Kabuye Kanjye
A Lullaby & Counting-out Rhyme
Kabuye Kanjye
My Little Rock
Lullaby
Lullaby
(Kinyarwanda)
(English)
Kabuye Kanjye
Kabuye Kaniye ni keza pe
Kabuye Kaniye ni keza pe
Enda nawe ukarore
Nawe ukarore
Ni keza pe
My little rock*
My little rock is very pretty
My little rock is very pretty
Take it, look at it,
Look at it,
It is very pretty.
Notes
*I believe this is the diminutive form of "my rock" in Kinyarwanda.
Comments
This song can be found as a lullaby on the French CD Comptines et berceuses du baobab.
It can also be found in the book Emerging identities among young children: European issues (2005). There it's mentioned as a Counting-out Rhyme.
You can hear this song on MySpace (not in a lullaby style).
I welcome comments on this song or translation. Do you sing it as a lullaby or use it as a counting-out rhyme? We'd love to hear more about it!
Thanks!