Benga was born in and around Nairobi from the late 1940s to the early 1960s as Kenyan guitarists, influenced by Congolese rumba, tried to use electric guitars, drum kits and the electric bass to approximate the sounds and syncopation of traditional Luo instruments. Listen to a formative benga ensemble, Daniel Owino Msiani and the Shirati Band.
An African marriage song by Kenyan guitarist and songwriter, David Nzomo, found on Smithsonian Folkways African Rhythms: Songs from Kenya, in the course of which the groom consoles a sobbing bride by promising to be faithful forever and to carry them through all of life’s hardships.
Country: Kenya
Language: Kiswahili
Genre: Kadongo Kamu
LYRICS OF ALL AROUND THIS WORLD VERSION
Kipenzi changu uchangamke, sasa mimi wako
Nikakupenda, na kukutunza mpaka kufu kwangu
Oh my darling I’ll always love you more than you’ll ever know
And though the days may be long my darling I’ll never let you go.
David Nzomo reflects on his 1960 and ’70s Folkways recordings of Kenyan traditional music
Engineering: Front Line Records, Kampala, Uganda, and Amon, Studio Brooklyn, New York, and
Musicians:
(c) Alpha Film Music, translation and arrangement by Jay Sand with permission
