William Osale was a fingerstyle guitarist who performed and recorded in Kenya during the 1950s and 60s. Osale was a rural musician who played in the ‘sukuti’ style – a rhythmic style of finger-style playing invented by George Mukabi that results in a light, ‘bouncy’ sound.
In his “A History of Kenyan Guitar Music: 1945-1980”, John Low writes, “Some rural finger-stylists like George Mukabi and William Osale also had success in the towns, providing Swahili versions of songs that they might sing in local languages back home. The appeal of their songs lay in the fact that many town dwellers had (and still have) strong links with the land, and the themes of these songs, often conservative and sometimes nostalgic, reminded them of the old values.”
This lovely record by Kenyan guitarist William Osale is on a label for which I have found very little information – other than that it is a Kenyan label – very likely made in Nairobi.
This song’s title “Fany Kazi” translates to “Get to Work” and I’ve used YouTube’s auto-captioning to transcribe the lyrics and then used translation tools to try to eke out the meaning. Please, native speakers, correct any mistranscription or mistranslation in the comments!
Lyrics
Ukitaka utachiri ukuwe na bibi wa nguvu.
If you want to be rich, have a strong wife.
Naona watu wengi wanapenda kukula lakini kwa kufanya kazi wanashindwa sana.
I see many people love to eat, but when it comes to working, they really struggle.
Ni uongo.
It is a lie.
Ni kweli.
It is true.
Ni vizuri fanya kazi tutapata chakula
It is good to work—then we shall eat.
Akishindwa na kazi anapenda kwao.
When one fails at work, they run back home.
Recorded in late 1950s or early 1960s (that’s a total guess)
Released as NCHI CH 128 (Matrix AMX 463)
Credits:
William Osale – guitar, vocals
Unknown Artist – bottle, harmony vocal
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