Lyrics
Chorus
Ulivyo leo, hiyo ni ya leo
Huenda kesho iyo rada ibadilike
Matatizo ulo nayo, ni ya leo
Hizo shida ulo nazo, ni za leo
Huenda kesho iyo rada ibadilike
Verse 1
Watakusema sema sana
We kazana usichoke kupambana
Yote ukimuamini Mola
Story yako itabadilika
Verse 2
Walinisema hivo hivo hivo
Ona sasa, story yangu imebadilika
Aliyefanya hivo hivo hivo kwangu mimi
Kwako pia atabadilisha
Chorus
Ulivyo leo, hiyo ni ya leo
Huenda kesho iyo rada ibadilike
Matatizo ulo nayo, ni ya leo
Hizo shida ulo nazo, ni za leo
Huenda kesho iyo rada ibadilike
Bridge
Rada ibadilike (Ulalala)
Rada ibadilike (Ulalala)
Huenda kesho iyo rada ibadilike (Ulalala)
Chorus
Ulivyo leo, hiyo ni ya leo
Huenda kesho iyo rada ibadilike eeh
Ulivyo leo, hiyo ni ya leo
Huenda kesho iyo rada ibadilike eeh
Video
Meaning & Inspiration
The song is sung in Swahili and builds around a single idea: current circumstances are temporary. The repeated line "Ulivyo leo, hiyo ni ya leo" says that how things are today belongs to today, and "Huenda kesho iyo rada ibadilike" adds that tomorrow the course may change. Trouble and hardship are described in the same terms, as something that belongs to the present day only.
The verses turn to people who talk against the singer. The lyric urges the hearer to keep pressing on without tiring, and says that trusting the Lord ("Mola") will change the story. A personal testimony follows: those who spoke against the singer have now seen that story change, and the same God who did it is expected to do it for others as well.
Passages such as Psalm 30 and Lamentations 3 speak about weeping lasting for a night and mercies being new each morning, and they sit close to this message of hope after hardship. The short "Ulalala" refrain gives the closing section a simple, repeatable shape.
Related Scripture
- Psalm 30:5 Weeping may last for a night, but joy comes in the morning.
- Lamentations 3:22-23 God's mercies are new every morning.