Emmanuel Mgogo - Napenda Niwe Karibu Na Wewe Lyrics

Lyrics

Mimi napenda niwe karibu na wewe Bwana niwe na wewe Univute niwe karibu na wewe Bwana mimi napendaga

Maana hapa nilipo Nipo moyoni na kiu zaidi Nina kiu na wewe, kuwa karibu na wewe Napenda ooh, ninapendaga

Maana hapa nilipo Sijaridhika nina kiu zaidi Nina kiu na wewe, kuwa karibu na wewe Oooh ninapendaga

Nina haja na wewe bwana Natamani ukae nami Sioni mwingine bwana Sijapata mwingine

Ila ni wewe wa kunifaa mimi Wa kunitunza ila ni wewe Tabibu wa karibu bwana Usinipite pembeni bwana Sina mwingine wa kunihurumia Pale ninapo jeruhiwa Na wanyang'anyi uwe karibu

We ni msamaria mwema utanihudumia Utanifunga majeraha na kunifariji Unionyeshe pendo lako Maana wanipenda

Unionyeshe pendo lako Maana wanipenda

Sioni la kunifurahisha Nikiwa mbali na uwepo wako Kama mti unang'olewa udongoni Nitasinya na kudhoofika

Ninaomba univute niwe karibu nawe Kama mti uliopandwa kando kando ya maji Uzao wa matunda mazuri Wala majani yake hayanyauki

Kila nitendalo nifanikiwe Bwana naomba

Wewe ni maji ya uzima Wewe ni maji yaliyo hai Kisima cha uzima Na upendo

Kama hayana na porini Ayatamanivyo maji Ndivyo nafsi yangu yakutamani wewe Fanya hima usichelewe

Univute karibu nawe Niwe na wewe

Mimi napenda niwe karibu na wewe Bwana niwe na wewe Univute niwe karibu na wewe Bwana mimi napendaga

Maana hapa nilipo Nipo moyoni na kiu zaidi Nina kiu na wewe, kuwa karibu na wewe Napenda ooh, ninapendaga

Maana hapa nilipo Sijaridhika nina kiu zaidi Nina kiu na wewe, kuwa karibu na wewe Oooh ninapendaga

Kukaa na wewe Ni shauku pekee Ya moyo wangu bwana aah Hapa nilipo sijaridhika

Natamani nipandishwe juu Univute karibu na wewe Karibu zaidi ya jana Uwe nuru uniangazie

Pendo lako kama maji Nizame kwenye kisima Cha uwepo wako

Nimesoma katika neno lako Zaburi Umesema ooh Aketiye mahali pake pa siri Palipo juu

Huyo atakaa katika uvuli wake mwenyezi Ataokolewa na mitego ya adui Silaha zote na mishale Haitofanikiwa

Silaha zote na mishale Haitofanikiwa

Nichue uniweke hapo bwana Hili ni ombi la moyo wangu Niketishe kwenye uwepo wako Tuketishe kwenye uwepo wako

Usiniache gizani bwana Peke yangu siwezi Kaa nami, karibu nami Ndani yangu nami ndani yako

Univute karibu nawe Mikononi mwako niwe salama Univute karibu nawe Niwe na wewe bwana

Mimi napenda niwe karibu na wewe Bwana niwe na wewe Univute niwe karibu na wewe Bwana mimi napendaga

Maana hapa nilipo Nipo moyoni na kiu zaidi Nina kiu na wewe, kuwa karibu na wewe Napenda ooh, ninapendaga

Maana hapa nilipo Sijaridhika nina kiu zaidi Nina kiu na wewe, kuwa karibu na wewe Oooh ninapendaga

Video

Emmanuel Mgogo - MIMI NAPENDA (Official Music Video)

Meaning & Inspiration

Emmanuel Mgogo’s Mimi Napenda spends a lot of time orbiting the concept of proximity. It is a song that functions less like a performance and more like a stubborn, repeating prayer—a verbal tug-of-war between the speaker and the Divine.

I find myself fixated on the phrase: "Kama mti unang’olewa udongoni" (Like a tree uprooted from the soil).

It is an uncomfortable image. When we talk about faith, we usually reach for metaphors of growth, light, or blooming. But Mgogo starts with the violence of detachment. He admits that without the presence of God, he is not merely "spiritually hungry" or "unproductive"; he is a casualty of displacement. He says he will wither and grow weak.

There is a strange tension here. On one hand, the language is poetic, even pastoral. It recalls Psalm 1:3—the tree planted by streams of water. But the literal reading is jarring. A tree uprooted is not a tree waiting for rain; it is a corpse in waiting. It’s a bold admission of total, humiliating dependency. He isn’t saying he’s "distanced" from God; he’s saying he is functionally dead without that closeness.

Does this land as a cliché? It could have been. We hear "I need you like a tree needs water" in enough contexts that the words often lose their sharp edges. Yet, by pairing it with the verb kudhoofika—to grow weak, to decline, to lose one's vital force—Mgogo rescues the line from being a mere sentiment. He creates a sense of urgency that feels physical. It’s the sound of someone who knows exactly what it feels like to be "out of the soil" of God’s presence, struggling to find traction in a world that doesn't nourish him.

When he pivots to the image of the msamaria mwema (the Good Samaritan), the poem shifts from an abstract plea for closeness to a specific, wounded reality. He asks to be found when he is "injured by thieves." This transforms the "closeness" he requested earlier. It is no longer just about intimacy for the sake of companionship; it is the intimacy of a hospital ward, the kind of closeness that involves bandaging raw wounds.

I keep coming back to the word sijaridhika—"I am not satisfied." He repeats it as a refrain. It’s a messy, honest state of being. Most religious expressions demand that we "be satisfied in Him," but Mgogo admits he is perpetually restless. He is the guy at the altar who isn’t finished yet.

It leaves me with an unresolved question: Is this dissatisfaction a symptom of spiritual lack, or is it the only honest way to live in the "shadow of the Almighty"? Perhaps the "uprooted" feeling is the very thing that keeps us reaching for the soil. You don't ask to be pulled closer if you aren't already feeling the dry air of the distance. It’s not a tidy prayer, but it feels like the only one that can handle the weight of human fragility.