain]
Our people were chased from their land
Because of leadership of hatred
We leave them in your hands, you will take them back
You are still the one who will unit them
With their enemies and pour peace in their land
[Refrain]

God hear our prayers

Children have been made to carry burdens of hating their

fathers
Lack of respect and underrating them, now change them
Give them patience this time of changing the country’s
leadership
And never allow our country to be ruled with youthful blood
[Refrain]
Gentlemen hei! Gentlemen ask for the leadership transition
slowly

Preachers of money,
God come and don’t send any one
And crash them with a stone
That they may not mislead the people before they stop our
prayers from reaching you lets cleanse our selves
We reconcile, so that God can listen to our prayers

160
12. “Ngoro ciao nĩ ndwaru”
Leta x5
Kau kahiga inyuĩ mwanjia kuorota
Nĩko gakoine gakarĩkia nyũmba
Na tondũ kĩrĩndĩ mũtiganagĩra
Mũtikaga Jesũ mũkamba mũtĩ-inĩ
(CH)
Ngai rĩu ũka ndũgatũme mũndũ
Ũhorerie ngoro cia andũ nĩa rwaru x2

Harĩa werũinĩ magĩthiĩ Kanani

Merire Musa nĩ kaba Misiri ĩ
Kwarĩ marenge, gũkũ no ng’aragu
Makĩriganĩrwo ciama maringĩirwo ĩ
(CH)
Kenya mĩgũnda mĩnene nĩ yaũ
Na matirĩ magaĩra mathikuota i
Nanĩo aya maciarĩte athamaki ama
Kirĩti twĩtigĩirie kiuno rĩa keerĩ
(CH)
Baramu athiaga kũroga andũ aku
‘kiariria ndigiri ikĩmwĩra ndigũthie
Ikĩmwĩra Kenya ndikanyitwo nĩ riua
Tũkĩenda ahau tũrĩ harĩ na bũthi ĩ
(CH)

Ngai baba, wĩrehe we mwenyewe

Nainyuĩ ahunjia arĩa mũretha ũtongoria

Na wĩra wa Ngai gũtirĩũhinyitie I
Ciĩko cianyu memenye ciĩna iturĩro
Mũingĩ nĩguo ũkamũhingĩrĩria nja I
(CH)
Mũingĩ wa Kenya mũthiĩ ing’aratua inĩ
Kaba Ngoma mũũĩ kwĩ mũraika ũtoĩ
Twamenya ciana gũtirĩ ciĩ mũciĩ
Ciĩko cia mũndũ mũcituĩre ciira
(CH)

Shama x3
De’ Mathew no gũtema
Ũtongoria wa Kenya ũgĩethwo mathikuota mambe magaĩrwo mĩgũnda
ĩmwe ĩrĩa ĩigana nyanza
Nao ahunjia, arĩa maracaria ũthamaki, mabe matũĩre ciana nĩ
cĩaũ naũ mambe metherie
Yiiya x2

12. “Their Hearts are Sick”

That stone you have started pointing
161
It is the cornerstone that will finish the house
And because the public you never get satisfied
You will not lack a Jesus you will crucify

God come and don’t sent any one

You mollify the hearts of these people they are sick
In the desert on their way to Canaan
They told Moses its better Egypt
There was pumpkin here its only hunger
They forgot miracles that had been performed for them
[CH]
In Kenya who owns the big farms
And they have never given land to the squatters
They are the ones who have given birth to true leaders
Let us call for a re-distribution of wealth.

Baram was going to kill your people

When he talked to the donkey it said it’s not going
Kenya will not be affected by sun light
We want our country it has a lot of wealth
[CH]
God come in person and don’t send anyone

And you preachers who are looking for political leadership

And you have not exhausted the work of God
Remember your actions will be judged
The public will define your judgment
[CH]
Kenyans go to the shrines
Better the devil you know than the angel you don’t know
Remember there are no children at home
One’s actions, to judge the owner

shama shama
De’ Mathew, mine is only to mention
As they seek the leadership of this country
Let them first give the squatters land
Those that measure as big as nyanza province
And the preachers seeking leadership should tell us first
Who is the owner of the children?
They should first cleanse themselves

13. “Ngai Tũrangĩre”

Mũthuri atigaga thome wake ũtarĩ mahinge
Ũcio ũtacakagia guoko na thutha ekĩre gĩthĩgĩi
Ũrĩa ũtaicũhagĩria anake ake mũtitũ njũgũma
Kana arekererie ciana na mahiũ ikĩrĩo nĩ hiti
162
 Ngai tũrangĩre tũrĩ a ngoria
ĩtarĩ gĩtongoe mĩndwĩ ĩhũragwo ma ndomba nĩ Ngai.
Aiyaiya
Kiugo sawasawa nĩkĩrĩ raithi mũndũ agĩtumũka
Rũĩ rũkoima thakame iria o ndwara-inĩ cia hinga
Naikarũrũngana cihaice kĩrĩma woi nĩ tuoherwo
Nake urĩa kĩrimu a koiga kabaguo mũngũrũrio ũthire
(CH)
Baba, atumia me ‘gũthũkaga wĩkuo
Saiya
Rĩu ici cionje cirĩ gwa Gĩkũyũ ingĩtũngana nakĩ
Natiiria ciĩragwo nĩ wendi wa Ngai tũkiuge akumio
Cia athuri gũtharia thingira na ngũ cigotwo nĩaka
Ihinda nĩ rĩũku Gĩkũyũ mũrie nũ ũrĩnja nyume
(CH)
Na ngeithĩrio, maritha Ringawa
De Mathew ndoiga tũthiĩ Machakũ tũcarie mũthoni
Kabete koiga atĩ nĩarĩ kamũtĩ matiĩrĩanĩra
Metumi ĩkoiga ndathiĩ gathiinĩ nĩngũgĩa ng’aragu
Ngakunya mahiga ngamenya nyũmba nĩ yatukanire
(CH)
Njohi irĩa ndĩani cingĩenda kũgerio ndĩgwaku baba
Cianyuo ciana igate maitho ũrĩona rũthanju
Angĩ makoina mwena waciari tũkoiga nĩ sawa
Mbeeca nĩ cietwo na citikaingĩhe cikaga wakũria
(CH)
Yaiya, Ringawa.
Ungĩenda kĩrĩra Gĩkũyũ ndamũhe tondũ ndirĩ mbo
Namũngĩenda rwathi korwo no mũnjigue ni Ngai kwenda
Mũrĩanagĩra na hinga irona mũrĩmo wa iria
Mũga cokanĩrĩrio orogatũmũ ka werũ wĩ ngi
(CH)
Wa Msoo, na Promise, Wayunĩ
Njamba cia Kuyugi asante
Muma ũrĩa Gĩkũyũ mwanyuire ũkĩrũma no wa mĩtarũ
ũrĩa wa kĩrore ciana cia airĩtu citikanarũe
Mũaga kwĩhũga na mwĩre guka nĩ harĩ ituaka kimera tũgũthiĩ
Mũgatigĩrwo mũtito wa lari

13. “God Protect us”

A man who leaves his gate open
He that never goes back to put on the lock
He that never make weapons for his sons
Or even let the children and the animals to be eaten by
animals
CH God guard us we are orphans
One that doesn’t have a tail to whisk off the flies
is wiped the flies by God
163
It is easy to mention the word it is okay
And the river over floods
And blood is still in the nails of the hypocrites
And they will congregate and climb the mountain and ask for
forgiveness
And the foolish will say, better that way so as to calm their
pride
CH
God, the women were shouting while you were there
What can these disabled in Gikuyu community benefit us with?
And it is not God’s will
So that we say amen
Of men destroying “thingira” (kikuyu name for a man’s
house[mine])
and the firewood is used by women

A time has come for Kikiyu to ask who is outside you come out
[CH]
And you greet for me Martha Ringawa
De’ Mathew I am saying we go to Machakos we look in laws
Kabete have said he has charms they can’t unit
Metumi says if I go there, there will be hunger
I pinch the stone and realize the house is disunited
[CH]
The strong beers should be tried while am in your house
father
The young drink and lose their eyes and you are still on the
thrown
And others break the side of parents and we say it’s okay
Look for money but let it not be too much to lack one to eat
it.
[CH]
Ringawa
If you want Counsel Gikuyu I will give you
And if you want intuition if you would hear me out of God’s
mercy
You dine with hypocrites who are seeing across the ocean
You will be collected and assemble in the region of flies
[CH]

Wa Muthoni, promise and Wayuni

Men of Kuyugi, thanks

The oath you Gikuyus took and stack

Is that one of “ensure the girls dont not get circumcised”
If you fail to guard yourself and tell grand pa
There is a shift in leadership
We will go the Luo way; you will be left in Lari forest
[CH]
164
14. “Nyũmba mwĩ naũ”
Tũkĩina nao angĩ no maraina ĩ
Woi ng’aragu na mathĩna
Natwatua gũtheka makarĩra
Gĩkeno kĩao norĩrĩa twĩ hatĩkainĩ cia ruo rũingĩ wooi
Ngai tha thaiya Gĩkũyũ gitũ X2

Arĩa twa tũmire makarĩithie ĩĩ

Marĩaga ng’ondu nginya rũa
Cũthĩrĩria mũtitũ wa Kenya
Kahinga na mĩtĩ gũtitũire maigagĩrĩria mbu tũkiuga wooi Ciana
ni mwa cianĩkĩire riũa X2

Kahĩĩ ka nyũmba nĩ karehe I,

Na no igogo rĩtarĩ manyoya, ndĩmũtware werũ wa rũkenya
De Mathew ngũmwĩra nyũmba itũ no mũgakaya mũrĩarũme woi
Una rũkomo kĩmenyi amenye X2

Mũgumo Gatanga nĩ ũragũire ĩĩ

Mũndũ mũgĩ nĩoĩ kwĩna ituĩka
Mene mene tekeri nĩ thiomi
Iria cionirio Nebukadisa rũthingo –inĩ rwa nyũmba yake woi
Mũtaũri mũgĩ angiuma nakũ X2
Akarĩe nyeki, aah woi

Johana ahunjĩria Israel ĩ, ũhoro wa Ngai ũrĩa wĩ muoyo

mwĩrirei ũthamaki nĩ mũku, thutha mamũrugĩre na nyũngũ Inyuĩ
nĩ mwerĩire na kanyu wooi
Reke tũcokie mbara nginyo X2

Cai ũria wa nyuirwo wa rũcinĩ ĩ

Kũrĩa nyũmba-inĩ ĩria ya kĩng’ong’o
Ithe wa Gĩthĩi na Mũthengi
Nĩ mariganĩirwo nĩ gĩthweri, na magĩtamũka atĩrĩrĩ woi
Na mwaki wa Gĩkũyũ ũgĩthata X2

Makĩrwo moime, atĩ kabira

Saya

De Mathew mũkuga ndĩna rwakwa ĩ

Nĩ wĩra wa Ngai ndĩra hingia Inyuĩ mwa tũmire ihĩĩ ũthoni
Mũgakora athoni marumĩtwo na mũirĩtu mũgagĩtunywo woi Mũkoima
ngũĩ ta ahakũri a thengeX2

Mũirĩtu, mũga tunywo tondũ no mũrĩrumana nyũmba ah,x2

mwĩmenyererei saiya

14. “With whom are you our people?”

165
Others are singing as we sing
Oh hunger and problems
And when we laugh they cry
Their joy is when we are in great pains
God mollify our Gikuyu

Those we sent to do the shepherding

They eat the sheep including the skin
Look at the forest of Mt Kenya
There are no trees remaining, they cry as we cry
The children have been left to bake in the sun x 2
Oh God

The boy of the house should bring

And it’s only the eagle that doesn’t have fleece
I take you to the country side of Kenya
De’ Mathew I am telling you our house must identify men
I talk in proverbs you decode x 2

A fig tree has fallen in Gatanga

A wise person knows there is a transition
Mene mene tekeri are jargons
Which were shown Nebkadinezha in the wall of the house
Where can we get a wise interpreter x 2
To go and eat grass

After John preached to the Israel about the living God

Repent the kingdom of God is coming
Finally they cooked him in a pot, you
Contradicted yourselves
Let’s go back to the beginning x2

The breakfast tea that was drunk

In the house at King’ong’o
The father of Githii and Muthengi
They forgot Kiswahili and they uttered “atĩrĩrĩ (kikuyu word
for ‘asking for some one’s attention’[mine]”
And the Gikuyu fire went off x 2

They were told to go out,

that they are a tribe
De’ Mathew you will say I have issues
I’m fulfilling God’s work
You who sent uncircumcised men for marriage negotiation
You will find the in laws insulted and the girl
Taken away
(You will go home empty handed like the circumciser of a he-
goat x2)
The lady snatched from you
166
Because you will still be rude
Our people oh x 2 take care

15. “Nengereria Kane”

Thuya ininaga ndarwa na igatha ĩ
Njiguaga rwainwo kwaya kwaya ngahahũka
Ngĩũria nĩ mũrũ wang’ania wa nyua njirũngi
Ngamenya hinya wa kĩara kĩmwe kĩa rũrĩrĩ nĩ wora

Gĩcangi nĩkuo nengereria kane ĩ

Thimĩra ikũmi, mbaũ kana mũtũkũ
Atumia mbeũ njĩthĩ no gũkaya ĩ
Makĩũragia mũhũri wa mbeũ angiuma kũ thuna ciume ingĩ
Ngai wa igũrũ

De’ Methew ngũina rũrũ ndwara mũtitũ ĩ

Mahĩndĩ makwa makonagwo ta J.M.
No ngatiga kwaria Gĩkũyũ mwanjigua ĩ
Kamatimũ ciothe ndoiga cinengere athuri indo ciao
(CH)

Ngai wa igũrũ, Kũinaina kũinaina anake aitũ

Ng’ombe irĩ kũgũa nyita gĩtong’oe ĩ

Cinyuĩre gĩthima gĩ ciũra iragamba
Mũthuri ũtarĩ kĩara gĩa kũnorithia ĩ
Ona ngĩmũhithia icuhĩtie kĩmengemenge no ikũhĩnja
(CH)

De’mathiũngũga ihuha rĩrĩ rĩtemwo ĩ

Rĩhihinywo mũigua nĩ ũkũrũgio nĩ mahira
Kanitha ĩno baba arauga tũhonoke I
Onemũhũtu ekũmeria kiugo ka nĩ miu egũikia
(CH)
De’mathew ndĩroria nyonio mũndũ mũka ũcio
Ũngĩtheka akahũke mothikoini ma mũriũ
Karĩ kĩmaramari kĩonje kana kahĩĩ
Maciaro maitonga nĩmatige kurĩrithia mũthĩni

De’mathew ngũrũng’a mũgetumũrĩre

Kume athuri kwa Jomo rĩu itekũhahũka
Mũthuri wa Gaki tune mwanake witũ
Kwaga ũguo werũ wa gĩkũyũ ũkahona njogu ĩrĩ kamande
(CH)
Wa gatitũ, mwana witũ, ndigĩra ikũmi
Nengera mũtukũ, ũgĩkinya thaa ikũmi
Kijana iko chini
Kando ya barabara, gwake noekinyie? Dadi I
No agagũtua? Aiyaiya x2
167
Gũtirĩ kĩndũ kĩega mũgatiga
Tiga mũmenyerere mbeũ njĩthĩ, thuna

15. “Pass Me Kane”

The fleas finish the skin by a bite
I hear the song kwa kwa I get frightened
I ask is it son of so and so who has received a bullet
I then discover one strength of the tribe has been lost

CH Gicangi pass me kane

Put for me 10/=, 20/= or you give me a mug
Young women are only complaining
As they ask where the sower of the seed will come
from to sire new buds
De’ Mathew I will sing this one,
I be taken to the forest
My bones be seen like those of J.M.
But I will keep quiet after Kikiyus you have heard me
I have said let the collaborators give men their property
[CH]
The cows are falling, hold onto the tail
They have drunk from a well full of noise making frogs
A man who doesn’t have the talent to fatten
Even if you give him one with a fat tail
It will still grow thin
[CH]
De’ Mathew I’m saying cut this boil
Press it the thorn will be thrawn out by the pass
This church you are saying we get saved
Will one swallow the word or yawn in hungry?
[CH]
De’ Mathew am saying I be shown that woman
Who can laugh to completion
In his son’s funeral
Could she be a criminal, a disabled or a lad
Let the outcome of the rich not make the poor to cry
[CH]
De’ Mathew I will code you decode
Let us get men from Jomo family now am not fearing
Man from Gaki, give us our gentlemen
If not that the Gikuyu community will suffer to the end
[CH]
Son of Gatitu, our child, leave for me ten shillings
Pass me a mug, by 4.00pm
The gentlemen is on the ground, on the road side
Will he get to his home, will he name the father

168
There is nothing good you will leave behind
Apart from taking care of the young people

16. “Kũnyaniai Mbakĩ”

De Mathew niĩ nyinaga rĩmwe ngemakĩra

No ngakĩhoya kamũkwa ta Johana njohore ĩ
Andũ othe makora
Ngarĩria mahiga, no ngoiga gũtirĩ ũndũ Gĩkũyũ no mũkanjigua

Rũrũ ti rwĩmbo kunyaniai mbakĩ

Maũndũ marĩa mekirwo nĩ nyũmba iria icio kimi I
Nĩmo maratũrĩa nĩkĩo ita riitũ
Rĩinainagio nĩ kahĩĩ kamwe na karuthanju

ĩ ngarĩ ĩrĩa yarĩire ĩ J.M Kariũki

Ne gĩũka kĩũmba kĩambũri igĩtua gatũrũme ĩ
Mũtikana reke igwatie mĩatĩ gĩtũmi rũrũ rwanyu Gĩkũyũ no
rũgathira

ĩ J.M. ategaĩ, mĩgũnda mĩnene

Woi ĩgaĩrwo athĩĩni narĩ makĩgune ĩ
Hihi ũguo eciragia, kwarĩ na kĩguni
Tondũ ndũng’ũ report tũtingi gakimicaria
(CH)
Arĩa moragire woi Tom Mboya
Nĩo mathũkirie ũhiki witũ na Gĩthumo ĩ
Hihi angĩ tũraga, tũngĩaragia kĩmwe
Ona tũtingithĩnagio nĩ memorandamu ĩno
(CH)
ĩ hiti ĩrĩa yarĩire ĩ Dr. ouko
Hau noho mbeũ njĩthĩ yoinĩirwo magũrũ ĩ
Mũthuri wabata, warũagĩra ma
Kiugo ngũrundeni mbagi rĩu gũtingĩrĩ
(CH)

Ĩ muma twa nywithirio kũrĩa kwa Maiko

Tũhenetio atĩ Kenya kũrĩ na ngoroko ĩ
Nanĩtwarĩhagio cia rigie naũ
Na mĩhĩtwa ndarĩ ĩmwe ya gaĩtwo na njũĩ
(CH)
Ĩĩ rĩkanjia gũtetema, niũndũ wa guoya
ĩ aria makũnyanĩire ĩ, General Kĩmathi
Woi akinyitwo akiuragwo mamanye niarume
Athuri mathiĩ gwake, mathĩnje horohio
Naruo rũciaro rwake ni rũikio kanyamũ
(CH)

169
I nawe kũhingara ĩ ndereba cia Nyĩrĩ
Citiĩ hũgũraga ĩ ikĩringa thagana ĩ
Ndikahĩtie thiba hihi maikio rũi
Na hau nĩ harĩ ing’ang’i woi gũtirĩ ũngĩ umĩra
(CH)

16. “Decode for one another”

De’ Mathew sometimes I sing and pity myself
But like John
the Baptist [mine]
I heighten my belt
And every one runs away
I talk to the stones, and say it’s okay one day
Gikuyu you will listen to me one day

CH This is not a song

decode for one another
The things that were done by that house
Keep quiet that is what haunts us
That is why our warriors are trembled
By one boy with a stick
Oh the leopard that ate J.M. Kariuki
It came to the goat’s pen and made itself the ram
Never allow it to impregnate the sheep
Because Gikuyu, your flock will come to an end
[CH]

JM was arguing
The big pieces of land be given to the poor they help
themselves
May be what he was thinking was beneficial
Because Ndungu’s report, we could not be looking for it
[CH]
Oh those that killed Tom Mboya
They are the ones that spoilt our marriage with Kisumu
May be if he was alive
We could be talking in one voice
And we could not be getting disturbed by this memorandum
[CH]
And the hyena that ate Dr. Ouko
That is where the feet of young leaders were broken
An important man who was fighting for justice
The word golden bag could not be there
[CH]
Oh the oath we took at Maiko’s
Having been cheated that Kenya there is ngoroko
And we were being charged. Where did the money go
And some of the oathing phrases were divided by rivers
[CH]
170
Mhm they start strembling because of fear

Oh those who betrayed general Kimathi

They should know they are cursed
Elders should go to his home and offer sacrifice
And this house should be given something
Drivers of Nyeri, they don’t turn as they cross river sagana
To avoid missing the road and end up in the river, and there,
there are crocodiles no one can get saved [CH]

GENERAL COMMENTARIES ON CONTEMPORARY ISSUES

17. “Menyemenye”
Leta, leta, leta leta, aiya iya

He kĩũria niĩ njũragia ngaga mũnjokerie arata

‘ndũ matũragwo nĩkĩ maitagwo nĩ biribiri yeneĩ
Rũgongo menyemeneye, na itherero curucuru
Rũgũrũ marakĩririe gĩtheri na ndeto cia ng’ania

Rũgongo menyemenye, itherero curucuru

Rũgũrũ marakiriria gĩtheri na ndeto cia ng’ania
(menyemenye)

Watuĩkire mũrimũ ota wa mohere arata ti mũndũ ndangĩkoma

tagwetete kiugo ng’ania arekire
Wahikania moigaga tĩ nĩ waithĩra nĩthĩna
Na mũtimia angĩũra ũcio ona wamuona nda mũteithagia

CH Rũgongo menyemenye, itherero curucuru

Rũgũrũ marakĩrĩria gĩtheri na ndeto cia ng’ania
(saiya aiya)

Ohĩndĩ ĩmwe yatene njukũ ciarĩ cia atumia

No thikũici atumia matiga ciacokereire arũme
Mũkaga kwĩ yũrithia ithe wa ng’ania nĩ mũkinyu
Na ngikora ndũrĩ kuo akoiga heo gaturwa agweterere
Akajia menyemenye gacoka curucuru
Ugicoka kũinũka mũkaguo aimbĩte ota kĩrĩma

Agacirutia gĩturi ũrĩa mwarũire nake

Ona ndangĩ conoka akĩra mũkaguo ndũrĩ hakiri
Ũngĩ akoiga ararĩ Nairobi aragũkora nongĩ
Nokio mĩciĩ yarĩu ĩikaraga ĩhana teno mĩrũme

Nĩũndũ wa menyemenye, nĩũndũ wa curucuru

nokĩo mĩciĩ yarĩu ĩikaraga ĩhana teno mĩroge
Menyemenye, saiya

171
Harĩ ũndũ ũnduraga ũnduragĩra ta mbakĩ
Ngeyũria inyuĩ mwonaga, okwene, kwanyu mũgatiga gukihia Andu
akanua monjore nguria kai mwarogirwo
Kana hihi mwacambia mũndũ thuthaini ni mũkĩrĩhagwo

Ngũria andũ a menyemenye, nainyuĩ andũ a curu curu

Mũnjĩre kana hihi mwacambia mũndũ nĩ mũkĩrĩhagwo

My dear ke ngũhe kiugo gĩkũrangagĩre

Nĩuĩ ndakũhikia moigire wĩmaraya ma taũni
Korwo ndarĩ kĩrimu mũnyendi ũngĩathire gũkĩe
Onawe kiumie ngoro, nawone gwitũ ndũkaigua kwĩ ngui Menyerera
mũrimũ, ũyũ wa menyemenye noyũ wa curucuru niyo iratũma mĩciĩ
ĩharagane

Nanĩguo ũmenye kuna menyemenye nĩ mũrimũ

Nĩũronire Gakinya akĩenda kũraga mũka sweetie I
Henetio athiĩ wĩrainĩ atindaga mbũrũrũ itũra
Andũ matikenagĩra hĩndĩĩrĩa mũraiguithania sweetie I

Nĩũndũ wa menyemenye, nĩũndũ wa curucuru

Tarora wone rĩu mũciĩ wao nĩ wa haraganire

Harĩ ũndũ ũnduraga ũnduragĩra ta mbakĩ

Ngeyũria inyuĩ mwonaga, okwene, kwanyu mũgatiga gũkĩhia Andũ
akanua monjore ngũria kai mwarogirwo
Kana hihi mwacambia mũndũ thuthainĩ nĩ mũkĩrĩhagwo

Ngũria andũ a menyemenye, nainyui andũ a curucuru

Mũnjĩre kana hihi mwacambia mũndũ nĩ mũkĩrĩhagwo

Nĩũndũ wa menyemenye I nĩũndũ wa curucuru

Nĩũndũ wa menyemenye I Gakinya arate mũciĩ
I nĩũndũ wa menyemenye I Gakinya arate mũciĩ wake
leta leta leta leta shama shama,saiya,saiya

17. “Gossip”
There is a question I ask but I lack an answer my friends
What hurts people; they are suffocated by issues that don’t
concern them
Gossip in the north and prattle in the south
And in the west, they are cooking githeri discussing so and
so

Ch Gossip in the north, and prattle in the south

In the west, they are cooking githeri discussing so and
so
It became a disease, though forgive them friends.

172
That someone cannot go to bed without mentioning the words so
and so did
When you get married, they say, that is your end because of
poverty
And if your wife runs away,
“See, he doesn’t care for her”
(CH)

Long time ago, gossip belonged to women

But these days, after women stopped, gossip was taken up by
men
You pretentiously come asking, has father so and so arrived
And if you don’t find him, you ask for a stool to sit and
wait for him
Then you start gossip followed by prattle
By the time one arrives the wife has swollen like a mountain

Your start from the beginning, how you were circumcised

together
And you can’t even have manners, telling his wife, his
husband doesn’t have brains
Another one says he was in Nairobi, and found you with
another woman
That is why today’s families look like they have been cursed
Because of gossip because of prattle/rumor mongering
That is why today families look like they have been
bewitched
There is something that hurts me, it itches like snuff
I ask myself you only criticize other people’s home, leaving
your own homes in fire
People of gossip, I ask were you bewitched
Or maybe you get paid after you soil some one’s reputation
Am asking you gossips and you rumour mongers
Tell me if you get paid after you bad mouth someone
Darling, take I give you a word to be guarding you
You know when I married you; they said you were a town
prostitute
If I were a fool, sweet heart you could have left by dawn
You too harden your heart, and you will see we will never
have differences.

Take care of this disease of gossip

And this one of rumour mongering, they are the ones that are
destroying homes

So that you can believe gossip is a disease

Did you see Gakinya, almost killing his wife my dear
Having been cheated that when he goes to work
The wife spends the whole day loitering in the village
173
People are not happy when you understand one another sweetie
Because of gossip, because of rumour monger
Now look and see their home got destroyed
There is something that hurts me, it itches like snuff
I ask myself, you only see other people’s homes, leaving your
own home in fire.
People of gossip, I ask were you bewitched
Or maybe you later get paid after you bad mouth some one
I’m asking you gossips and you rumour mongers
Tell me do you get paid after you soil someone’s
reputation.
Because of gossip, because of rumours
Because of gossip, Gakinya has destroyed his home
Because of gossip, Gakinya has destroyed his home

18. “Kĩmũhe Kaburi”

Arrrrr chwa, saiya
Ũranegerio nĩkĩ nani we muonirie
Kwĩ mawĩra me raithi, matarĩ thitoko
Thitoko no maguta, na gũcanũra njuĩrĩ
na nguo mini skirt, woi ikinyĩte omaru

Kahiũ kohĩga mũno gatemaga mweneĩ

Tiga kũrĩra rĩrĩa kũrehagĩra Guinase ĩ
Na nyama ya gũcinwo na nguo we ũcaine
Ndwamũragia cioima kũ, kĩmũhe kaburi

Atiga cukuru wamũheire lisenei ĩ

Terĩa matatũ igataga, na ũkĩmwĩra agwe bara
Bata nĩarore yake ndigathire oiro ĩ na arũngithagie body
mamuona ma gaita ruta
(CH)
Warehagĩrwo nguo ĩrĩa yauma fashioni
Ũkamwira mwari wakwa, ũrorĩmia gũkumia
Akũneaga ongiri, we ũgatheka mũno ĩ
Ũkĩ riganĩrwo kũmwira egitagĩre
(CH)
Koinange na Kamwora nĩwe warĩ igũrũ ĩ
Ahenagio onekaga na mũndũrũme woima kũ
Nia kĩrutĩte wĩra wa thithino kĩhinyio ĩ
Matatũ yake ndĩngĩrwo nĩrĩ yaga wĩra
(CH)
Mũhe handũ, hau gĩtinainĩ kĩa mũkorobia
Kĩgoci kĩa mũndũ, woi nĩ kaba kĩa mũtĩ
Gũtarũkĩrwo nĩ tombo kaba iraka cia nguo
Nĩwe ũrarĩ ndereba kũmuira arie job ĩ
Nĩwe wamũikia irima thiya na wĩrũhĩrie
(CH)
Ũngĩkarera nyoka, no igakũrũma ĩ
174
Nĩ woinithirie rũĩ mbura nĩ kura wĩrire
Mũrigo ũkioha na ũgĩkĩra njoherera ĩ
No nginya ũkorwo wĩtĩkĩrĩte ũirĩtu waguo
(CH)

Leta x4
Nĩwariganĩirwo nĩ kũmũtara
Wonaga okĩrĩa arakũinũkĩria
wa keneire okĩro rĩu nĩ kĩoma saiya

18. “Give Her a Grave”

Why are you making noise?
And you are the one who showed her
There are cheaper busineses without stock
That stock is body oil and to comb one’s hair
And a mini skirt, measuring above the knee
CH If a knife becomes very sharp, it cuts the owner
Stop crying when she was bringing you Guinness
And roasted meat and new clothes so that you shine
You never asked her where they have come from
So give her a grace
After she completed school, you gave her a license
Like the one paid by matatus (public service vans) [mine]
And you told her to get to the road
Provided she ensures that her car does not finish oil
And she ensures the body remains smooth
So that they salivate when they see her
[CH]
She was bringing you the clothes that are in fashion
You could tell her, keep up my daughter
She was giving you only thousands and you could smile a lot
And you forgot to tell her to be protecting herself.
[CH]
Koinange and Kamwara (major streets famous with prostitution
in the city)she was the most famous
She was being cheated by every man
She then had done her job well
We cannot say that her matatu ever went without passengers.
[CH]
Give her somewhere there near the avocado tree

A crooked person oh better a crooked stick

To have a torn brain, better patches of the clothes
You were the driver, telling her to keep working
You are the one who has throw her to the grave
[CH]
If you will ever graze a snake
One day it will bite you
You destroyed the rivers banks
175
The rain will fall you regret
You prepared the load and put the cusions
So you must be prepared to bear its weight
[CH]
You forgot to advice her
You were only seeing what she was bringing
You were impressed by the flowers
Now they have dried

19. “Mwĩhũgũro”
De Mathew harĩ wĩra niĩ ndĩrenda kwanjia kũruta
Wagũtũmĩra maitho mbathia ĩ
Nĩguo ndore kana ikĩngĩ cia thitima nĩikwirica gũtindaga
cikĩrumio ĩ nĩarume bara oromũthenya

ũyũ mwĩhũgũro narĩ ũthire ĩ

Woi rora karĩa tũgũrũĩ
Rora mũkinyũkĩrie wake
Mami ĩ saiya
Nainyuĩ cukuru iria rutanaga wĩra wo tereba nĩ harĩ ũndũ
ngwenda mwanjiriire ĩ
Mundu akiritwo utereba, ndereba arĩangĩ me bara amenyage atĩ
othe nĩ agũrũkiĩ tiga we wiki ũrĩ normal
(CH)

Nainyuĩ mbunge nĩ harĩ ũndũ ndĩrenda mũhĩtũkĩrie

Hĩndĩ ĩno ya gũcenjia gatiba ĩ
Mĩhumbĩre ya tumia nguo nguhĩ na turũsa cia njini cihũrwo
maribuku ĩ, mũngĩguna Kenya mũno
(CH)

Ona accident ĩnyihanyihe kwanja cia Nairobi irĩ haha

Ndĩrakuĩtwo nĩ ng’ania oũrĩa itegũtengũrania

Ngĩigua anjia gukengeta ta nguku
Ngĩigua kũrĩ korogoco ngari nĩ yurire bara
Ndamũria nĩkĩ woĩ anjokeirie ĩ kau karĩ na irio mũno
(CH)
Njoroge ũria makanĩka ndĩramũtigĩire macidĩsi yakwa woi
athondekere ĩ agĩthiĩ road ĩ tethiti woi ĩ mena Kaigai
Jane mũthoni woi wĩhĩtũkĩrei Njoro akĩgũtha mũhĩndĩ
(CH)
Akĩgũtha BM, na nĩũkĩũĩ thubea
De Mathew nĩ gũcaya niĩ
Eroreire mũthoni tũmagũrũ, saiya

Nĩ harĩ ũngĩ ndĩronire atwaraga ngari athamĩtie kanua

Woi ona ngi no ĩingĩre ĩ

176
Aranjokeirie, John witũ thikũ ici kaĩ ũtonaga atumia ũrĩa
mathakarire ĩ, athamagie ta thubana
(CH)
Athamagia, ta thubana number ikũmi na inya
Nĩ harĩ ũngĩ ũranjĩrire woi atindaga ngereci
Nĩ ball jointi ma gũthira ĩ
Ma ndonaga marima nĩ kwĩ hũgũra mĩkĩra
Akĩraga andũ nĩ mathakarire ĩ atĩ onoguo agakena mũno
(CH)

Atĩ onaga bara ĩhana mahũa, ona ũngĩringa irĩma

Nda menyaga mwĩhũgũro

Ithe wa Maureene, nĩ ũrona ta ngũgĩa kanyamũ

Saiya

19. “Turning of the Head”

De’ Mathew there is a job I want to start doing
Of making curtains for the eyes
In order to see if the electric posts will survive
This constant hitting by men everyday
CH At least for this turning of the heads to end
Oh look at that one the legs
Oh look at the walking style

The schools that teach driving

There is something I want you to start doing
When one is learning driving, he should be told
All the other drivers are mad apart from oneself
[CH]
And you parliamentarians, there is something I want you to do
for me,
This time of changing the constitution
Women clothes, short miniskirts and jean trousers should be
banned
You could really help Kenya
At least for this turning of the heads to end
[CH]
To reduce the accidents
Especially in Nairobi
I was given a lift by so and so whom, I will not disclose
Then I heard him start make noises like a hen
Then I heard noises, the vehicle had left the road
When I asked him he replied
Eh, that one has a lot of food
[CH]
177
Njoroge the mechanic, I had left him my Mercedes Benz
To do some repairs
As he went for road test with Kaigai
Jane Muthoni passed by
Njoroge hit an Asian
[CH]
He hit A BM, and you know the spares
De’ Mathew I’m worried
He was staring at Muthoni’s feet
There is another one I saw, he drives with his mouth open
Even a fly can get in
He answered me, John don’t you see, how beautiful
Women have become these days
He was opening his mouth like a spanner
[CH]
He opens his mouth like spanner NO 14

Another one told me, he spends every day in the garage

Because ball joints are finished
That he doesn’t realize hitting pot holes
Because of turning the head,
As he tells people
You are beautiful
That when he sees that he feels very good

CH
That he sees the road looking like flowers
Even as he hits a pot hole, he is not aware
Turning of the head
(Repeat stanza one)
Maureen’s father
Will I get something?

20. “Ndereba Rũgama”

Rrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrchwa! Chwa!
Mami ĩ
De’ Mathew wona ngĩthiĩ na bara, niĩ tutiganaiine
Ona waigua ngĩtwo mũndũrũme tũigananĩtio nĩ nguo
Thĩĩ ĩno harĩa rĩu yakanyire, nĩ yagire thayũ nginya igĩtuma
andũ aingĩ hakiri cikarage ihũgũĩte

Ndereba waigua ku rugama ni wa gutha mũndũ

Hakiri citikoragwo bara itigagwo mĩhang’o-inĩ
ũcio ũrona no mwĩrĩ mũtheri baba wĩ thabarĩ
ũngĩ nĩa rarĩire thikũ igĩrĩ ara hang’ĩra gĩa kũria
shama shama

Ũyũ ũratukĩrĩirwo mũgithi-inĩ wa Maiko Rũa

Arathiĩ gũkĩithia kwa Murimi, ona gwake ndanainũka
178
Nanĩguo arĩ mũtumia mũrũrũ, agũthiĩ kũmwĩra atĩa
Agereire bara gatagatĩ agĩcora ũrĩa akũmũhenia
(CH)

Ũyũ ũrokeirwo nĩ land lady indo ciake ciaikio nja

Aracaria kuba na kupoma kurĩa agũkomba cia nyũmba
Ona wona agĩthiĩ akĩyaragĩria, ti kwenda gwake
Arona thĩĩ-ĩno ta ya thirire korwo ciana ikurara nja
(CH)

Ungĩ nĩ mũtimia mũingate, nĩ mũthuri wake

Arecũrania kana nĩ kwao, kana nĩ karima akagũa
Any taimu no arũge bara, iga mburiki conjo
Ona ũngi mũhũrĩra honi ndangĩigua nĩ matũhũhũ

Ndereba waigua ku rũgama nĩ wagũtha mũndũ hakiri citikoragwo

bara cikoragwo mĩhango inĩ
ũcio ũrona no mwĩrĩ mũtheri baba wĩ thabari
Baba wĩthabari woi yĩiya ndereba kinya mburĩki

Ũngĩ nĩ mũirĩtu oima kũrora mwanake mũrata

Amwĩrire kuma rĩrĩa merĩgaine, woĩ ndangĩ ririkana
Mwanake akamwĩra atĩ woĩ, nĩakĩgĩire na nda
Ũcio ũngĩ mũhũrĩre honi ndangĩigua nĩ matũhũhũ
(CH)
Ũyũ ũrokeirwo nĩ land lady indo ciake ciaikio nja
Aracaria kuba na kupoma kũrĩa agũkomba cia nyũmba
Ona wona agĩthiĩ akĩyaragĩria, ti kwenda gwake
Arona thĩĩ-ĩno ta ya thirire korwo ciana ikũrara nja

20. “Driver Stop”

De’ Mathew even if you see me walking on the road
We are not equal
Even if you hear me being called a man
We have been made the same by clothes
Where this world has reached
There’s no more peace
Until it has made many people
To have confused minds

Driver if you hear “ku”

Stop you have hit someone
The brains are never on the roads
They are left in the hassles
What you are seeing is just a body that is on safari
Another one has gone for two days without food
He’s hassling for food
Shama shama

179
Another one got late at Mike Ruas mugithi (a one man one
guitar music show popular in nightclubs)
Then he went to crown it at Murimi’s
He didn’t even go home
And the way he has a tough wife
What will he tell her? He’s walking in the middle
Of the road plotting what he will cheat the wife

CH
This one was faced by the land lady this morning
And he’s things were thrown out of the house
He is struggling to death searching where he will borrow
rent.
Even if you see him walking talking to himself
He is seeing this world has come to an end
If the children will spent night in the cold

CH
Another one is a woman who has been sent packing by the
husband
She is wondering within herself whether to go back to her
parents or it is to head to any direction
Any time she can jump to the road
Keep the breaks ready
Because even if you hoot she can’t hear
Because of the confusion
CH
Another one is a lady who is from visiting her boyfriend
To tell him it is long since they met
The boy friend tells her, oh you became pregnant
That one even if you hoot she can’t hear because she is
confusioned
CH
(Repeat stanza 3)

21. “Ndeto Ciao Itihinyaga”

Leta x5 saiya
Nuhu amera make thabina mehonokie Jehova arĩkia kũmwĩra nĩa
kũnina thĩ na maĩ mamũrũmĩre makĩmwĩraga ake iki ehonokie ĩ
thutha marĩraga mũno Nuhu tũhingurĩre.

Kĩrĩndĩ gĩtihinyaga wa Nyagũthiĩ witũ

Wega waku ndũngĩmagomania Njogu wa nyawira Mĩtheko
magũthekagie ndiumĩte ngoro inĩ
Kwona nĩ Jesũ mambire ndũtigane nao

Ndungĩ mahota
Wega ndũkũneke ũcũthĩrĩirie kũrĩhwo na wega
Ngĩina nĩ kũrĩ moigaga nĩ nyinaga twega
180
Na no harĩ angĩ moigaga, ndiũĩ ũrĩa ndĩroiga I
Ndũngĩmahota maremagĩra ona Ngai mũmombi
(CH)

Rĩmwe nĩ thoma mbuku ya Ngai ngona nĩ ma

Ici no ciana iria cia Israeli ciarĩ werũinĩ
Arĩa manegenagia Musa makamũruma mũno ĩ
Makĩmwĩraga nĩ kaba Misiri nĩ kwarĩ marenge
(CH)

Mbura yuraga makanegena atĩ nĩ yoira nyingĩ

Riua rĩara ningĩ makoiga niria macina muno
Ngoro ciao ciombitwo ciĩna gĩthagathago kĩingĩ
Mũndũ gĩtonga na mũthĩni matiganagĩra othe
(CH)

Kũrĩ mathekaga mũno rĩrĩa wona thĩna

Kũrĩ magũcakayagia ngoro ciĩ harĩ we
Kũrĩ monaga o magego kũngĩitĩka thakame
Ririkanaga Hitirĩ anga na Ngai e ciũmbe nyingĩ
(CH)

Wega waku ndũngĩmagomania Njogu wa nyawĩra

Kũigua nĩ maragia ndeto cia gwaku na matiraire
Mwagĩa kĩndũ makoiga hihi noanga ũratũire bengi
Kanua kao karagia ndeto koĩ na iria gatoĩ
(CH)
Ndeto ciao itihinyaga, saiya
Shamax4
Wa mũthoni wiitũ, wa nora makoiga ndwĩciragia
Wahĩnja makoiga nĩ wa rwara,
Saiya kana makoiga gwaku thĩĩna ũrakia iciinga

21. “There Stories Never End”

Noah told them to build the ark they save themselves
After God, said he’ll destroy them with water
They told him to make and save himself
Afterwords they were crying a lot “Oh Noah, open for us”

CH People are difficult to understand wa Nyagathiĩ

(a fellow kikuyu musician[mine])
Your goodness can’t satisfy them Njogu son of Nyawira
The smiles they give you don’t come from their hearts
To see they crucified Jesus leave them alone
CH

Never do good waiting to be paid with good

Some say I don’t know what I’m doing when I sing
Others say they are good songs
181
You can’t understand them they are a puzzle even to the God
who created them

CH
I read the book of God and see it is true
These are the same children of Israel who were in the desert
They insulted Moses and told him
Its better Egypt, there was pumpkin
CH
They complain when it rains that the rain is too much
The sun shines they say it is too scotching
Their hearts were made with a lot of discontentment
Both the rich and the poor never get satisfied

CH
Some enjoy when you are in problems
Some empathize with you
Some only expose their teeth and wish for blood
Remember Hitler; I think God has many creatures
CH
You can’t satisfy them with your goodness Njogu son of
Nyawira
They talk about your home and they didn’t spend there
When you get something they say may be you stole
Their mouths talk about things they know and things they
don’t
CH
Their stories have no end
Wa Muthoni, if you get fat they say you don’t think
If you diet they say you are sick
Or they say poverty has lit fire in your home

22. “Nĩ ũndukanĩirie”

Rrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrchwa chaka cha ah
Kweri mwaka wa hiti Johni ndũhoyanagwo rigĩ
Naguo mũtino ũgĩũka woi wambaga gũthatia ngo
No Kamande wa Kĩoi ũgĩ niĩnĩ yaku
Na wite wa Mũthoni nĩinywĩ mwandutire mbathi inĩ ndarĩ ya
mĩhango

Ndũire ndĩhaga nyũmba, njoroge nĩ wa irio

Gũka anga nĩaracĩtie na agatinia kĩande
Kwerirwo mbũri ngũrũ, ndĩtihaga tũhũ
Wamahũgũ nĩ thengiũ, ndeto iria twarĩirie gatũnyũ
itikanyuma kĩongo

Ũngĩtukanĩrio njohi ũngĩmenya ũrĩirwo nĩ irĩkũ

Mũkũrinũ angĩhitha bangi woi kĩremba-inĩ
182
Kana aikie ndarama-inĩ, na anyite mũthĩgi
ũcio nũngĩmenya tiga ngitĩ iria cia borithi ithiaga na thaha
(CH)
Kong’o na kariũki wa Nyiri, saiya

Igĩthi kuna hinga woi itikinyaga iraka

Ĩkanua maguta kangĩ gana ndũme ĩciare
Woi mũndũ ũgũthinga, ahana hekarũ
Githĩ mũndũ ariagwo nĩkĩrĩa kĩ nguo-ĩnĩ ciake
Muthweri nĩ mũira
(CH)

Ũhe na ndũkanĩirio ta mũthokoi waikamba

Wakabuere aroriririe Njũgũ noria kĩratũ
Nĩwonete ciĩrũnde ndĩraiguire ta ngũkua
Mũhiki ũrĩa wanyu mũgũraga ocuba igĩrĩ mũndũ akamũhikia

Kaba watho ũngĩ ũtũire oũrĩa warĩ na Musa

Wa ritho riume ritho na guoko kumage o guoko
Mũtumia maraya hũrwo na mahiga tondũ ũyũ wa Jesũ woĩ
Andũ othe marekerwo ĩ nĩ ũhinyĩrĩirie
(CH)

Saiya
shama x3
Kariũki wa jani
Kaba mũtumia mwĩhokeku, gũkĩra kĩhangara
shamax4

22. “You have mixed for me”

Truly John the year of hyena one doesn’t beg from others
And misfortunes destroy the shield on its way as it comes
Kamande was Kioi and Wamuthoni
You are the ones who saved me from that bus of troubles

CH
I have been paying the house
Njoroge buys the food
Guku has paid the dowry
Truly, an old goat doesn’t make noise for nothing
Thanks wa Mahugu, the stories we discussed at
Gatunyu, I will never forget

If beer is mixed for you

How can you tell the one that made you drunk?
If a mukurinu hides bhang in the turban
Who can detect apart from the police sniffer dogs?
CH
Keng’o and Kariuki from Nyeri
183
Oh hypocrites never form on age group
Such a flattery mouth that can praise a bull until it gives
birth
One who wants to be holly looks like a church
Oh so one is harmed by what is in ones clothes?
The Swahili are a witness
CH

Give me and it is mixed for me like the Muthokoi of the Kamba

Wakabuere asked Njogu and that one of Kiratu
Have you seen ciĩrunde?
(a kikuyu word describing a woman who can be laid any
where[mine]),
I felt like dying
That bride of yours you buy her two beers and you marry her

CH
Better the law of Moses could have prevailed
An eye for an eye, an arm for an arm
A prostitute woman to be stoned
Because this one of Jesus of forgiving everyone has exploited
me
CH
Kariuki of Jani
Better a faithful wife, than a corrupt thing

23. “ũrathi wa Ma”

Yeiya shama
Ndereba waigua ku, rũgama nĩ wagũtha kĩndũ
Ngũciuna rũkomo ũkĩmenye menyere otene
Ũcio werũ mwakururania atĩ wĩnyeki nduru
Ũcio gũkũhonoka wamũru ũrĩa ũtagakinya

Ngũrĩra de Mathew Ngai niĩ ngĩkirio nũũ ĩĩ

Kaihũri mũnyuĩrĩire inyuothe atĩ mai me muoyo
Mũgatuika ngombo cia tũhũ thutha mũtheri inyuĩ
Mũkaganagwo thi no igũrũ mũtigaturia

Mũti gakinya, saiya

Nũũ rĩ waigua karũgano karĩa ka hiti iria

Igogo rĩa kũrurĩtie ciithĩ werũ wa matheco
Cikĩnyitĩrĩra ruoya inĩ rũkĩmunyũka ĩ
Niĩ na Kariũki wa Kĩarũtara twamenyire otene
184
(CH)
Saiya

Marimũ metanire rĩmwe makarĩe kĩmondo

No harĩ kamwe karĩ na congo gatarũmire kau noko ma gatigarire
mothe magĩkua I
Kĩgia amenyire na agĩkunia akĩoha mburiki
(CH)

Niĩ na Wahome twamenya twaikaranirie thĩ

Twehĩtire kau gatuma tũtigaturuma
Tũtikanoige onamba iria ikoragwo ibuku-inĩ
Mũkaya gũtũigua mwerira mũkehonokia
(CH)

John ĩ ndũmere

Nũũ ũcio ũngigia atumia ikũmi thimũ thimũre ĩ

Na makomaga gĩtanda kĩmwe matiũranagia
Nangĩ maratiga mĩciĩ yao marũmĩrĩre oho
Mũkagutũka marigithathi manyu mathira
(CH)
Saiya
Nĩnjũĩ mũkuga heanaga o marimũ ĩ
We ũtaguorĩirio kũmenya ũgeteta mũno
Ũyũ nĩ ũrathi hetwo nĩ Ngai ũtukũ kĩroto inĩ
Atĩ nĩ harĩ ndamathia kiugũ kĩa mbũri

Nĩngũigua ruo kũmenya mũrurumo ũgoka

Inyuĩ mũgĩkaya nĩ ruo mũri ahobanĩrie
Inyuĩ mwĩtĩkĩtie atĩ mbia nĩikegaĩra thĩ
Mũgathomagwo ta wakahare, mwarĩ na ngumo

Iyo, chacha ah
23. “True Prophesy”
If you here ku tell, the driver to stop, he has hit something
I’ll talk in parables he that will decode to get wise early
Those plains where you have influenced one another to go
It is only the innocent who will never go there that will be
saved.

De’Mathew I’m crying, who will end my cry

A calabash you have all drunk from
The water of life
You will be useless slaves at the end
Your fame will be sung on earth but not in heaven.

Who has ever heard the story of those hyenas?

Which the pied crow dragged into the sky for a feast
185
They held on her tail then the feather unplacked
Kariuki of Kiarutara and I discovered so early

CH
The ogres called one another for a feast long time ago
But there was only one which was mono eyed
which didn’t bite
That one is the only one that got saved, all the rest died
Kigia discovered and kept quiet and he engaged the brakes
CH
When we discovered with Wahome, we sat each other down to
discuss
We swore, in that dark tunnel we’ll never set our feet
That we may never bear the same number that is in the book
May be you will hear us and save yourselves

CH
Who is that, who can have several women and have his phone on
And they all sleep in the same bed
And others are leaving their homes to follow the same route
You will discover after your firstborns have died.

CH
I know you will say I only sing fiction
You who cannot decode you will complain a lot
This is prophesy I have been given by God through a dream
That there is a monster in the goat’s pen

I’ll feel pain to know a season that is coming

You will be screaming in pain having been defeated
You who believe that money will inherit earth
You will be read like the squirrel you were famous

SONGS ON RELATIONSHIPS
24. “Mbũri ya Rwanio”
Gũthiĩ nĩũgũthiĩ woi ĩ gĩthiĩ ĩ tu we,
Natirĩa mbere niĩ nĩ ndakũmenyerire
Wetuire nyoni ya njamba ĩtarĩ gĩtara
Wenaniukahuma orĩmwe hihi ũhurũke woi

CH
Gũtirĩ mbũri ya rwanio ma ya Ngai
Irĩa yanagia kanua kaiyuiure mahuti
Itigaga mirio ĩgathi ĩ kũrĩa makoro
Kweri ngũkũ ya gĩcenji nonginya ĩhurie kĩara

Gũthiĩ nĩũgũthiĩ wooi gũthiĩ tu, we

Na maita maingĩ nĩ marĩa ndĩ ikaragia
186
Ona nĩ nyonete ũngindiga nĩ noraga ona meciria makwa
magakorwo marĩ fureshi

(CH)

Gũthiĩ nĩũgũthiĩ woi gũthiĩ tu,we

Tiga kũnuma ũkiugaga ndingĩteithĩka
Nĩkĩingicokanĩrĩria woi kĩrume itarĩ na thayũ na nĩguo
ũĩtonga ũrĩa wa bata
CH
Gũthiĩ nĩũgũthiĩ woii gĩthi tu we,
Nanĩũtũmaga rĩmwe negenie Ngai
Ngamũria kaĩ anyũmbire ndũre na ihera
Ngamũria nĩkĩ ekaire ũgĩtuĩka mama safari

Ngũigire nduka wendagie narĩ uharũke

Ngaihũria stocko koiga ũrenda gũthiĩ
Ngũre mũtoka ũgĩtige gũthiĩ magũrũ
‘Kanjĩra nĩwa kũmbana,
nĩkĩ ingĩgĩa twi nawe?

CH
Rĩmwe hwainĩ baba witũ nĩanjĩrĩire
Mũtumia ũtarĩ mwana ndaiganagĩra
‘Nongĩthĩnja ndegwa ũcurie mũrĩage no arĩgũcambia nĩwa
mũrekereirie nga’ragu
CH

Summy I, wa mũthe Wanjukũ

Mahĩndĩ ooi
Caria x2
Wĩ mbũri ya mwanio, saiya

24. “The Noisy Goat”

To go you will go oh
It’s not the first time; I have been used to it
You made yourself a nestles bird
May be one day you will get tired and relax

There is no noisy goat true of God

Which makes noise with its mouth full
It leaves sweet potatoes vines to go and feed on peels
Truly, an ordinary hen must scratch the ground

To go you will go, so just go

In fact most of the items I stay alone
And I have seen when you leave me I put weight
And my thoughts are always fresh
187
[CH]

To go you will go, so just go

Stop abusing me saying I can’t get helped
What can I a mass permanently
Without peace the most important wealth
[CH]
To go you will go, so just go
And you make me complain to God
Asking him “Did you create me to suffer for ever?”
I ask him what did he do that you became Miss safari

I keep a shop for you at least that you may relax

After stocking it, you say you want a posho mill
I buy a car that you may not go on foot
Then you tell me it is for attracting women
What can I get when I am with you?
[CH]
One evening my father told me
A woman without a child never gets contented
Even if you slaughter a bull and hung it you be eating
She will still complain that you are starving her
[CH]
Summy, son of mzee wanjuki
My bones oh
Look for another
You are a noisy goat

25. “Mwoyo ti Kĩbandĩ”

Tondũ nĩ nguona ũtuĩkĩte ũtũro nĩ gĩcukia I
Gwakwa ũgĩtua nĩ ndũnyũ naũrĩa ngwendire
ũkage omatiribũ,ndũnyũ ya mũthithi
Rĩrĩ wathiĩ rĩa mũico no ũthiĩ ngwage

CH
Niĩ nĩ menyete ũtũro na muoyo ti kĩbandĩ
Kĩrĩa gĩa thirikari wate ũkoya kĩngĩ
Ndĩreciragia ingĩkua ũngiuga ũragwo I
Tũthikwo ithandũkũ rĩmwe nĩurĩa ũnyendete

Ndĩreciragia ndari ingĩkio njera woi

Ũngĩrũgama igoti-inĩ uge twuohwo hamwe
Nĩũrĩa ũkĩndĩragĩra Johni sweetie wakwa
Githĩ mũrigo weraria nĩ ũrĩtũraga
CH
Kaĩ ndarũmire ũ Ngai woi Johnni,
Nĩguo akũhe hinya ũguo mwaka ũgathũkia
Ikundo rĩa wendo waku harĩ niĩ akĩnyitia
Ũngururagie ta makũmbĩ ma mũgithi
188
CH
Ndĩreciragia ũtũro nĩwitũ nawe woi
Ũranyonia maũndũ aciarirwo woi nĩ nyina mwanya
Rĩrĩa ũrahĩtirie ngoma oũgĩka wega Sweetie wakwa ngakũohera
atĩ no wendo
CH
Nĩndĩronire sweetie ũtoro nĩwakwa nyiki
na ndiramenya wendo waku ti iria ni ndironaga tarĩwe ũtũmaga
hihie
No ndiragũtũka rĩera nĩ rĩa Ngai

25.“Life is not an ID”

Because I can see you have assumed life is “gicukia”
(a traditional kikuyu dance)
You assumed my home is a market place and the way I am in
love with you
You be coming in trips, to muthithi market
This time you have gone, you can go for good

CH I have discovered life and soul are not an ID

That one of the government which you replace when
it gets lost
I thought if I would die you would say you be
killed
We be buried in the same coffin because of the much
you love me
I thought if I would be thrown into prison
You could stand in court and say we go together
Because of the way you cry
“Oh John my sweetie”
So a luggage becomes heavier after spending a night alone
[CH]

Whom did I curse oh God oh John

So that he can give you such strength
That you dare shake me
You drag me like the cabins of a train
[CH]

I was thinking our life is ours

You showed me we were born by different mothers
When you are doing bad to me
I see you are still doing good sweetie of mine I forgive you,
that it is love.
[CH]
I have seen sweetie my life is mine alone
And I have discovered your love is not milk
I was seeing like it’s you who makes me to breathe
But I discovered the air belongs to God
189
[CH]

26. “Ngũkũ ya Gũkua”

Saiya
Mĩtugo yaku nĩyo ma yatũmaga ĩ
Nguoherere nyororo kũgũrũ, wa hiũka ngagucia
Biringi ndatũragia njurĩtie ngingo
Ta referee wathiĩ off side huhe
CH
Ngũkũ ya gũkua nĩ kĩhuruto
Na no yagũkua ona ngĩringĩrio gĩthũri
Ngũkũ ya gũkua I nĩ kĩhuruto
Na nĩ yagũkua ona ingĩringĩrio biribiri

Ndakũrindĩte itangi inĩ rĩa maguta na ndũngĩnora Nĩngwĩtĩkia

njukũ cia andũ
Ndakũgũrĩire woi gĩtĩ kĩa njũng’wa ĩ
Na ndwawaumire ũikarĩ ire nĩ mwĩcunio ngoro
CH
Ndakũhakĩte rami mwĩrĩ waku wothe
Ndakũrinda mbia-inĩ itia kwĩnyitĩriire
Ndakũhe mĩkengeria wetagia nyeki
Ndakũrugĩra njũa ‘koiga we ũrenda nyũmũ
CH
Ndatũire hiũkaga nawe woimagara
Wĩwiki tondũ no ũrĩĩthiĩ ũrũge mĩhaka
Mami na arata nĩmanjũgagĩrĩria ngetua nĩ ndĩrakuoha mbugi
nĩũkũhorera
CH
Ngai baba arĩ hinya ũcio wanyonire ĩ
Ndĩ rũĩ-inĩ ngĩtaha maĩ na gĩcungi
Akĩhe mũkwa nda tũire na rũrigi
rĩu nĩ nyonaga maũndũ nĩ abadhari
CH
Ngai ma nĩwa ciama Kũigwa atĩ niniĩ
Nyuaga ũmwe mũhehu itarĩ wasi wasi
Ndamenya ndatũraga ngumĩte ikinya
Ũcio wakũhikire nĩa njohorire mũrigo
CH

Ngũkũ ya gũkua no ya gũkua

Ona ingĩringĩrio gĩthũri, I ihuti rĩrĩa rĩhana ikongo ũhutie
kabiribiri, ĩnĩgetha ithitũre
Yakua nĩ yakua nĩ kĩhuruto
Saiya x2
Itagwo wa msoni kinjana ya K kubwa

25. “A Dying Hen”

190
It is your behaviour that was making me to put a chain on
your foot,
To pull you back when you go astray
The whistle was always on my neck
Like a referee if you go off side I blow

CH A dying hen must die

Even if you give it aloe Vera
A dying hen must die
Even if you give it
Pepper

I had dipped you in a tank of oil

But you never got fat because of believing people’s gossip
I had bought you a three legged stool
And you never sat on it because of pride

[CH]

I had smeared your body with tar

Dipped you in money but money did not stick on you
If I gave you “mĩkengeria” (wondering jew) [mine]
You asked for grass
And when I cook for you green maize your could ask for dried
ones
[CH]
I followed you wherever you went alone
Because you would go beyond the boarders
My mum and friends were warning me
I pretended I will tame you
[CH]
God is great, he that saw me
In the river drawing water with a sieve
He gave me a rope I had a string
Now things are abit better
[CH]
God is miraculous
That I take one in peace (a bottle of ber [mine])
I used to follow you wherever you were
He that married you, relieved me off the barden
[CH]
A dying hen must die
Even if you give it aloe Vera, that plant that resembles
sisals

You touch its tail, so that it wakes

Once it has died, it has died
He is called son of Muthoni, a gentleman of capital K

191
27. “Nĩtũmũgocithie”
Nima twendanirwe tũrĩagiĩki kĩndũ wakwa
Tũjĩgia kĩndũ andũ magĩtuaga twĩ nyenje
Na tũgĩsaina tweragwo nĩ njoka nĩ cia thirire
wanjĩrire Kenyũ na Kenyũ citicemanagia nda
CH
Nĩtũturie maru tũmũinamĩrĩre Ngai wa thayũ
Wanjĩraga twa mbe twethe thayũ mbere ya tonga
Nĩtũturie maru tũmũgathĩrĩrie tũcokie ngatho
Harĩa thũũ cianatuĩkia nĩatũthikagĩra marima
ndariĩ

Twarĩithagia ng’ombe iria cia maguku twĩna ngirĩndi

Twarĩithagia ngũkũ iria ciagĩcenji twĩna ngirĩndi
Twa gwatagia ciringi ya njamba ĩtarĩ maciaro
Tũkĩona Ngarĩ ikiuma irima tũkĩgia ya mwera

Nderĩtwo nĩandũ othe arĩanyũkwa matihikaga

Ngaracĩria Ũ nanĩguo thoguo akĩrĩ mũtũrĩku
Na ndirĩ ndona mũthuri ũngĩ mũhoreri tocio
Kweri kĩrĩndĩ kĩngĩa njĩkĩrithirie nguo igariĩ
CH
Maitho ma ciũra matikagiria ng’ombe inyue maĩ
Gũthekererwo nĩandũ ma tikũrĩrĩrwo nĩ hiti
Atĩ nĩniĩ ngomagĩra muto handũ ha mĩaro
Na kweri ndigatiga kwĩra andũ thĩna ti mbathi
CH
Aciari aya aitũ nĩtũmarerage nĩmakũrie
Nĩgetha irathimo cia Ngai witũ ciurage ta mbura
Ndingeanda ũgathiĩ gũcerera mwana waku my dear
Ũhuhĩrwo doom atĩ wĩna thuya ũgaite kĩrumi
CH
Arĩ a maitũ ona ariũ a maitũ na mbarĩ yangu
Tũtikanamatige rũgendo-inĩ makĩhatĩrĩrio
Tumasukumage sweetie na irathimo citiganaine
Matikanate nĩguo ithaku ici ndarĩ cocaine
CH

Nĩwaigua ithe wa Kim

Ona Kangi gaitũ
Ona Kĩmotho
Ona Mbeũ wa Wairimũ
Na wa Msoo
Twambe tũgacarie thayũ
Saiya

26. “Let Us Praise Him”

Truly we fell in love when we had nothing
And we became rich as people considered as naive
192
When we were signing they said it is tape worms
Now they got finished
You told me a problem shared is a problem solved

[CH]
Let us kneel and bow before the God of peace
You told me we first seek peace before riches
Let us kneel and thank him
He always saves us from the malice of our enemies
We could graze the ordinary cows having the exotic ones
We could rear the ordinary chicken having the grade ones
We only had the male shilling that never gives birth
Then we saw an aardvark coming from the hole and got a female
shilling
[CH]
(Baiby)
People had told me your sisters never get married
That your father is very proud to accept dowry
And I have never seen a humble man like him
Truly people could have made me to wear my clothes inside out
[CH]

The frogs eyes never scares the cattle from drinking

Being laughed at is not being empathized by the hyena
That today I sleep on a mattress and not “miaro”(reeds)
I will never stop telling people poverty is not a bus
[CH]
Let’s care for our parents now they are old
So that God’s blessing can fall like rain upon us
I wouldn’t like my dear, one day you visit your child
They spray you with doom
because of fleas as a result of a curse.
[CH]
My sisters and brothers and your people
Let’s never ignore their plight
We be helping them because blessings are not equal
That they may never lose hope so that these shelters can
shine
[CH]
Have you heard Kims father
And our brother Kongi, even Kimotho
And Mbeu son of Wairimu
And son of Muthoni
First of all we look for peace

28. “Purity”
Mũgũnda mũkũrũ purity nĩ ũrĩ ũmatho woi
Mũka mũkũrũ acokagĩrĩrwo na maithori
Thikĩrĩria ũigue vituko ona sarakasi
193
Thiũrũrũkĩtio ngaio gĩcandĩ niũ na ndiũĩ ikinya

Kaĩ ũgĩthiĩ ndari wathire na ruo rũingĩ atĩa

Rururu rũndĩte mĩaka ikũmi ndingĩ tobora
Ndũire ndahaga maĩ na mũtũngi ũrĩ marima
Ndũire rũĩnĩ na ndirĩ ndaihũria nama gĩkombe
CH
Rĩu nĩndoka woi purity tũcokanwo i
Na ciana citũ nawe ũcokie rũĩinĩ rwakwa
Tondũ maraikia ũrĩa watũmire ume gwakwa Ndĩroragire nyũngũ
Ndĩroiga wendo wake ũkwe ũguo

Ndũire njikarĩte thĩ purity ndũmaga kĩundo

Ondakuhĩrĩria gũtiriha gĩkambuka
Kaĩ Cikũ gakwa kandĩragĩra na ruo atĩa
Tondũ ndatũra thutha niĩ ta ndira ya kĩratũ

Ndigagĩrwo gĩtheri nyũngũ gĩgĩtherũkaĩ

Ndamwĩrĩga hau, agoka o weekendi ya thira
Na aga coka emũrĩu kagira ndĩ mwarĩrie
Akorĩra Mombasa ‘kanina mwaka na gĩcunjĩ
CH

Purity wĩ gwakwa nĩ nda nyitagwo nĩ mĩbuto

Rĩu ndwaraga kwa bundi kũnyihanyihĩrio
Gatama anjũragia kaĩ nda thikirwo rũrigi nda
Ngarĩra ndamenya nĩ kanyĩrĩ gakwa kara nyinia

Aciari akwa Purity, rĩu nĩma kĩnjĩkĩirie moko

Maraugire ona mwana, nĩa ciaragwo na agakua
Ona mĩtugo ĩrĩa marĩkia enayo ya ngombo
Ona ingĩikĩrio ngũrũe kwĩna ng’aragu itingĩ ruma

Ngai ũrĩa woigire mwana wake woĩ ndakora

Nĩwe ndirĩire na ngoro yothe tũcokanwo
Ngai ũcio wĩhinya acokie ikundo rĩa wendo witũ
Ona atwohithanie rĩu mĩndĩ na mĩndĩ a meni

28. “Purity”
An old farm has harvest oh Purity
One returns to an old wife in tears
Listen to drama and comedy
I have been made to go round, dance gicandi and I don’t know
the steps

How much pain did you have as you left?

This that has haunted me for ten years
I have been drawing water with a jerican that has holes
194
I have been in the river and I have never filled even a cup

[CH] Now I have come purity we reconcile

And you bring back our children under my care
Because the queen that made us separate
I broke a pot and said may her love die like that
Purity I have been sitting making a basket
Just as I am finishing it becomes undone
Does my daughter Ciku cry for me with much pain
Because I have remained behind like a shoes heel

I am left with a pot of githeri as it boils

From there she will come after the weekend
And she will come back drunk, before I talk to her
She disappears to the coast for An year and its fraction
[CH]
When you were in my house Purity, clothes used to fit me
Now I take them to the tailor for resizing
Gatama asks me if I were buried a string in the stomach
I cry knowing it’s my faults

My parents Purity have disowned me

They said even a child dies after it’s born
Even the exploitation habits queen has
Even if you throw them to pigs during famine they can’t eat
[CH]
The God who said his child will never die
Is the one I have cried for with all my heart we reconcile
That powerful God to return the knot of our love
And he unit us forever and ever amen

29. “Nyeki”
Tondũ ndihota gũkũrĩithagia na rũthanju
Kana nguohere mbugi Ĩ matũ ta mbũri njii mwendwa
Ngwĩtiganĩria o he Ngai tu akũrĩithagie
Kĩndũ itangika ndingiuna iru ma nguohere wone ũũru
CH
Kũu wathiĩ kora nyeki nduru,
Na ndũkarĩe ya mũcacana nĩ njororo
No nĩ tumaga ng’ombe ciharwo kanyũrio

Tondũ ndihota, gũkũmaga thutha gũkĩire

Ngathũkũmarĩ ngĩgĩe kĩndũ ta arũme angĩ nyonaga othĩĩno
Kĩndũ itangĩenda woe gũkũ hihi no ciana
Tondũ rigũ wa mũgate wao, Ngai aheire tene ngima ciara
195
CH
Tondũ ndihota gũkũhingũrĩra omũthenya
Woima mĩhango inĩ ya nduma kanga komarĩ hune toro,
Nokĩo ndakũne cabi cia nyũmba yaku wiki
Ndikwenda kũbutwo wĩra inĩ nĩgũtindaga ma ngĩcunga
CH

Tondũ ndihota kũ’ignore mũtino ũrĩa ũngĩkũnyita ũthiĩte

Kĩmandi ũkarĩa ng’ombe ĩna mũũrirũ Separiconi tũkũgĩa ya
ngoro, no mwĩrĩ wonjorithie
Taranda yaku tũtarĩ ngwatanĩro nawe

Kanda ya carata, tera wa Mũthoni emenyerere nyeki ya

mũcacana

Tondũ ndihota kũriganĩrwo nĩ maithori, mamaĩ arĩrire

ndakũhikia ũndũ nĩoĩ mũhĩrĩga wanyu
Anjĩrire ũmenye, mũciĩ ũcio atumia niagiatia nĩendi njerũ
Mameragĩria arũme othe mata tarĩ ũkĩ
CH
Aiyayiya

Tondũ ndihota kũnungagĩrĩrwo nĩ njohi

Na gwitũ ũũi gwĩ kĩrumi kaũkĩ tũtiturumaga
Na ndirĩ hinya wa gũkũrũĩra na arũme
Hinya wakwa no wa kũrera tũcui twakwa tuone wariĩ
CH
Tondũ ndihota, gũteaga mĩguĩ na ngima
Nguyo ikangora itarĩ mĩguĩ ndĩage tawara ikĩhĩtũka
Kĩrĩa ũcaragia wakĩona ũgacoka ũnjĩre
Kĩndũ itangĩka, ndigakũima kabũri ũthikwo ũngĩkoma
CH
Shama shama
Leta x4
Waka x2
Mbogoini ya waka

29. “Grass”
Because I will not be able to be grazing you with a stick
Or I put you a bell like a goat that steals into the farm
My God be your shepherded
I will not wish you ill
CH May you find fresh grass
And don’t feed on the very young and green
It is very soft
But it makes the cows to diarrhea
Because I will not be following you every morning
When will I earn and get something
Like other men I see in this world
196
What I will not want you to pick is the children
Because God blessed me with their share when they were born

Because I will not afford to be opening for you every day

When you come from night activities
When will I sleep to satisfaction?
That’s why I have given you keys to your own house
I don’t want to loose my job because of dozing during the day
[CH]
Because I don’t want to ignore the bad luck you can encounter
Having eaten a common meal of a cow that has anthrax
We shall separate by hearts, but exploit your body maximumly
When we are apart
[CH]
Man from Camata, tell wa Muthoni to take care of young grass

I don’t want to forget the tears

My mother cried when I married you
Because she knows your clan
She told me, that home women are attracted by every man
[CH]
Because I will not afford to keep inhaling the smell of beer
You know our family has a curse we don’t drink
And I don’t have the strength to fight for you with men
My strength is for tending my children till they mature
[CH]
I will not afford to loose all the arrows with the monkeys
Chimpanzees will come and find me empty handed
I will only be biting my fingers
When you get what you always search, come back the tell me
What I will not do, I will not deny you a resting place
incase you sleep
[Ch]

30. “Thiĩ biũ”

Shama shama aiya aiya iya

Kai wa hĩnjirio nĩkĩ we ĩ, kaĩ ikere cia thirire mhm

Iihana cucu wa njoka ĩĩ iya, rĩu ona ũngĩkĩrĩrio nũũ?
Na watigire wanuma iii, ũkĩnjĩta kĩondo kĩũrire weeeeĩ
Nĩ wakĩ njĩkĩrire thoni uuuuu

Nake mũrĩo nĩ hũni iiii iya, gũkũ thĩ angĩrumĩra uu mmm

Ndiaugaga kwĩ mũthĩ ũgakua weeeii ũrote ũkĩnjokerera thĩ
Nĩ wa mĩire kĩraro thiĩ biũ ũgĩthambia ndani ndi muoyo wee
cokera oiyo wakera iii,

Coka cũũguo woka, thiĩ biũ we

197
Nĩkĩ wacaragia bara wee I, nĩkĩ niĩ itakũheaga mhm
Na timwana na tinguo woooii, no mwarunyo no cangiri thiĩ
Arĩa mwathekaga nao, ĩĩ rĩu marakuona igati wee nĩ wathire
baconi Uuuu

Menya ũrĩa wagĩte ngumo wee iii ta mbathi cia Karatina mmm
Watuĩte gwakwa icukĩro iii iya, Juma, Kamau
wandũ ndathiĩ

Nĩwanjambithirie mũno thiĩ, andũ manyona magatheka wooi

cokera oii wokera uuu
saiya aiyaiya

Gĩtige kũndehera woi ciana njororoe mmm

Mũndũ mwongoyu ta njoka, iiii iya ingimenya aciarire nau thiĩ

Niĩ ciakwa irĩ omĩthirio thiĩ

Ndĩcietereirie nyarũkũ woo ii ũrĩa ũgakindĩria mũciĩ uuu

Takĩrore ũrĩa awairire wee ĩĩ, nginya ũkĩngiria thiĩ biũ Mah
Nanĩguo weyenyũraga ũũũũiyo, ũtekũririkana ũkũrũ thiĩ Gwakwa
ndũngĩonerwo gĩtĩ thiĩ, ona ingĩUra ya tũnyoi weee nĩ wa
thirire baconi ũũũũ
Shama x3
Thiĩ biũ we
Saiya x2
Ale x6
Waka
Leta x16

30. “Disappear for good”

What has made you so thin? Where did the calves go?
You look like “cucu was njoka” (the grey bird that feeds on
larvae of dung-beetle found in cow dung)[mine]
Now who can get attracted to you?
You insulted me that I look like a rained on basket
You embarrassed me

One sick of over feeding,

Whom can he blame?
I never dreamt you would come back one day
You betrayed me, disappear for good
Go back through the same entrance

What were you searching that I hadn’t given you?

It’s not a child; it’s not clothes just mere prostitution
Those you used to laugh with now are seeing you like soda
ash.
You are out of fashion
198
And the way you were famous like karatina buses
You had made my home the terminus, on Saturday Kamau
You embarrassed me go,
People laugh at me
Go back through the same gate

Stop bringing me children so that I soften

You are as derailed as the tapeworms
Can I tell who fathered your children?
My children are still in my legs
I am waiting for she who will stick with permanence

31. “Geithaniai na Mũtikarũũe”

Cwa cwa cwa seiya
Mwendwa wakwa tiga kũgũrĩka
Na gwĩtungumania mũno
Ona gũtuika nũ njũũi ũrĩa ũraigua ngoro

Nĩndakwendete niĩ otanyama

Onarĩu ndigũthũire
No rĩu ũguo ũroona ndari ĩtĩkia
Nĩguo kũũrĩ

CH Geithaniai na mũtikarũũe
Inyuerĩ mũũrĩ akwa
Na mwaiguithania tũgake mũũciĩ
Ona gĩtuĩka harĩ hinya ĩ
Na mũtikahane arĩira eerĩ monetwo nĩ Gĩkũyũ
Nĩgetha ooige aka eerĩ nĩnyũngũ igĩrĩ cia ũũrogi

Ririkanaga niĩ ngĩkũhikia

Ndarĩ ma nĩ ndakwĩrire
Urĩa ndĩtigĩrĩte mũrimũ wa iironda cianda
Nawe ũkĩnjĩra nĩwendete mũno handũ hena thaayũ
Kaĩ Ngoma nĩ mũũru agiririe ũhũngie irĩĩko icio

[CH]

Rĩrĩa atimia mathiire mbenjini

Wee noguo wa ceenjirie
Marĩa maciirire nĩ wanyitire nokĩrũmia
Ũkĩanjia kwambatia mũreera na gwetha tũiganane
No ndwamenyire ngingo ndari ndĩrũgaga mũtwe
[CH]

Geithaniai, seiya

Ndatukĩrĩrwo wĩra-inĩ hanini

199
Ndoka ũkanuma mũno
Ndagwĩtia irio ũkanjĩra
Ngarie na kũu nyuma
Rĩmwe ũkagaga kũhingũrĩra ngarara ngari-inĩ
Na kũnjigagĩrĩra igeenyo atĩ nĩndombanire
[CH]
Gagwĩtema kahiiu

Nĩndakirire ngĩrora mbere ngĩona harĩ na mũtino

Irio ndĩnacio ndĩyaga itukaine na maithori
Ndathiĩ kwa Mercy ngarũgagĩrwo na ngarũmio ta kana
Ngahingũrĩrwo na ngĩkoma ngathuthĩrwo mũno
[CH]
We nĩ we, we nĩwe mayaũ
Wanyingatire mũũciĩ
Ngĩetha alternative

Nĩwega mwana angĩkũrĩrĩra nĩ kanyoi ũmũnengere

Etema akamenya kanyoi nĩkarĩ ruuo
Angĩkarĩrĩra gĩciinga mũne kĩmũciine guoko
Rũũciũ rũngĩ nĩakamenya mwaki ũrĩruuo
[CH]

31. “Shake Hands and Fight Not”

Cwa cwa cwa, seiya

Stop heaving my love

And rolling yourself on the ground
Even if I know how you are feeling in your heart

I had loved you as I love meat

Even now I don’t hate you
But now the way you are seeing dear
Believe that is the way it is

[CH] Greet each other and don’t fight

You are both mine
And if you accept each other we go and make a home
Even if it is difficult
And don’t be like the two Gikuyu had seen
When he said two wives are two pots of poison

Remember when I married you

Darling truly I told you
How I fear ulcers
And you, you told me that you love very much a peaceful place
Oh the devil is bad he stopped you from fulfilling those
promises

200
[CH]
When women left for Beidgine
That is the time you changed
What they discussed, you grasped and cherished
You started growling and seeking for equality
But you never understood dear, the neck never goes above the
head
[CH]
Greet each other, hei

If I got late in my place of work just a little

I would come and you would really insult me
If I ask you for food you tell me
To go and eat where I were
Some times you refuse to open I sleep in the car
And accusing me for nothing that I have befriended other
women
[CH]
A self inflicted cut

I thought, and I fore saw an impending danger

I had food but I was eating it mixed with tears
But when I go at Mercy’s I am cooked for, and put in the
mouth like a child.
The door is opened and I am soothed very much when sleeping
[CH]
You, you, truly
You sacked me from home
I looked for alternative

It is good that if a child cries for a lazerblade you pass it

If she cuts herself she knows a lazerblade is painfull
If she cries for a glowing splint, you give her it burns her
hand
So that another day she will know that fire is painfull.

PHILOSOPHICAL SONGS
32. “KĨgũtha kĩa Ngai”
Weke ndũkae gũikia mũndũ wĩkirĩre
Wagũthwo neana ikai rĩu rĩngĩ ũgũthwo
Wega waku no kirĩrĩria, waku wothe woi yĩiya
Ũkarĩhĩrio maita merĩ

Mwanake angĩ gakũhira ihu na akũrege

Ciara mwana waku na ũrere, Ngai ari kuo
Ndũkae gwĩka ambũconi wĩyũmĩrĩrie mwarĩ witũ
Ũcio akahikia wina ciana

201
Atongoria mwahinyĩrĩria mũingĩ mũno
Ona maikia makaya mao mũkarega inyuĩ mũkario ni mangũ mĩhere
mũno ũkũrũ-inĩ, Ngai ndahĩtagia kĩgutha

Mũthuri wahũra mũtimia waku tũhũ

Nawe wathiĩ gwakĩra ngombe wĩgũthe na nyundo
Ũngĩkaruma mami wanyu, menya ũkũrũinĩ nawe ũkarumwo nĩ mwana
waku

Mũrata wakwa tiga kuga, wi mũroge nĩ kuona ĩgĩthĩna na mbeca

ũrarĩ na cio
Iria ndungata warĩ nacio ciakũrĩmagĩra mũgũnda
No nginya akorwo wanacitesa

Wonaga De’ Mathew atarĩ kĩndũ, ka mũtheka

Ũkoigaga ndarĩ hakiri, cia gũcaria
Na hĩndĩyo ngari wĩnayo, nĩ tũrwĩmbo tũrĩa twake
Ngai nda hĩtagia kĩgutha

Awa angĩa gũrire mũgũnda, iganjo rĩnoru

Ũrĩa wa mwendeirie amwĩtaga mũthoni we
Anyitaga thenge noru, ona kĩhembe kia ũki
Agathiĩ kũmũcokeria ngatho

Ũngĩhĩngwo wĩyũrie nĩkĩ, kĩu gĩtũmi

Kana mũthenya ũcio he mũndũ warĩiririe ng’ara
Ũndũ wa hĩtĩria mũndũ, ũmenye niũhĩtĩirie Ngai
Akũmbire na mũhiano wake

Shama aha, ndũkana hĩtĩrie mũndũ

Ndũkana thekerere mundu

32. “God’s Whip”

Never push a person, you keep quiet
If slapped, turn the other cheek
Your goodness and resilience
You will be avenged for twice

If a man impregnates you and disowns you

Give birth to your child and rear, God is there
Don’t procure an abortion
He will marry one with children

Leaders you oppress the public so much

You ignore the cries of the common man
You will suffer from curses, later in your old age
God’s whip never misses.

You man you beat your wife for nothing

202
Then as you are repairing the cow shed
You hit yourself with the hammer
If you will insult your mother, you too will be insulted in
your old age, by your own child.

My friend stop saying you are bewitched

To see your wealth collapsing and you had property
Those servants who worked in your farm
You must have exploited them.

You see De’ Mathew having nothing you laugh at him

You say he doesn’t have an investing mind
And the car you are driving is because of his songs
God’s whip never misses

If my father bought a fertile land

He called the one who sold him “in law”
He used to take a fattened he-goat and a gourd of honey
He goes to thank him

If you stumble ask yourself the reason

Or may be that day there is someone you have talked to rudely
If you wrong fellow human, you have also wronged God
He created you in his likeness

Shama shama
Never annoy someone
Never laugh at someone

33. “Mũndũ wa thĩĩ ndaiganagĩra”

Shama shama
Mũndũ wathĩ ndarĩ hĩndĩ agatuĩka nĩ aiganĩra
Waciarwo wĩ mũirũ ũkoya ambi ũkehaka ũtuĩke mweru
Ngai ũrĩa wa kũmbire ĩ ũkamũruta mahĩtia
Na ngingo nĩ mũĩ wega ndĩrĩ hĩndĩ ĩgakĩrũga mũtwe

Ngai baba
Andamu aheo mũgũnda mũnoru na wĩ matunda
Na akĩheo hinya wa gwathaga, nginya nyamũ ciothe irĩkuo
imanjini ndaiganĩireĩ, akĩrĩa mũtĩ wa mũkana
Atĩ nĩguo ohĩge ahane Ngai, nake akĩgaĩra kĩrumi
Akĩingatwo

Ndĩraiguire Njogu wa Njoroge agĩteta kwao Molo

Tikwega kwĩ riua mahandaga irio kĩmera kĩmwe tu
Koiga nĩkaba Gatanga, mbura nĩ ya imera igĩrĩ
Atetia Ngai atĩ aigananie maũndũ bũrũri ũyũ ũhanane

Nĩ kũrĩ ũngĩ ũtũraga miaka, na miaka aagĩte mwana

203
Agatũraga aturĩtie maru akĩhoya Ngai narĩ ũmwe
Ngai akamũringĩra kĩama, akoha nda na agaciara
Aheo kairĩtu agatetia Ngai narĩ korwo wahe kahĩĩ

Na mwana no mwana
Saiya
Andũ a Kenya mamakĩtie mũnoo, niĩ De’ Mathew waigua ngĩina
Maratũraga ing’aratua-inĩ makĩhoera Moi athiĩ
Makĩinaga yote ya wezekana, Kenya mpya bila Moi
Riu marauga kababa acooke, kaĩ mũrĩ kĩriganĩro ta ngĩrĩ?

Mararĩ na mathĩgĩi bara, makiuga acoke Ngai baba!

Ngai ũrĩa waragia riũa nĩ Ngai wakwa nĩ wama

Mbura nene kana rũhuho, na mĩoyo iitũ nĩ yake
Ngai ũrĩa ũheanaga ũthamaki, na nowe ũcookanagĩra
Ngai ũcio ũhete ũini ũyũ, De’ Mathew ingĩ mũtetia ngĩetha kĩ?

Njogu wa Njoroge hoya ngoro terĩa yarĩ no Ayubu

Ndungata ciake cioragwo ikĩrĩithia augire Ngai no mwega
Mahiu make na ũtonga wathira oigire Ngai arogocwo
Na mwĩrĩ wake wagĩa mangũ oigire Ngai arokumio muno

Shama x3 Mbogo-inĩ ya waka waka

Ũmiai ngoro cianyu oma namũtige kũinainio nĩ rũhuho
Ngai nĩ wama, tiga kũmutetia
Leta x3
Shama x8
Magithiĩ magĩthiĩ, Ĩ iya ĩ iya

33. “Earthly People Never Get Contented”

Earlthy people never get contented
You are born black then you apply ambi so that you can be
brown
You criticize the God who crated you
And you know too well the neck will never go above the head

Oh God,
After Adam was given a fertile land full of fruits
And the power to rule all the animals there in
Imagine he never got satisfied, he ate the cursed tree
Intending to become wise like God instead he became cursed

He was sacked
I heard Njogu complaining that there home place Molo is not
good,
It is sunny, they only plant ones a year
He said its better Gatanga, there are two seasons
He was complaining to God to balance things in this country
204
Another one stays for several years without a child
Praying to God at least for one child
God does for her a miracle and she becomes pregnant
And after getting a baby girl she complains “God you could
have given me a boy”

Kenyans have really surprised me

They were in the churches praying for Moi to go
They sang “all can be possible, new Kenya without Moi”
Now they are saying its better he comes back
Does it mean you are as forgetful like a warthog?

They were on the road with placards, saying he better comes

back. Oh my God

The God who raises the sun is a true God he is my God

Heavy rains or the winds and our souls are all his
The God who gives one leadership, the same that takes from
some one
That God who has given me this talent, De’ Mathew
What can I complain about?

Njogu son of Njoroge, ask for a heart like that of Job

While his two servants were killed, he told God thank you
After all his animals died he said may God be praised
And when his body was filled with wounds, he said may God be
praised all the more
Toughen your hearts
Stop being shaken by the winds
God is truthful, stop complaining

34. “Mũndũ wĩna Rwake”

Njogu wa Njoroge nĩũthomaga rĩrĩa Jesu arĩ gũkũ thĩĩ
Augire wagũthwo ikai rĩmwe neana rĩngĩ rĩringwo
Ũngĩgakũnjĩrwo ngundi ni kĩonje, gĩkwĩre tharia njata-ĩno
ũgaturia maru ũhoe na hinya Ngai akihe magũrũ

(CH)
Ĩĩĩ Penina wa Mbũgua mereĩĩ, atĩ mũndũ wĩna rwake
ahĩtukaga ngĩtĩ na itikũge agathiĩ kũrũmwo nĩ ng’ondu

Saiya
PM, mere

Ndikariganĩrwo nĩ Kabeu Kamau wa kĩbicoi

Aranjĩrire ti kĩrimu ahĩte njogu na mũkwanjũ
Tondũ we niaguorĩirio kũmenya
205
De’ Mathew aigana ndamathia
Nĩkĩũmbe kia Ngai kĩna hinya no a hĩtire na rithathi

Ĩĩ Njoki wa ndegwa mereĩ atĩ mũndũ wĩna rwake

atihagio nĩ mwengũ wa mũka agakua woi akamũra

Wanjiru wa Chege nĩ ĩũthomaga Bible ĩrĩa Ngai ũkaigua

Mũrĩmi ũrĩa wa huraga mbeu, tene hĩndĩ ya mahanda
Iria ciagũire rũnyanjaraine itia mũheire magetha
Noiria ciagũire nyanjarainĩ ciarĩ tũhũ mũtheri
(CH)
Evani wanyoike nĩ ũiguaga athuuri a kwanyu makiuga
Ati gũkũ thiino kũrĩ arũme na tũrũma ndogo
Hiti wamũtĩrĩ ndĩhĩtaga ona ĩrĩ thuti ya nyama
Yetagĩrĩra muruthĩ ũhĩte yuke ĩrĩe matigio mayo
(CH)
Wacege, saiya

Gĩkũyũ oigire atĩ ndiya ndiku yambaga gũikio kamũtĩ ũgathima

ũriku wayo mbere ya kwamba gũikia kũgũrũ
Tondũ harĩa rũũĩ rũrikĩire, nĩho hatwaraga mũndũ
De’ Mathew ndiĩrumagĩra mũndũ onao ma ya Ngai ĩĩ

Ĩĩ Njoki wa Ndegwa nĩ mũira

Atĩ mũndũ wĩna rwake ahĩtũkaga ngitĩ na itikũge,
Agathiĩ kũrũmwo nĩ ng’ondu

Wanjiru wa Chege nĩ ũthomaga Bible ĩrĩa Ngai ũkaigua

Mũrĩmi ũrĩa wa huraga mbeu, tene hĩndĩ ya mahanda
Iria ciagũire rũnyanjarainĩ itia mũheire magetha
Noiria ciagũire nyanjarainĩ ciarĩ tũhũ mũtheri

Ĩĩ Njoki wa ndegwa mereĩ atĩ mũndũ wĩna rwake Atihagio nĩ

mwengu wa mũka agakua woi akamũra

Mũndũ wĩna rwake, ahana kĩrimũ

Ĩtihagio ni mwengu wa muka, ĩgakua
Njoki, Wanyoike, Penninah, wa Chege
De Mathew ndirumaga mũndũ
Saiya x2
Mbogo-inĩ ya waka waka aiyaiyaiya

34. “One with Issues”

Njogu son of Njoroge, do you read about Jesus when he was on
earth
He said if you are slapped on one cheek you give the other it
also be slapped.
If a disabled will ever clench fits to fight you
Kneel down and pray hard that God may first give him legs
206
CH Pennina of Mbugua tell them, that someone with own
issues
Passes the dogs and they fail bark, goes;
And is bitten by the sheep

PM tell them

I will never forget Kabeu Kamau son of Kibicoi

He told me he is not a fool to hunt an elephant with a
walking stick
Because it has been revealed to him
De’ Mathew measures the size of a monster
He is a creation of God with power; he can only hunt him with
a bullet

CH Yes Njoki wa Ndegwa tell them

That one with his own issues
He is injured by the edge of his wife’s dress
Dies and looses the wife

Wanjiru of Chege do you read the bible and learn

The farmer who was sowing long ago during plant season
Those that fell on the edges gave him no harvest
But those that feel on dry land were a total waste
CH
Evans Wanyoike do you hear men from your place saying
That here on earth there is men and parasites
They hyena never hunts but has an appetite for meat
It waits for the lion to hunt to come and feed on the left
overs.

Ch
Gikuyu said a deep end in a river, is first tested its depth
with a stick
Before putting ones foot
Because the most calm part in a river is the
One that drawns someone
De’ Mathew I never insult any one true of God

Njoki of Ndegwa is a witness

That one with his issues
Passes the dogs and they don’t bark
Goes and is bitten by she sheep
CH2
One with issues, is like a fool
Is injured by the edge of his wife’s garment, and dies
Njoki, Wanyoike, Penina, wa chege
De’ Mathew I never insult any one

207
35. “Nduka ya thayũ”
Nyita nguo ici ciaku ũtũire ũndigagira
Oya mbete ino yaku wathiũrũrire nayo
Amba ũrĩange raha wamenya wĩ mũgima Ĩ
Ũgoka thĩno ndiroima ngarutwo nĩ gũkũra

Ndari irio cia ngoro ciĩbata gwĩcia mwĩrĩ

Mũndũ wakuona ũgĩthĩi no auge nĩ kũrarĩra
Ndamenya atĩ ũtigaga irio cihũire kabati
Ũgathiĩ kunjambithia nĩgũcaria ũracaria
(CH)
Njũrũrĩte thĩĩ yothe ngĩetha nduka ya thayũ
Ndĩna ngiri magana mĩhuko ndĩũgũre
Nyinũkaga na nduma ndaga handũ wendagio
Wa waga nĩũkamenya bata o kũiganĩra

Niĩ nĩ njuĩ Ngai mũrata nda komaga

Na akia mwaki na moko ndũhorekaga
Ayubu arĩ na ironda nene na cia nungaga ĩ
Mũka ‘mwĩrire arume Ngai ndamũrumire

Mbeca nĩcio wendire ta hiti ĩkĩenda muhu

Cigĩkurigia indo ciothe thĩĩ nĩ cia Ngai
Nairia itarĩ ndathime na watũra ũcaragia
Mũico ndari noirima, nokue gĩkuo kĩa ruo
(CH)
Andũ aitũ na anyu ndari ni twa marigithirie
Rũciũ wĩ wakwa na oke ningĩ nĩura ndigire
Na mũingĩ wa bũrũri ũtũmbaga maitho tu ĩ
Rora wanjambithirie ta mũndũ ũtarĩ bata
Ĩyo thũũ yakwa ndari wathiĩ gũtheka nayo
Ũcio ũkwonetie mbia ũkarigwo wĩna mũciĩ
Ũngĩkona kamutino ndari wage megutha
Akoona ũhana mbarathi yunĩkite magũrũ
(CH)
(Repeat stanza one)
(Repeat stanza five)

35. “The Shop for Peace”

Take these clothes you have been leaving them with me
Take this ring you confused me with it
First adventure when you will know you are mature
You will come
I am not leaving the world soon

Darling the food of the heart is more essential than the food
of the flesh
One who could see you walking could say its starvation
And I know you leave food in the cupboard
208
You go and defame me that you are searching for money

I have gone to every part of the world looking for a

shop
That sells peace
With millions in my pockets, to purchase it when I spot
it
I always go home after dusk after
Lacking a place where it is sold
Once you lack it, you will know the best thing is to get
contented

I know God never sleeps

And a fire lit with his hands never goes off
Job had many big smelling wounds
The wife asked him to insult God but he didn’t

You love money like a hyena loves ashes

Till you forget everything on earth is God’s
Those that aren’t blessed, even if you search for ever
The grave is the final end, and you die a painful death

We confused both your people and my people

Tomorrow you are mine and the day after you have left me
The public just give us eyes
See you spoiled my name like a useless person

That enemy of mine you are now laughing with

He that has shown you money till you have forgotten you have
a home
In case you get an accident and become maimed
He will see you like a horse whose legs have broken
(repeat verse one)
(repeat verse five)
Chorus

36. “Mĩkunde Biũ”

Githĩ nyamũ nĩũkundaga tiga nĩ mbeca
Ikũhĩtagĩria tugĩe mũng’aro ũtũraga onaguo
Ona woha kĩremba wooi no woigire
Atĩ kĩo no gĩtambaya tairia ingĩ
(CH)
Mĩkunde no menye we, wĩhithĩte andũ
Ritho rĩa Ngai rĩtikĩrĩ njereri
Mũndũ wothe akagera kageri gake

Githĩ mũgithi ũthiaga ota mũtugo

Githĩ kĩrabu ũkĩithagia ĩ rũciũ keerĩ
Githĩ tũirĩtu wendaga nyondo kũrũnga
209
Ng’ondu cia baba cithirĩ-ire gwaku thome
(CH)
Githĩ kĩrĩa tũhothaga woi ĩ Sunday
No gĩkũhotithie ũnyarire mĩciĩ itũ
Githĩ baraka baiaka ba ba mũirisibu
Githĩ nĩ ng’ondu icifaga wendo mũhiũ
(CH)
Mahunjio marĩa wanahunjia mbere yandũ
Macio nomo magagũtuĩra ciira waku
Mũndũ we wanahĩtithia koima wega-inĩ
Wangai mũrigo na ituĩro nĩũgakua
(CH)
Mĩkunde tu we

Mũndũ wothe ũgacenjia kiugo gĩkĩ kĩama

Kana agarũre gaturumo keibuku-inĩ
Nĩakagaĩrwo mahũhũ na mũcara
Gekirwo gĩthĩi ngingo mũthĩ waituĩro
(CH)
Arĩ a maitũ arĩa wana hinga wĩtĩkio-inĩ
Woigire ibuku riugaga ng’ondu ũrĩithie ũrĩe
Nĩkaba ũkĩrute kĩremba na wĩre andũ
Njĩra ĩyo ya mũtharaba nĩyaritũha
(CH)
(Repeat stanza two)

36. “Continue Drinking”

Oh, so you still drink were it not for money scarcity
You still feel the thirst for beer
Even after putting on the turban you said
It’s only a piece of cloth like any other

Continue drinking but remember you

Only deceive the public
God’s eye doesn’t have cataract
Everyone will be judged according to his actions
So you still attend Mugithi
So you still drink till dawn twice
So the girls you like straightening their breast
God’s sheep have been finished in your compound
CH
So what we offer on Sunday
Can enable you to destroy our homes
So baraka baikababa murisibu
(an imitation of how people pray in tongues)[mine]
So it’s the sheep that praises the warm love
CH
The preaching you make in public
Are the same that will judge you
210
Everyone you misled from the flock of God
The burden of your judgment you will bear
CH
Continue drinking
Anyone who will change this truthful ward
Or change a punctuation that is in the Bible
He will be accused of misleading
And the pay, he will be put a milling stone the day of
judgment
CH
All the women you have mislead in their faith
You said the book says you rear the sheep and feed on them
You better remove the turban and tell the people
The way of the cross has become difficult
CH
(Repeat stanza 2)

PROPAGANDA
37“Thakame Ĩrĩa Yaitirwo”
Gĩkũyũ ngũina ndĩmũrume, tondũ ndiruma Ngai
ũyũ ararĩ ithe wa rũrĩrĩ rwa nyũmba ĩno ya mũmbi,
Rũrũ rũĩ mwathi gĩtinya gũtarĩ na mũiyũro
Mbura ĩkaringa rune rũthererie naithuĩ mĩthirimo
Kaĩ mũndũ aumaga kĩrĩmainĩ
Ngathaithe mwene nyaga, ngĩcoka ngakora nyũmba itũ
ĩkĩhĩya mĩhianano
Kaĩ thakame ĩrĩa mwaitirwo, woi ĩtarĩ ruo
Na yarĩ ya gũtagĩrĩria ĩ wiyathi ndũkanathiĩ

Ngai Baba Ngai Baba

De’methew ngũciuna rũkomo

Kĩmenyi amenye tene mũrigwo akĩrwo atigwo o hau ĩ
Mweri wa hiti ũkinye, getha arigie ahingiririo nja
Akarĩo ni hiti, tũrai o hau mũndũ mũgo ĩ woi ndaiguagwo kwao
(CH)

Njamba ĩno mwarika kũhĩta

Gĩkũyũ-inĩ wa tene, ĩyo ya twaragwo kĩrugo-inĩ
Igataragwo nĩ athuuri, ũgwati ũngĩkoneka Rĩkia,
Gĩkũyũ tũgĩ tahwo ĩyo nĩyo yarangagĩraĩ airĩtu aitũ na mahiũ
(CH)
Niĩ nĩ ngũigua ngĩrurumũkwo nĩ ciugo cirĩ ruo
Njogoo ĩno mwoiga nĩ ngũrũ rĩu tũthĩnjĩrwo tũrĩe
Twethe kanini ga taũni ona gatoĩ gũkinya
Ona mũthweri nĩoĩ ya taũni ndĩngĩkũga gĩcagi
211
(CH)
Kaĩ ciana cianyu itarĩ ruo ng’ombe cianyu na mbũri
mworagĩirwo nĩ gacũgũma ĩ, rũgũrũ rũĩrũgĩgo
Ng’ũndũ ciitũ twa thithinĩ ire, bũrũri twa ingatirwo na
mwakũngũũira thũ irĩte tũkome ta mbaca
(CH)
Mũranga nĩ cikio kahũa, Kimbũũ orona Nyĩrĩ
Meru, Nyandarua gũcokio ndirĩ
Ikamba rĩheo maĩ, nayo Gema ĩnengerwo anake
Na makindĩrwo itugĩ,
Mwaga kũnjigua mũkaiguaga hiti ikĩmũrĩa mũthirimo
(CH)

Kĩmera gĩkĩ tũra rora mbathi ni matigirwo

Nanĩguo gĩa thira magae matuonĩre mĩgaire
Thiri ya thingira nĩ hithwo, ndikonio tữkữnia
Ihĩĩ cingĩkindĩrwo wĩra rangĩre ữtonga witữ
(CH)

Gatữ kerĩga kữhĩtữka, ka mữĩto wa gatiba

Kahinda gatigĩtie hanini Gĩkũyũ kũmerũka
Mwaga gwetherera tũthaku, mwaramie nyũmba nene
Mũkamira na kĩgokora De’ Mathew ndĩmwĩrage

Shama X3 thakame ĩrĩa yaitirwo

Ng’anagĩrai ciana cianyu nĩgetha ĩgatigaga kuona tarĩ ng’ano
cia marimũ

37. “The Blood that was Shed”

Gikuyu I will sing I insult you
Because I can’t insult God
He was the father of this tribe of Mumbi
This river you have gone to its banks
When the floods come it will wash even the youth

Some one comes from the mountain

From pleading with Mwene Nyaga
(Gikuyu’s name for God)[mine] only to find you
worshiping idols
Was the blood you shed not meant to safe guard the
freedom never to go?

De’ Mathew I will talk in parables

He that will decode to decode early
But the ignorant to be left behind
So that when the month of hyena cames he will not be
identified and he will be locked out
He will thus be eaten by hyena
Just stay there and a seer is not heard in his own home
212
[CH]
This hero you are hunting
In the traditional Gikuyu, it was taken to the council of
elders
To be counselled by elders
If danger will be seen in Likia
As your property is grabbled
That is the one who was guarding our girls and animals

[CH]
I feel painful words haunting me from within
This cock you have said it is old, so it be slaughtered we
eat
We look for a young one from town
That doesn’t know how to step on the hen
Even the Swahili know a town cock
Cant crow in the village
[CH]
Don’t your children pain you, your cows and the goats?
They were destroyed by the club
Our land we had sweat for
And we were chased away and you say
We lie like an envelope after the enemies have eaten
[CH]
Let coffee be returned in Muranga
Kiambu and even Nyeri
Meru and Nyandarua we retain the daily
You put water in Kamba land
And Gema it be handed to young men
And they be supported
If you don’t listen to me
You will hear the hyenas feeding on your legs
[CH]

This Luo style we are adapting, leave it to them

To show us how to adopt it
Let the secret of the house be concealed
Don’t show it to the sacs
Support the lads they guard our wealth
[CH]
A cloud that passed recently, about the constitution
It is just about, we set jokes aside
If you don’t look for shelters, to expand the house
You will blow the nose with the elbows
De’ Mathew I’ll be telling you
[CH]
The blood that was shed
Be narrating to your children
So that they stop seeing as if it is fiction
213
38. “Ngai Wĩrehe”
Ngai baba nyũmba ya Mũmbi

De Mathew ndĩraina nĩ matũro Ngai

Ngĩrĩrĩra mĩoyo mahiũ kĩmera ũheanĩte
Ciana ciothe cigĩkana mwaki ngai ĩ
Mũtharaba wa kanitha yaku woi ũkĩhĩa mwaki

Nokĩo ngũgwĩta wĩrehe we mwene

Ndũgatũme mũraika Ngai wĩrehe
ciana ciaku rĩu itirĩ na hinya, Ngai ĩ

Rĩu nĩ ikũninwo nĩ thũũ ciao I Ngai wakwa

Njigua orĩu baba

De Mathew rĩu nĩ ngũgwĩtia hinya, Ngai Ĩ

Torĩa waheire mũrũguo Joshua ĩ e mbara inĩ
Rĩu hote kũrũgamia rĩu, Ngai ĩ
Ngũmanine me ngiri mĩrango, ĩ Ngai wakwa
(CH)

Acio manamundia thuna gogi, yaku ĩ

Magacina ona ndungata ciaku, I ingĩkũhoya
Kũu kwao gũkagia na mangũ, Ngai I
Magakaya ga ruo rwaironda I, ikĩmanina
Wayunĩ, nyũmba
(CH)

De Mathew rĩu nĩ ngũgwĩtia hinya Ngai ĩ

Kĩrĩa ndarũma ndĩthĩno igũrũ ĩ gĩkarũmwo
Ũthamaki ũyũ gũka maitirwo, thakame
ũcio matikana wona ndemi ĩ na mathathi
(CH)

He kanitha Baramu ehithĩte, Ngai Ĩ

Ararutĩra magongona anine rũrĩrĩ rwaku
He ihinda ndambũrũkie guoko, Ngai Ĩ
Maroho make mangoma rĩu mahotome mothe
(CH)
Na ngei thirio Kamangũ
De’ Mathew rĩu ngũgwĩtia hinya, Ngai Ĩ
Ngahote kũmomora Baberi ũndũ nĩ irakwo
Nĩguo magarũranie rũthiomi, Ngai I
Matikanai gwĩthanie rũthiomi rĩngĩ me thĩno
(CH)

Ke kĩrĩro kĩa rũrĩrĩ rwaku,Ngai I

Igua kĩrĩro gĩa ciana ciao I ikĩhia mwaki
Hinya wao na thithino yao,Ngai I
214
Ukamarĩha maita ngiri na ngiri ta Ayubu
(CH)

Shama shama
Wĩrehe Awa we mwene na ndakandũmĩre mũndũ ona mũraika
Tũcemanie kĩrĩma-inĩ gĩtheru
Gĩa kĩrĩnyaga, Ngai wa Gĩkũyũ na Mumbi

38. “God Come in Person”

De’ Mathew I am singing because of bitterness
As I cry for lives, animals and big season you have provided
All the children burnt oh God
The cross of your church burnt oh God
Ch That’s why I’m calling upon you
Come and bring yourself personally
Don’t send an angel come in person
Your children are now weak
God, they are being finished by their enemies oh
God
Here me now oh God.
De’ Mathew I’m now asking you for power
God like the power you gave your son Joshua when he was in
the battle
That I may be able to stop the sun that I finish them in
large numbers oh my God
[CH]
Those who set your synagogue in fire
They burnt even your servants as they were praying to you
Let there be curses upon their land oh God
They will be crying of paining wounds as they finish them
[CH]
Wa Yunĩ, “house”
De’ Mathew I am now asking you for power oh God
That what I have cursed here
It be cursed even in heaven
This freedom our grandfathers were hanged for
Let them never see it forever and ever
CH
There is a church in which Baram is hiding oh God
That is where his carrying out his services to finish your
people oh God
God let me now stretch my hand that his
Evil spirits may now be weakened
[CH]
And greet for me Kamangu

De’ Mathew I’m now calling upon for power

That I be able to destroy Babylon because it’s being erected
now
215
So that I confuse their tongues oh God
That they may never understand one another again while on
this earth
[CH]
Take the cry of your tribe oh God
Listen to the cry of your children oh as they burn in fire
Their sweat and energy pay them several thousands times like
Job
[CH]

Bring yourself oh God

And don’t sent any one
Even an angel, we meet in the holly mountain of Kirinyaga
God of Gikuyu and Mumbi

39. “Rũhiũ”
Rrrrrrrrrr chwa
Baba ni ndoka ĩ, na ndoka twĩna Kamarũ,
Tondũ nĩ njũĩ ana rũtũnga
Rĩu twĩ harĩwe na kĩeha kĩingĩ

Nguona tũcuke mĩtĩ, tuone kana he gatithio magongona-inĩ

magĩkũyũ ũthamaki ũyũ rĩu nĩ mũthũkie mũno

Rũhiũ waneirwo nĩ guka nĩrwa kũra ngagĩra rũrĩrĩ

Nĩguo wa rũringithia thĩ bũrũri wothe ũgakiria ngi
ciana ciaku cione thayũ, tondũ nĩirĩ kĩyoo gĩa kwĩ ye
thera

ĩno nĩ ndũmĩrĩri ĩ,ya Ngai ithe wa Gĩkũyũ

ĩgereire kanuaini gakwa,ngwĩra baba niĩ ndĩ hũre thahu
Rũrũ ti rwa kanitha ĩ, nĩ ithahĩtie ĩ na thahu ikaihũrwo nĩ
Maroho moru na ndingĩrũgama mbere ya Ngai
(CH)

Daddi ĩ,wi hĩkahĩke

Tũcarie mũgacikũ, na mwĩthaga wĩtheretie
Ndũrũme ĩrĩ mũkũyũ yethwo na ngĩgakorwo na karoro
Yugage Gĩkũyũ ĩ,nĩ gũitĩrĩrwo thakame
Na nyũngũ ya kũgathimĩra maguta mau ma igongona rĩa Ngai
(CH)

Igongona rĩa rutwo, Ngai witũ arĩamũkĩra athuri acio Amatume

Karura Metumi ona maringe na Gaki
Na kĩrĩa twa nyuite ĩ, hĩndĩria twarĩ kwa Maiko
Nĩgĩcokĩthirio njiarwa, thirĩ ya nyumba ndikoima rĩngĩ
(CH)
ciana aa X2
216
Kĩmathi nĩa kwĩre ĩ, akĩrũĩra wĩyathi
Thakame aitirwo nĩũndũ witũ, na ndarĩhwo the tumĩte thutha
Amũkunyanĩire ĩ, me yumbũre matahĩkio wariga thahu nĩũgũthira
na nyũmba ĩno ndikainainio rĩngĩ
(CH)

I, baba nĩ ndoka ĩĩ, gũgũthaige mecokio

Na gĩthaku kĩa mũthoniwa, mũikamba rĩu aciarwo na mbũri
Igongona rĩtheru nyũmba yaku ona nginya ndungata ciao, na
ndũrĩrĩ ciothe rĩu niĩ kũmaigua

Saiya
Ino nĩ ndũmĩrĩri I, ya Ngai ithe wa Gĩkũyũ
ĩgereire kanuainĩ gakwa,ngwĩra baba niĩ ndĩ hũre thahu
Rũrũ ti rwa kanitha ĩ, nĩ ithahĩtie ĩ na thahu ĩkaihũrwo nĩ
Maroho moru na ndingĩrũgama mbere ya Ngai

Daddi ĩ, tũtingĩtĩkira
Ona twaringa rũrũ rwĩna mũi yũro
ũgatiga rũriĩ riũa-inĩ naũnjigwe x2
aiyaiyaiyaiya

39. “Sword”
God I have come now and we have come with Kamarũ
Because I know he has suffered before
Now we are before you in great solemn
We want to find out if there is something wrong
Among the Gikuyu sacrifices, this leadership has now been too
troubled

CH The sword you were given by grand father

Is for guarding the tribe
So that when you strike it on the ground
The whole country goes into silence
So that your children can have peace
Because they are hardworking

This is a message of God the father of Gikuyu

Passing through my mouth, I’m telling you so that
I cleanse you of curses
This is not a gospel song
It has soiled its spirit and it’s filled with evil
Spirits and it can’t stand in front of God
[CH]
Oh father, be a bit fast

Let us look for Mugaciku and Mwithaga who have cleansed

themselves
We look for a one coloured ram
217
Then Gikuyu, we collect its blood and fat
For God’s sacrifice
[CH]
After the sacrifice and once God has accepted it
He then sends those men to Karura, Metumi and even they cross
to Gaki
And what we had taken, the time we were at
Maiko’s, let it be repeated to our off springs,
So that the secret of the house should never lick again
[CH]
Kimathi died fighting for freedom
And his blood was shed because of us and he wasn’t paid
Those who betrayed him should confess they be cleansed
And after that this house will not be shaken again
[CH]
God I have come to plead for a reply
And the shelter of my friend the Kamba, we now be united with
sheep
A holy sacrifice to cleanse your house, and even all its
servants
And all the tribes now listen to you
[CH]

This is a message for God the father of Gikuyu

(Repeat stanza three)
[CH]
Dad we can’t accept
Even if this one of Euphoria comes
Never leave the tribe in the sun heat
Please hear me X2

SONGS ON WOMEN
40. “Kĩũra Kĩnene”
rrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrah shama shama shama

Hau ũthiĩte mwanake ma nĩho twatũraga

Natũkĩinũka twetaga mwathani na mĩhehũ
Indo ciitũ hau nĩho cianyuire kagera
Tũkĩinũka, twahũraga nũgũ na mahiga

Mwanake ũyũ we, rora gĩkabu–inĩ gĩakuwega

Ndũkehenie ũthire rũi wagwatia thamaki
Ũtwarĩre nyũkwa, kũnũra akore kĩũra kĩnene
Kĩa mũriũ mũrarĩre mũtarĩte nyama

Na wethe wa Mso, ũmũrie nĩa gũkwĩra, yeiya.

Rũũ rwenji nĩ rwenjaga mũndũ nginya mbutu

218
Rũrĩaga nyama ĩrĩa yathiri re kĩnandũ
Na maheni mwana ũcio arĩ nĩ marĩa mecama no akwĩre
Ndegwa ciaku ikũgaithia no kame

CH
Wona agĩũka tũkeheria magũrũ ahĩtũke nĩkũhihwo, tũgatigwo ta
mbua cia kĩgwa
No ngĩmwona gwĩkirithia ta thingi Maria
Nogakora mami wanyu arĩ mũhagũranie
CH
Wa Nyawĩra, seiya
Mami wao nake nĩamwendagia mĩciĩ ikũmi
Anake othe matũnganage magĩtia ũhiki
ũthoni wao wĩragwo ndũgakue ona mũira
Mwarĩkania nĩgetha ndeto icio ciĩrwo kimi

CH
Kĩnyue njohi notige kũnyua ũgĩturumaga na wahuna, ũmuoe
mũinũke ndũga twĩ gwatie
Kũrĩhĩndĩ ũkagutũka ũrĩmaga kware–inĩ
Uke gwitũ tũgakũhe mũgũnda waiganjo

CH
Nĩ waigua kanda ya Camata; marare ng’ũ
Ithui noyũ twĩtagwo mũndũ mũthenya wake
Ona twetagwo, mũria ng’ũĩ tũtekũmenya
Nokĩo ũkwona tũkĩmũrĩra tawe rũkũyũ
Wana rumwo nĩ nyoka wonaga mũkwa ũkora

CH
Na ndũconoka ũkĩyamba inũka

Rũũ rwenji nĩ rwenjaga mũndũ nginya mbutu

Rũrĩyaga nyama ĩrĩa ya thirĩ yakĩnandũ
Na maheni mwana ũcio arĩ nĩmarĩa me cama
No akwĩre ndegwa ciaku ikũgaithia no kame
CH
Mũthuri wa my sister, haha mwanake ũyũ arorete nĩ ndia ĩrĩa
ĩragwo ndiku
Erĩkia na magũrũ make, ma ya Ngai nĩ kwoma
saiya uyaiyaiyaiya

40. “Big Frog”

There where you are heading
Gentle man that is where we used to be

219
By the time we left,
We were calling Jesus Christ in whispers
That is where we lost our property,
On our way home we were fighting monkeys with stones

Gentle man, look critically in your basket

That you may not deceive yourself
That you went to the river and caught a fish
You take it to your mother
Only to open and find a big frog of the chameleon family
you sleep hungry without taking meat
Look for Wa Msoo ask him he will tell you

That pair of shears shaves a person even the eye lashes

It feeds on the best meat from your wallet
And the lies that child has are the sweetest
She can tell you, your bulls will produce milk and you
milk

[CH]
When you see her coming and we remove our feet to give way
We have been munched and left like the left overs of sugar
cane
And looking at her, she pretends holly like Virgin Mary
But you will find your mother wrestled to the ground
[CH]
The mother also sells her to ten different homes
And all the gentlemen meet asking for her as a bride
During their marriage negotiations, you are asked not to
carry a witness
So that when the deal is sealed, that dealing is kept silent
[CH]
Drink your beer and stop insulting us as you drink
And once you are satisfied, pick her and take her home and
don’t blame us
There is a day you will discover you have been farming in a
quarry
You will come to our place
We shall give you a virgin land
[CH]
Have you heard, gentleman from Camata;they will sleep empty

This one and I, we are invited, each his own day

And we are called “Muriang’ui” without knowing
That is why you see as keeping at a distance
Once bitten by a snake, you take on your heels when you see a
rope
[CH]
And you can’t be ashamed boasting, go home!
220
[Repeat stanza second stanza]
[CH]

My sister’s husband, here where this gentlemen is heading

It is the rivers section that is said to be the deepest
If he sinks himself with his own feet, true of God, it has
worsened

41. “Kĩhara”
rrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrChwa saiya saiya
shama shama

Gĩtĩyo gĩtigũragwo na mbeca

ũnjũragia kĩ na ndũkĩrĩ witũ
Tondũ rĩtwa rĩakwa, na rĩa mũciĩ wakwa ĩ
Warĩhunja taũni na njukũ kĩhara
ũnjambĩtie nganunga ta thegere
ũnjambĩtie ngarũra kwĩ macatha
Nduonaga mĩhũmũ kana ũndũ ũngĩgweta
Tagwetete De’ Mathew ũrĩa mũini kĩhara
Saiya

We nĩwe ũmenyaga ngĩgĩa na mũka

Na nowe ũmenyaga rĩrĩa ngaracia
Ũkamenya ehumbaga atĩa, nĩwa mĩaka ĩigana
Ngomagĩra kĩ na twĩ humbaga kĩ kĩhara

Ũngĩmenya kĩrĩa kĩngĩ nduta muoyo

Ndũkanjiguage ridio inĩ yaku
Kana nduike bubu kiu no kũgũra
Ndatuika bubu ũrarage ũkĩhũra ndarama

We nĩwe ũmenyaga rĩrĩa ngathĩna ndĩraiguire atĩ wahe imera

igĩrĩ ũnini wakwa ũthire, mwendwa acoke kwao kaĩ ũrambĩrĩirie
kwaria na Ngai kĩhara.

Korwo nĩ ũkoragwo na muoyo waku

Korwo nĩũkoragwo na mbura yaku
Gwakwa ndingĩ koira ndingi tũire muoyo nyonaga ndĩoho we
ũgatiha, kĩhara

Nĩũkũmenyera, saiya

Mami angĩagĩire mũndũrũme tawe

Ingĩmũtũma kanua na cindano
Mũndũ kĩhere here, kanua kabiũ ta thathi
Mũndũ wonjete orota mũnyukũ kĩhara

Korwo ndĩ hinya kana kĩrauni

221
Ingĩkũnyita ngũtume na cindano
Mũndũ kĩhere here, mũnua kabiu ta thathi
Mũndũ wongoete orota mũnyukũ kĩhara

Kana ndũme Kabeũ ũrĩa wĩ hinya ta tysoni

Agũtũme piũ

41. “Bald Head”

Respect is not bought with money
What do you ask me and we are not related
Because my name and that of my family
You have destroyed in town with gossip Kihara
You have spoilt my name until I smell like a Berger
You have spoilt my name until I’m bitter than herbs
You never get breath or see something you can mention
Before mentioning De’ Mathew the musician, Kihara

You are the first to know when I get a wife

And you are the one who knows when I’ll pay dowry
You know how she dresses and her number of years
I sleep on what and we dress on what Kihara

If you’d know what could end my life

That you may not hear me in your radio
Or I become damn, that one you can give me
And when I become damn you spent the whole night playing
drums

You are the one who knows when I’ll become poor
I heard that you have given me two seasons
My singing to come to an end, my wife to go back to her
parents
Have you started talking with God Kihara?

If you had your own life

If you had your own rain
It could never fall in my farm
I could not be alive. You see me kicking and you feel bad
Kihara you will get used

If my mother got a person like you

I could seal his mouth with a needle
A person of gossip, a hot mouth that never shuts

42. “Mũthuri arĩ bata”

Ngai baba
De Mathew nĩ ngũtira maitho na igũrũ
Njĩte Ngai ũcio ũtũraga muoyo
222
Onangĩkorwo nĩ Ngoma waingĩrire mũciĩ ũyũ wanyu kũna ĩ
Njĩte Ngai ahonie mĩtunda mĩrimũ

Kweri mũthuri arĩ muoyo nĩarĩ bata ĩ

Athimũraga ciana ikaigua gunyĩrĩrĩ
Titherũ mũthuri nĩ maitho ma Ngai ĩ
Nĩ aragĩria arĩ na ariũ moyanĩire mababanga kũna ĩ Thayũ
makagĩa na ngoro ikahorera

Mũtumia angĩkuĩrwo nĩ mũthuriwe ĩ

Thaa ĩrĩa nyingĩ nĩ cionaga kamweke
Ciana itimenyaga dadi wa mutu na bithi nĩũrĩkũ Ngai ĩ
Cia kũra ĩtoĩ wendo kwĩhokana
Nĩ njũĩ mũrĩanini ndingimũtheka
Tho baba mũnini angĩmũingataĩ
Nĩnjũĩ mũrereirwo buroti na thĩna mũingĩ mũno Ngai ĩ
Ona mũngĩ hĩtia nĩndĩ mũohagaĩra
(CH)

Mũthuri arĩ muoyo nĩeraga arĩ ake

Ndũkahike kwa ng’ania nĩ imaramari ĩ
No mũtumia nĩ aĩragwo tondũ airĩtu aingĩ moimia nyondo Ngai ĩ
marigagwo nyina amakĩrĩte nakĩ

Pastor ithe wa mũndũ arĩ bata

Mũciĩ ũyũ wangu nĩ mũtonye nĩ ngoma ĩkamũnyarira na wendo wa

mbia ĩ na mwaga kwĩ huga ĩka mũthiũrũrũka ona njiarwa cianyu
Ngai ĩ kũuu kwangu gũkahonoka wamũru
(CH)
Ngeithĩria Maina, wa mzee moja
Ithe wa mũndũ arĩ bata wa cross venus
(saiya x2)
Ta dadi witũ athimũraga tũgathiĩ rungu wo rĩrĩ
Ona andũ makĩhĩtũka, nĩ mamanyaga mweke ekuo
ah Saiya Shama x5
Mbogoini ya (waka x5)

42. “A husband is Important”

God our father
De’ Mathew I will look up
I call upon the immortal God
Even if it is evil spirit you brought into our home
I ask God to cure me these rashes and diseases

Truly a man is important when he is a live

He snizzes and the children behaves
Truly a husband is the eye of God
He talks to fighting sons and daughters
223
 And peace prevails in their hearts

If a woman looses a husband

A lot of sympathy finds their way
The children don’t tell which is the dad of flour and the dad
of school fees
They grow up without knowing the love of having trust

You know you are young I can’t laugh at you

Because our uncle disowned you
You have been brought up in the town plots with a lot of
poverty;
I even forgive you when you do wrong.

When a husband is a live

He tells the daughters
Don’t get married in so and so’s home they are criminals
But a woman is underated because once the girls develop
breasts; they fail to understand how their mother can be
greater than they

CH
Pastor, some ones father is important

The devil has entered this home of yours

He has destroyed you with the craze for money
And if you are not careful, the same will spread to your
young ones
Only the innocent will get saved
CH
Say hi to Maina of Mzee Moja
Someones father is important
Our dad sneezes and we all go under the bed
Even as people are passing, they sense the owner is there

43. “Thĩ ĩkuhana atĩa”

Githĩ gũtuĩka tarĩkĩ harĩniĩ woi
Ndĩikaraga niĩ hana ta kĩagago tu
Nakũrigwo wa mũndũ niũmwe ĩ sweetie heart
ĩ gĩkĩ kĩngĩ no kĩrĩndĩ tu woi

Ndanyita marũa maya guitũ wĩra-inĩ

Makuga nĩ wetwo cukuru Eng’ilandi
Ndecirĩtie kũmaikia rũi tu rwa cania ĩ
Ndũgathiĩ ndigwo ndĩ nyiki tu woi

Saiya
Nda twarĩra aciari aku reboti yamo
Mambĩrĩire kuga ngemi nginya arĩ anyũkwa
224
Ngĩona tarĩ matharaũ ngĩrĩra mũno ĩ
Nderwo njikare thĩ ngiuma ta mũgwĩ

Korwo no ndũgamie riũa tu ndari ĩ

Nĩguo rĩcio rũikarange thabarĩ ikinye
No gĩthomo nokĩo cabi, njega ya ũtũro
No thiĩ kũhana atĩa ndĩ nyiki

Hihi ndarĩ ĩ ngũria nĩ ngathiĩ kĩharo, gũkumagaria

Ngakũhe kisi tũkaine na maithori
Kana ndege nĩ igakũra ndĩ mĩroreire
Kana ngenyitĩrĩra kũgũrũinĩ

Githĩ gũikara ta atĩa ndĩ nyiki woi

Nongũkũhoera Ngai thabarĩ njega na ndege ndigakorwo ĩkuĩte
Hosama ĩ
Na wathiĩ Eng’ilandi ũcunge wendo
ĩ ekina ĩ

Gĩthomo thoma na hinya kainakia thũmbĩ

Ndũkana tahwo nĩ ikeno cia thĩĩ Judy
Ikeno tũranwo nacio orĩu wathiĩ ngaciona rĩa kerĩ Judy wa
coka

43. “How will the World be?”

How will the world be to me
I will be staying like one confused
One’s love is only one
The rest are but a public

When I received this letter at my work place

To inform you that you have been invited to England for
studies
I thought of throwing it in Cania River
That you may not leave me alone

When I took the report to your parents

They started to ululate in joy including your sisters
I saw like it is insults and I cried a lot
When I was told to sit I disappeared like an arrow

If I could stop the sun my dear

So that tomorrow can stay longer before it comes
But education is the best key for life
But how will the world be when I’m left alone
Nice journey my dear

I wish I will be at the airport to escort you

I’ll give you a kiss that is mixed with tears
225
Or will the plane take off as I look at it
Or I will hold on its wheel

How will the world be when I’m alone?

But I’ll pray God to give you journey masses
And let there be no Osama in the plane
And when you get to England, take care of love
Yes the stealers

Read hard that you may come home with a degree don’t be
influenced by earthly pleasures Judy
Let us part ways with fun just here as you leave.
I’ll see them again Judy when you come back
(Repeat stanza one)

44. “Koma Kũraga Dadi”

Anake tũinaga omaitũ mama ĩ
Athuri makainwo nũ Ngai ĩ iya
De’ Mathew ngũinĩra baba mũnjiari
Wanjiarire na akĩndigĩra gĩthaka ĩ
(CH)
Koma kwega kũraga wa Kagai ĩ
Nĩtũkonana Ngai enda Dadi ĩ
Thĩĩno tũrĩ agendi dadi woo ĩ

Baba waheire gĩthomo ngĩthoma

ciugo nyandĩkaga nyĩmbo nĩ ciaku ĩ
ũkĩnyonia mĩtugo ya kanitha ĩ
Ngĩmenya Ngai arĩ kuo mũtũmbi x2
(CH)

Mĩtugo ya ũgĩkũyũ ũkĩnyonia

Ndirĩ ndundu ingĩingĩra nyingatwo nja ĩ
Nanĩ ĩ ngakinyĩria njiarwa
Tiga nĩwe ingĩrĩo kĩgĩgĩ daddi ĩ x2

Rũgĩtema wakũragwo ũrĩ nja

ũkĩrora ũrĩa mahiũ maraire I
ikiuma ngũ kahua-inĩ gũceha
ndirĩ ndaingatwo nĩ bithi dadi yĩ iya x2
Kũrĩ moigaga ithe no kũreba
Nongĩmarora mena ndingiri I iya
Warora manyũmba mũtigĩirwo nĩithe
Ngakunya gĩtĩ ndeto ciume nene I x2

Baba wandemeire ruru rwa ng’ondu ũkĩngũrĩra mũka na ngĩtonga

I
Ndĩmwĩtaga my dear ngakena
Ndingĩrĩ nakĩ tiga nĩwe dadi I x2
226
Shama x3
Hau haitũ gicagi rĩmwe tene harĩ mwanake ũmwe wakorete ithe
ICŨ, akamũruta mĩbira ya rĩera
Kaĩ ũgakuarĩ tũgayane indo
Ngĩmaka x2 aiyaiya x3
De Mathew gũtigĩrwo kĩndũ onaniĩ ngagĩa, ngaigua wega daddi
I,
Mungu akuweke pema peponi
Mũrũ wa irũngũ aiyaiya

44. “Rest in Peace Dad”

Young men we only praise our mothers
Who will praise the men?
De’ Mathew I’ll sing for my Dad
He bore me and left me a piece of land

CH
Sleep in eternal peace wa Kagai
We will meet if God wishes Dad
In this world we are just passing

Dad you gave me education

The words I write in songs is your wisdom
You showed me the way of the church
And I knew God our creator exists X2

(CH)
You showed me the Gikuyu traditions
There is no company I can join and be rejected
I will pass across the same to future generations
Were it not for you I would still be a way ward person
(CH)
You woke up at dawn
To check on the animals
Or prune coffee
I was never sent home because of school fees x2

(CH)
Some say their dad is just a drunk
And looking at them they have degrees
When you look at the houses they have been given by their
fathers
I pinch the chair and say, let the stories
Emerge with the owner X2

(CH)
Dad you left me a flock of sheep

227
You paid my dowry and I became rich
I call her my dear and I feel good
What could I have if not for you dad x2

(CH)
At our village long time ago
There was a gentle man, who went to the ICU and
Removed the father the oxygen pipes
And asked him; when will you die
We divide the property
I was shocked x2

De’ Mathew to inherit something

Until I also feel nice
Son of Irungu, aiyaiya

45. “Kwaheri Joyce”

Mũrata tiga nĩ tigiti mũnene niĩ ndingĩa gũtiga
Tũngĩathiĩ ngũtigage mũciĩ ngathiĩ cukuru no tiũhoro

Nĩnjũĩ nĩũ ũgwĩciria mũno ũkĩmisi nĩ ũgwĩciria mũno

Ũkĩmisi we na ndũngĩ nyona
Wamenya ũrĩa ndĩ mairo ngiri na ngiri mũrĩmo wa iria
Na ndwĩthambĩra ta kĩũngayũ kana ũmbũke ta kanyoni

Kahinda nĩ ka mĩaka ĩtatũ bũrũri wa ikarimbonia ngongerere

gũthia arĩmi, gĩtho I nokĩo bungũro

Githĩ kũhĩga I timũnyaka

ũgakena niĩ ngĩheo thũmbĩ
Meciria moru ndĩna ngoro niĩ mwendwa ndingĩ gũtirika
Ona korwo tũtihikĩtie, menyaga ndingĩ gũtirika

Ũngimisi mũno oyaga mbica iria twahũrĩirwo kiiga inĩ

Gĩa gwitũ we ũkandirikana harĩa we watũraga
Ugĩkoma ndarĩ na gĩũkĩra geragia we ũkahoyagĩra
Ũkoria Ngai aninire mĩtino rũgendo ngĩthiĩ na ngĩcoka mũrimũ
ona magerio

Nao arĩa moragia niĩ ingĩthi mone mweke wendo ũyũ ũthire umia
ngoro ta ya biraũni na matũ ũthingage na mbamba

Na nĩguo thũ cia wendo witũ mũrata wakwa ciga conoka ciakuona
ũtongoretie raini kĩharoinĩ kĩa ndege,
Wetereire we ũmũmunye mũrata na tũkenanĩre

Kũngĩũka atĩa niĩ ndiganĩrwo Joyce ĩ

We nowe mwĩhoko nĩkĩ gĩ thĩĩno my dear
228
Ingĩthiĩ ngũigananie nakĩo

Onaniĩ ndiririkanaga, ikeno wanyonia we ndari

ũrokaga kũndora cukuru ngariganĩrwo nĩ kũnene
Ngatinda ndorete kĩhingo na meciria marĩ oro kurĩ we

Ũndũ piloti nĩaingĩra ndege nĩambĩrĩria kũrũma oya kisi na

ikĩmere ngoro, gĩtũmi ũkamĩmona nda coka

ũguo ndĩretawaraga, ngoroinĩ yaku ndũgatharie

ũngĩrĩra nĩũgũtũma ndire wĩgirie maithori Joyce ĩ
Nogĩe hopu notũrĩonana, ndarĩkia gĩthomo we ndari

Ciugo icio ndakwĩra we ndari cituĩke maĩ ma gĩthima kĩria ĩ

gĩtarĩ hũaga kwĩ mbura orokana kwĩ riũa

Mwĩhoko I no kĩrĩrĩria, rekei mwendwa igakũninĩra ihoru ngoro

kwaheri Joyce my dear x2
Ciugo icio ndakwĩra ndari cituike gĩthima kĩrĩa gĩtarĩ hũaga
kwĩ mbura orokana kwĩ riũa

Mwĩhoko Ĩ no kirĩriĩa
Shama x4 saiya x2 mtoto cheza X2
ikomboro ndani yake kijana ya uko uko tu

45. “Good bye Joyce”

My friend were it not because of fare
I could not have left you behind
We could have gone, I be leaving you in the house
But it’s okay.

(CH)
I know you will think a lot
To miss me and you can’t see me
After knowing I’m a lot of miles away across the ocean
And you can’t swim like a fish
Or fly like a bird

For three years in the Caribbean

For further education
Education is the only key

To be bright is luck,
You will be happy as I am given the degree
Bad thoughts, finish in your heart
I can’t forsake you my love
Even if we are not married

If you miss me a lot

229
Be taking the photo we were taken
You be remembering where you used to live

As you sleep and wake my clear

Be trying to pray for me
Ask God to spare me from bad lack
On my journey as I go and as I come
Diseases or even temptations

And those who wish for my departure

That they may destroy this love
Harden your heart like pharaoh
And you close your ears with cotton wool

So that the enemies of our love

Can get embarrassed, to see you leading in the line
At the air port, waiting for me to come out
You give me a kiss and we enjoy

How can I forget?

That you are my only hope
What in this world can I compare with you?

I will also be remembering, the love you have shown me dear

You were visiting me in school
Till I forget it is far
I was looking at the gate
My mind thinking about you

Because the pilot has gone inside

And the engine is running
Take a kiss and let it germinate in your heart
Because you will get another one when I come back

Retain me in your heart

You’ll make me cry if you cry wipe your tears Joys
Have the hope that we shall meet after my school my dear

These words I’ve told you

Let them be the water of a well
That never runs dry
Whether there’s rain or sunshine

Hope and patience

Let them be your lead
Nice dreams be your lead
Nice dreams of me and you
To be finishing your loneliness
Goodbye Joyce my dear X2
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(Repeat second last stanza)
(Repeat lost stanza)

46. “Nĩ Wa Nyumĩria Bara”

Leta x4
Baba atũikaria thĩ mũthenya wa numa kũna I
Twaumĩra wĩrainĩ nawe agĩtwĩra arĩakwa tondũ rĩu nĩ ngũrire I
muiganane ota magego

Umagarai mũgacarie agai aithaka nĩgetha

ndĩmune omũndũ rũgai rwake I
No hatigakĩgie hakorwo he mwendi njerũ
Atũre anyariraga arĩangĩ

Nĩ twoimagarire gwĩ thirikari ya ithaka I

Nai tonga ikĩhanda kana
Nakĩyoo kĩnene ta njũkĩ ikĩhũnga ihũa
Mũndũ akĩramata gwake
Githĩ wacokire ũgĩtonyia wenji no kũrĩ
ũkĩnengerwo title ya mũgũnda witũ wothe
ndĩwĩra Mombasa na ũgĩcarĩria mũgũri I
ũkĩndĩa rũthenju rwakwa

Ndĩ wĩra mombasa nĩ ndeciririe nyinũke I ngethe irathimo na

mũciĩ

Ndakinya gĩcagi, kĩa mũrĩmo ũrĩa wa gwitũ ngĩona bundi nyũmba

igũrũ nene ya mahiga, kĩeya kĩrĩa nda kemete no nĩ ndeciririe
atĩ hihi nĩ maitho ndairai ngĩhiũha naihenya riũa rĩtana thũa
I ndikaneragwo cia thiire

Nĩndagĩkinyire mũciĩ gwitũ ngĩthikĩra I na maithori magĩitĩka

ngĩcoka thingira ngĩruta rũhiũ rwa njora I ngĩciria njĩte
thakame itana kinya gwaku baba akinjira wa nii nyita kiugo
kimwe ngoroini yaku I uhoere I
Ngai akũige muoyo na akuongerere matukũ nonginya ũkagĩa na
wako

Wamenya ndĩ mũciĩ wokire ũkĩrũmanaga ũkuwite rũhiũ rwa njora

Baba agĩkwarĩria ũkĩmũcokeria ndũmũĩĩ ũrenda kũnduta muoyo

Ũgĩikia rũhiũ rũgariĩ ũkĩnduta mametheko baba agĩtua

gũkũnyita ũkĩmuna guoko kĩambe ũhorie ũcũrũ ũmenya mũcara
wamehia, tũgacemania igoti inĩ

Ningiguia he hinya, tũkĩrũgama mbaũ inĩ

Nĩ ũkarĩra ũgirĩke, ngĩkũririkania ciugo twerirwo nĩ baba,
tũigane ta magego hihi ũkegwatia kĩ mũrũwamaitũ

231
Mbeca nĩ mwarĩire mwĩna Gatũma igithira thutha nĩ kĩrumi
wagaya kũhũra dadi rĩu ona wako rĩu
ndũrĩ

Leta

Saiya
Aiyax3
Mbogoini
Wakawaka
Wathi we ũrĩhagĩrwo ogũkũ thĩ: yiiya x2

46. “You Betrayed Me”

Dad made us sit down in the evening
Once we came home from work
He asked us to go look for the surveyors
That now he is old that we be equal
Like teeth.

Go and look for surveyors

So that I give you each his share
And let none desire more

To hurt or harm the others

We went to the surveyors
With a lot of hard work like the bee
Each developed his piece

So you used greed once you were given the title deed
For the whole piece
You looked for someone to buy my piece and you sold it as I
was in Mombasa for work

You betrayed me
While at the coast, I thought of coming home to search for
blessings
Arriving at the village, I saw a builder on top of the roof
Of a house, a big stone house, build in the section I had
cleared for my own house
I thought I was day dreaming, but I hurried to witness for my
self

I arrived and I meditated and tears fell

I went to my house drew a sword, and I thought of spilling
blood
Before I reached at your house, my father told me, son, take
this word and keep it in your heart, “calm down

232
May God keep you alive and may he add you many days you will
get some where to build”

When you discovered I am at home, you came hurling insults,

Carrying your sword Dad talked to you, but you told him you
don’t know him, you want my life

You threw the sword on the flat side and you removed my front
teeth
As my father wanted to stop you, you held him and you broke
his arm

First cool the porridge

(a slogan the Kikuyu employ to refer to imprisonment)[Mine]
So that you can know
The wages of sin, we will meet in court.

I am embarrassed to face you in court

You will cry as I remind you the words our father said,
We be equal like teeth

What will you site as a escapegoat my brother?

You squandered all the money with Gatuma

Finally you have earned a curse to fight our dad

Now you don’t even have some where to build

233
APPENDIX 2

SONG NO: SONG TITLE

1. Mũgũnda wa Ngoro Yakwa The Garden of my heart

2. Nĩtũgakena We shall be Happy
3. Njata yakwa My Star
4. Reke Ngũtare Let Me Advice You
5. Hoya wendo Ask For Love
6. Marĩre Njaro Legerdemain
7. Sarafina Sarafina
8. Nĩ Tũrĩane Matũ Let’s Discuss
9. Reke Tũtũranie Let us live together
10.Ciũngũyũ Iria Nene The Big Fish
11.Ithe wa Rũrĩrĩ Father of the tribe
12.Ngoro ciao nĩ ndwaru Their Hearts are Sick
13.Ngai Tũrangĩre God Protect us
14.Nyũmba mwĩ naũ? With whom are you our people
15.Nengereria Kane Pass Me Kane
16.Kũnyaniai Mbakĩ Uncode for one another
17.Menyemenye Gossip
18.Kimũhe Kaburi Give Her a Grave
19.Mwĩhũgũro Turning of the Head
20. Ndereba Rũgama Driver Stop
21.Ndeto Ciao Itihinyaga There Stories Never End
22.Nĩĩ ũndukanĩirie You have mixed for me
23.ũrathi wa ma True Prophesy
24.Mbũri ya Rwanio The Noisy Goat
25.Mwoyo ti Kĩbandĩ Life is not an ID
26.Ngũkũ ya gũkua A Dying Hen
27.Nĩtũmũgocithie Let Us Praise Him
28.Purity Purity
29.Nyeki Grass
30.Thiĩ biũ Disappear for good
31.Geithaniai na Mũtikarũũe Shake Hands and don’t Fight
32.Kĩgũtha kia Ngai God’s Whip
33.Mũndũ wa thĩ Ndaiganagĩra Earthly People Never Get Contented
34.Mũndũ wĩna Rwake One with Issues
35.Nduka ya thayũ The Shop for Peace
234
36.Mĩkunde Biũ Continue Drinking
37.Thakame Ĩria Yaitirwo The Blood that was Shed
38.Ngai Wĩrehe God Come in Person
39.Rũhiu Sword
40.Kĩũra Kĩnene Big Frog
41.Kĩhara Bald Head
42.Mũthuri ari bata A Husband Is Important
43.Thĩĩ ĩkũhana Atia? How will the World be
44.Koma Kuraga Ndadi Rest in Peace Dad
45.Kwaheri Joyce Good Bye Joyce
46.Ni wa Nyumĩria Bara You Betrayed Me

235
APPENDIX 3

SONG NO: FIRST LINES

1. Take now this garden of my heart

2. The devil knows what is in your heart
3. Nice love, that is so sweet
4. Let me advice you my dear, axes in the same basket
5. Because now we have met
6. What is wrong my dear, I have touched you darling
7. Oh oh my love, stop going away
8. Sit down we discuss this my love
9. Someone’s luck never passes him
10.It is we who were in the forest
11.Let’s go for prayers for this country
12.That stone you have started pointing
13.A man who leaves his gate open
14.Others are singing as we sing
15.The fleas finish the skin by a bite
16.De’ Mathew sometimes I sing and pity myself
17.There is a question I ask but I lack an answer my friends
18.Why are you making noise?
19.De’ Mathew there is a job I want to start doing
20.De’ Mathew even if you see me walking on the road
21.Noah told them to build the ark they save themselves
22.Truly John the year of hyena one doesn’t beg from others
23.If you hear ku, driver stop, you have hit something
236
24.To go you will go oh
25.Because I can see you have assumed life is “gicukia”
26.It is your behaviour that was making
27.Truly we fell in love when we had nothing
28.An old farm has harvest oh Purity
29.Because I will not be able to be grazing you with a stick
30.What has made you so thin? Where did the calves go
31.Stop heaving my love
32.Never push a person, you keep quiet
33.Earthly people never get contented
34.Njogu son of Njoroge, do you read about Jesus when he was on
earth
35.Take these clothes you have been leaving them with me
36.Oh, so you still drink were it not for money scarcity
37.Gikuyu I will sing I insult you
38.De’ Mathew I am singing because of bitterness
39.God I have come now, and we have come with Kamarũ
40.There where you are heading gentle man that is where we used to
be
41.Respect is not bought with money
42.God our father
43.How will the world be to me
44.Young man we only praise our mothers
45.My friend were it not because of fare
46.Dad made us sit down in the evening

237
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