Nandoli

ndirire ori, ndirire ori ng’ina mwana,

Hold this for me, hold this, old lady,

nje khuona omukhasi wuembaoyo,

I’m going to see the woman who’s singing,

mbe Nakuti wange Nandoli,

Give me my Nakuti, Nandoli,

ari mutala muno Nandoli,

She’s in this home, Nandoli,

kalya manani Nandoli,

She’s eating scraps, Nandoli,

kalya makendo usa Nandoli,

She’s just suffering, Nandoli,

MMMHMM, namunyu kulya ekumba,

The ogre is eating a bone.

I suck at translating fear in writing, but this song was sung to me by my mother when I was a kid, when I was crying, misbehaving, or sometimes just because my fear amused them. It’s a song about an ogre who kidnapped the wailing lady. The song is sung to put fear in kids to stop crying at night.