Willy Paul - Sitolia Lyrics
Lyrics
Fahamu anakupenda sana (Know that He loves you) Nayo salvation yako haitadunda (And your salvation is permanent) Ye msela, sina hela, Alikupenda bila hela (But I'm poor... He loved you poor) Amekuwa akinihanda, amekuwa akinitesa mimi (I was followed and) Sababu mimi (?), na sina hela (Because I'm in debt(?) and poor) Miye fukara, just imagine (I am destitute) Bado nafsi yangu, ni kwako wewe (But my soul is in you) Kuokoka kwangu, ni kwako wewe (My salvation is in you) Oh Sitolia mimi, Nafahamu uko na mimi jalali (I won't cry, I know you are with me)
Ni kwako, ni kwako; Ni kwako, ni wewe (It is in you) Oh Sitolia mimi, Nafahamu uko na mimi jalali (I won't cry, I know you are with me) Iye sitolia mimi, Nafahamu upo na mimi maulana (I won't cry, God you are with me) Ni kweli usilie mwenzio, Maulana yuko na wewe akujali (Don't cry, God cares for you) Kiganjani mwake amekuweka, hautabanduka (He has kept you in His palm, you won't fall) Ni kweli uko mbali na mimi, Uko mbali na uga wangu (Though you are far from mr) Lakini msela mimi huyu, Sitolia kamwe (But here I am, I will not cry) Mwana we, mwana; nakwambia tulia (Son, I tell you to calm) Mwana we, mwana; si vema kulia (Son, It is not good to cry) Mola anakuangalia, anakufikiria (God watches over you, thinks about you) Atakuangazia (He shall light your path) Mateso ni ya muda tu, mtihani utaupita tu (Troubles are only for a time, you shall overcome) Hata usiku uwe mrefu ndugu, kutapambazuka (Though the night be long, the dawn comes) Oh Sitolia mimi, Nafahamu uko na mimi jalali (I won't cry, I know you are with me) Iye sitolia mimi, Nafahamu upo na mimi maulana (I won't cry, God you are with me) Ni kweli usilie mwenzio, Maulana yuko na wewe akujali (Don't cry, God cares for you) Kiganjani mwake amekuweka, hautabanduka (He has kept you in His palm, you won't fall) Ni heri ni mtazamie yeye, mtazamie maulana (I am blessed to look to God) Ni heri ni mkimbiliye yeye, mkimbilie mola (I am blessed to run to God)
Video
Sitolia | Gloria Muliro & Willy Paul
Meaning & Inspiration
The cut of this song is honest. Willy Paul isn’t trying to project a sanitized, prosperous version of faith; he’s dealing with the grit of being broke and feeling small. When he sings, “Ye msela, sina hela, Alikupenda bila hela”—that hits home. It strips away the transactional nature we often mistake for religion. We tend to think God needs us to have our act together, our finances sorted, or our status elevated before we’re worth His time. Willy Paul rejects that. He reminds us that the love existed before the money, and it persists through the debt.
The repetition in the chorus—“Ni kwako, ni kwako”—might feel like a tactic to stretch the track, but it serves a function. It functions like a prayer you keep repeating when you’re terrified, trying to convince your own heart of a truth your circumstances are currently denying. It’s a rhythmic anchoring.
The Power Line here is simple: “Kiganjani mwake amekuweka, hautabanduka.” (He has kept you in His palm, you won’t fall.)
It’s the pivot point of the entire work. It isn’t just a nice thought; it’s a theological claim that defies the evidence of poverty or suffering he mentions earlier. It echoes Isaiah 49:16, where God claims to have engraved His people on the palms of His hands. There’s a quiet violence in that imagery—the idea that you are literally etched into the very thing He uses to create and sustain. If you are in the palm of the Almighty, you aren't just safe; you are inseparable.
When he pivots to, “Hata usiku uwe mrefu ndugu, kutapambazuka” (Though the night be long, brother, dawn will break), he isn't offering a quick fix. He acknowledges the length of the night. He knows it’s dark. He’s standing in the middle of that dark, repeating the promise because he’s still waiting for the sun to actually show up. That’s the space where faith actually lives. It isn't a bold proclamation made from a mountaintop; it’s a shaky whisper in the middle of a long, broke night.
I keep coming back to the line about being "followed" and "tortured" by his own situation. It feels raw. There’s a tension here that doesn’t get resolved by the fade-out. You’re left with the guy and his God, and the struggle is still technically there, but the perspective has shifted. He’s stopped trying to fix the situation and started looking at the One holding the palm. That’s enough for now, I suppose. It has to be.