Ngaze ngahamba mina
Ngashona emoliva
[I have journeyed until I came to the land of Mooi River] Umhlaba waphenduka kulonyaka
[For this year the earth has been changed] Ilanga lakhipha umkhovo etsheni
[The hot sun drives creatures out from under the stones] Imvula kayikho madoda
[Oh man, there is no rain] Umuntu walima' mabele
[And a person has ploughed his millet] Chorus:
Walima' Mabele [he has ploughed the millet] Walima' Mabele imvula ka yikhoo
[He has ploughed the millet and there is no rain] Madoda [Oh men] Walima' Mabele uusizi lupbhokile
[He has ploughed the millet and destitution is rife] Madoda
Walima' Mabele
The sky is clear across the land
Not a cloud for empty hands
Who has undone the rain?
Waiting for a windy day.
To blow them along to a land of plenty
Will I every see your people here again?
'Cause I heard them singing
Chorus
Families turn the dry earth
Burning, burning, burning
Who has undone the rain?
Can it be the answer lies
In a smile from forgotten times
Will I ever see your face again?
'Cause I heard them singing
Chorus
Who has undone the rain
I heard your people calling out
On the dry plains of Africa
Nothing grows, nothing shows a breath of life
Dry dust in the morning light
I heard them singing
Give them your love — lead them to a land of plenty
Will I ever see your people here again?
I heard them singing — I heard them calling out your name
Will I ever see your face again?