The girl child is a special blessing
The girl child makes a family strong
Up from dawn ‘til the stars are brightest
No job too great, and no day too long. 

            Little girl helps to scrub the washing
            Sweeps the yard, brushwood broom in her hand
            Shoos the goats from the mealie seedlings
            Seeks out the eggs from their nests of sand.

Repeat:

             The girl child works so hard                     20 K G, standard measure
             Tends the crops, cleans the yard            20 K G, carried for miles
             Goes to school, gentle and mild              Goes to school, resourceful & clever
             What a blessing, the girl child.                What a blessing, the girl child
 

As she grows, so her work grows with her
Digs termite mounds to spread over the crops
Red tomatoes and green choumolya
Tends the garden; she never stops.

            Helps her Mama to cut the grasses                      
            Little brother slung on her back
            These for our roof and those for weaving
            Sell some spare for a little cash.

Repeat:

Sun beats down yet she never wavers
Many loads many miles in the heat
Head, held high, bears a can of water
Lithe and graceful, ignoring the weight.

            Twenty KG is the standard measure
            Water, seed or a bundle of teak
            Twenty KG tin bucket of mealies
            Feeds the family for a week.

Repeat:

Always singing and always cheerful
Laughing mouth, ready smile in her eyes
She can read, she’s resourceful and clever
Tender, loving, caring and wise.

            Anyone who can say ‘she loves me’
            Must be ‘someone‘, a man of wealth
            We’ll be poorer when she has left us
            You can see just how much she’s worth.