Author: Ambrose Musiyiwa
(The recording is a conversation between Ambrose and his daughter about these two lines of a chorus.)
A literal translation of the lyrics:
Chaminuka ndimambo, ahe ndimambo
[Chaminuka is king, ahe, he is king]
Chaminuka ndimambo, shumba inogara yega musango
[Chaminuka is king, a lion that lives alone in the forest]
Essentially, the lyrics are part of a praise song. This suggests that Chaminuka had done something for which he was being praised for.
Tanaka thinks the something might be to do with war. It could also be about conflict or crisis other than war. Maybe In the lead to the composition or creation of the song, Chaminuka had intervened in some way in a situation that the community he was part of was experiencing. Maybe through the intervention he had served or saved the people in some way and, through the song, was being praised for the intervention.
(These two lines linger on in Ambrose’s memory for another reason too — he is on the mission to find out the rest of the song of which the chorus is only a part.)