Nursery Rhymes›African Lullabies›Nam, Nam, Ya Waladi
Nam, Nam, Ya WaladiNam, Nam, Ya Waladi
A lullaby from South Sudan

Nam, Nam, Ya Waladi

Key: A minor~60 BPMGuitar & Piano chordsOriginal · South Sudan
Relax In No Time video

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Nam, Nam, Ya Waladi Lyrics. An original lullaby inspired by South Sudan's cattle-camp cradle-song tradition, sung in Juba Arabic, the country's widely spoken lingua franca. Here you will find the lyrics, English translation, meaning, and chords.

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Lyrics & chords

An original arrangement, with guitar & piano chords above each line.

Verse

Am E Am
Nam, nam, ya waladi,
Dm E Am
al-baggara nam gambena.
C G
An-Nil al-abyad yajri bishway,
Dm E Am
nam, nam, ya habibi.
In English

What the words mean

“Sleep, sleep, my boy, the cattle sleep beside us. The White Nile flows slowly, sleep, sleep, my darling.”
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Chords — guitar & piano

Am
x
Guitar
CEA
Piano
Dm
xx
Guitar
DFA
Piano
E
Guitar
EBG#
Piano
C
x
Guitar
CEG
Piano
G
Guitar
DGB
Piano
Good to know

What “Nam, Nam, Ya Waladi” Means

South Sudan’s Dinka and Nuer communities are famed cattle-herding peoples, and cattle camps are central to daily and cultural life. This original lullaby, in Juba Arabic (the country’s widely spoken lingua franca), borrows that same cattle-camp imagery alongside the White Nile.

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Sources & rights

  • An original lullaby by Relax In No Time, inspired by the musical traditions of its region. The words, melody, arrangement and recording are ours.
  • Recording and arrangement: real instruments played by hand, no AI music, by Relax In No Time.
  • Chords: written by us for guitar and piano.
  • Translation: our own meaning-for-meaning translation, written for understanding. The sung words stay in the original language.

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