Country: Uganda
Original languages: English, Luganda, Hebrew
We sing “We Are Happy” at the beginning and end of every All Around This World class, changing the
salutation to match the featured country of the week. All Around This World’s version is actually a
mashup of two songs the Abayudaya of Uganda sing to greet important visitors to Nabugoye Hill,
which is a small area a few miles outside of the Eastern Ugandan city of Mbale. The Abayudya of
Uganda are a small community of several hundred Luganda-speaking Bagandans who have been
practicing Judaism for over 100 years. Abayudaya community leaders Rabbi Gershom Sizomu and his
brother JJ Keki wrote the two greeting songs and often lead the community in singing them for
welcome guests.
Ooh, bop bop bop! Ooh, bop bop bop.
Ooh, bop bop bop! Ooh, bop bop bop.
We are happy, we are happy on this day.
We are happy, we are happy on this day.
We are happy, we are happy on this day.
We are happy, we are happy on this day.
Hola* everybody, hello hello
Bom dia* everybody, hello hello
Buiti binafi* everybody, hello hello
Imaynallam* everybody, hello hello
We are happy, we are happy on this day
Clap clap clap your hands, clap your hands
Clap clap clap your hands, clap your hands
Clap clap clap your hands, clap your hands
Clap clap clap your hands, clap your hands.
*"Hola" is Spanish
*"Bom dia" is Portuguese
*"Buiti binafi" is Garifuna
*"Imaynallam" is
Quechua
Book suggestions for this song:
Many thanks to Jay Sand for permission to display these lyrics.
©All Around This World. All rights reserved. Used with permission.
