Waka Waka – Bilingual Lyrics Spanish/English

• By: Shakira
• Album: Sale El Sol

Lyrics & Translation

Discover the vibrant sounds and inspiring message of Shakira's "Waka Waka (This Time for Africa)." This global hit, created for the 2010 FIFA World Cup, offers a fantastic opportunity to explore African musical influences and learn motivational phrases in a celebratory context. Dive in to understand the song's cultural impact and how it united the world through music and sports.

[English]

You're a good soldier

Choosing your battles

Pick yourself up and dust yourself off and back in the saddle

You're on the front line

Everyone's watching

You know it's serious, we're getting closer, this isn't over

The pressure is on

You feel it

But you've got it all

Believe it

When you fall, get up oh oh

And if you fall, get up oh oh

Tsamina mina zangalewa

'Cause this is Africa

Tsamina mina eh eh

Waka waka eh eh

Tsamina mina zangalewa

This time for Africa

Listen to your God

This is our motto

Your time to shine, don't wait in line, and let's go for everything

People are raising

Their expectations

Go on and feed them, this is your moment, no hesitations

Today’s your day

I feel it

You paved the way

Believe it

If you get down, get up oh oh

When you get down, get up eh eh

Tsamina mina zangalewa...

This time for Africa

Tsamina mina eh eh

Waka waka eh eh

Tsamina mina zangalewa

Anawa aa

Tsamina mina eh eh

Waka waka eh eh

Tsamina mina zangalewa

This time for Africa

La mejole biggi biggi mubbo wa A to Z

From east to west, asi tsu zala makyuni biggi biggi mubbo

Waga waga ma eh eh, waga waga ma eh eh

The trend runs because this is Africa (Africa, Africa, Africa)

Tsamina mina

Anawa a a

Tsamina mina

Tsamina mina

Anawa a a

Tsamina mina, eh eh

Waka waka, eh eh

Tsamina mina zangalewa

Anawa a a

Tsamina mina, eh eh

Waka waka, eh eh

Tsamina mina zangalewa

This time for Africa

Django eh eh

Django eh eh

Tsamina mina zangalewa

Anawa a a

Django eh eh

Django eh eh

Tsamina mina zangalewa

Anawa a a

This time for Africa

This time for Africa

We’re all Africa

We’re all Africa

...

[Spanish]

You're a good soldier

Choosing your battles

Pick yourself up and dust yourself off and back in the saddle

You're on the front line

Everyone's watching

You know it's serious we're getting closer, this isn't over

The pressure is on

You feel it

But you've got it all

Believe it

When you fall get up oh oh

And if you fall get up oh oh

Tsamina mina zangalewa

'Cause this is Africa

Tsamina mina eh eh

Waka waka eh eh

Tsamina mina zangalewa

This time for Africa

Listen to your God

This is our motto

Your time to shine don't wait in line y vamos por todo

People are raising

Their expectations

Go on and feed them this is your moment no hesitations

Today's your day

I feel it

You paved the way

Believe it

If you get down get up oh oh

When you get down get up eh eh

Tsamina mina zangalewa...

This time for Africa

Tsamina mina eh eh

Waka waka eh eh

Tsamina mina zangalewa

Anawa aa

Tsamina mina eh eh

Waka waka eh eh

Tsamina mina zangalewa

This time for Africa

Ame la mejole biggi biggi mubbo wa A to Z

Asi tsu zala makyuni biggi biggi mubbo from East to West

Asi waga waga ma eh eh waga waga ma eh eh

Tendency suna tsibuye 'cause this is Africa (Africa, Africa Africa)

Tsamina mina

Anawa a a

Tsamina mina

Tsamina mina

Anawa a a

Tsamina mina, eh eh

Waka waka, eh eh

Tsamina mina zangalewa

Anawa a a

Tsamina mina, eh eh

Waka waka, eh eh

Tsamina mina zangalewa

This time for Africa

Django eh eh

Django eh eh

Tsamina mina zangalewa

Anawa a a

Django eh eh

Django eh eh

Tsamina mina zangalewa

Anawa a a

This time for Africa

This time for Africa

We're all Africa

We're all Africa

Key Vocabulary

Vocabulary	Meanings
soldier /ˈsoʊldʒər/ A2	noun - a person serving in an army
battles /ˈbætəlz/ B1	noun - a fight between armed forces
pressure /ˈpreʃər/ B1	noun - the exertion of force
fall /fɔːl/ A1	verb - to drop down noun - the act of falling
time /taɪm/ A1	noun - the indefinite continued progress of existence
listen /ˈlɪsən/ A1	verb - to give one's attention to a sound
shine /ʃaɪn/ A2	verb - to emit light noun - brightness
people /ˈpiːpl/ A1	noun - human beings in general or considered collectively
moment /ˈmoʊmənt/ A2	noun - a brief period of time
day /deɪ/ A1	noun - the period of light between sunrise and sunset
way /weɪ/ A1	noun - a method, style, or manner of doing something

Key Grammar Structures

• You're a good soldier

  ➔ Use of the present simple tense with a subject complement ('you're' = 'you are') to describe a characteristic.

  ➔ 'You're' is a contraction of 'you are', used here to state a general truth or characteristic.

• Picking yourself up and dust yourself off

  ➔ Gerund phrases used as complements to describe actions, with reflexive pronouns indicating self-directed actions.

  ➔ The phrase 'picking yourself up' is a gerund phrase indicating the action of recovering.

• When you fall get up

  ➔ Conditional clause 'When you fall' with an imperative phrase 'get up', expressing a cause-effect relationship.

  ➔ The phrase 'When you fall' sets a condition, and 'get up' is an imperative command indicating what to do.

• This is our motto

  ➔ Use of the simple present tense ('is') to state a fact or general truth.

  ➔ 'This is' introduces a statement of fact, with 'our motto' indicating a shared guiding principle.

• Listen to your God

  ➔ Imperative mood used for giving advice or instructions ('Listen').

  ➔ The verb 'Listen' is an imperative command, instructing the listener to pay attention.

• This time for Africa

  ➔ Use of a prepositional phrase ('for Africa') to specify purpose or context.

  ➔ 'For Africa' specifies the context or purpose of the statement or action.