Lyrics
Verse 1
Umekaa mwenyewe tu, unawaza na kuwazua
Mwili ukonde wenzako wanatanua aah
Ona huyo eeh, ndani imepotea eeh
Bora usonge maana muda unapotea eeh
Verse 2
Wewe si wa kwanza aliyekutenda eeh
Vile uko na uzima shukuru muumba eeh
Mwingine si alisema ukimsaidia ana moyo
Mbona ni mapema yabadilikia machoni pako
Pre-Chorus
Umejua tenda wema, tenda wema nenda
Umejua tenda wema, tenda wema nenda, yatosha
Verse 3
Wakiona wakuache, sawa sawa
Wakiona wakucheke, sawa sawa
Wakiona wakuache, sawa sawa
Wakiona wakucheke, sawa sawa
Vile kama buko uusitose achilia bwana
Chorus
Basi samehe, samehe, samehe samehe
Basi samehe, samehe, samehe samehe
Verse 4
Wabaya ni wao, shetani anasingiziwa sana
Ndani yao, amechagua kuamua mwenyewe
Wabaya wapo, wapo tena wanasikia raha
Mungu yuko, yuko shetani
Verse 5
Na mwingine si alisema
Ukimsaidia ana moyo
Mbona ni mapema
Kabadilikia machoni pako
Pre-Chorus
Umejua tenda wema, tenda wema nenda
Umejua tenda wema, tenda wema nenda, yatosha
Verse 6
Wakiona wakuache, sawa sawa
Wakiona wakucheke, sawa sawa
Wakiona wakuache, sawa sawa
Wakiona wakucheke, sawa sawa
Vile kama buko uusitose achilia bwana
Chorus
Basi samehe, samehe, samehe samehe
Basi samehe, samehe, samehe samehe
Video
Meaning & Inspiration
Samehe is a Swahili song whose title means "forgive." It speaks to a listener sitting alone, brooding over how others have treated them while friends carry on. The advice is to move forward, because time is passing and bitterness only wastes it.
The verses name a familiar hurt: a person who was helped and then changed quickly in attitude. The song replies that the listener is "not the first" to be wronged, and urges gratitude to the Creator for life itself. The refrain "tenda wema" calls for doing good regardless, while "sawa sawa" accepts whatever others say or do. The chorus then repeats "samehe," the plain instruction to forgive.
The lyrics mention God and Satan only briefly, and the Christian framing is light, so this page treats it as a message of forgiveness rooted in biblical teaching. Jesus' words in Matthew 6 and Paul's counsel in Romans 12 both call believers to forgive and to do good in return for harm.
Related Scripture
- Matthew 6:14 Forgiving others is tied to being forgiven, the core of the chorus.
- Romans 12:21 Overcome evil with good, matching the call to keep doing good.