Welcome to the first day of Advent 2025, and to the release of the first worship song of our Twelve Songs for Christmas series!
Our first song of this series comes from Cape Town, South Africa, written by Mabuyi Mbabala. The name of the song is ‘Mawudunyiswe (Bayethe)‘, which means ‘May You be praised (Hail to the King)‘ in Xhosa. You can enjoy this beautiful worship song below, or here.
More About This Song
This original song was written by Mabuyi Mbabala, a member of Khanyisa Community Church in Gugulethu, Cape Town. Gugulethu is a predominantly Xhosa-speaking township to the West of Cape Town, known for its vibrant cultural and music scene.
Below we have included this song’s lyrics in its original language, and an English translation of each line.
MAWUDUNYISWE (BAYETHE)
Mawudunyiswe ngelwimi zonke
Wena uyiNkosi
(Let every tribe and tongue praise You
for You are king)
Igama lakho maliphakanyiswe
Zintlanga zonke
(Your name must be highly exalted by every nation)
Chorus:
Bayethe, Kumkani yeKumkani
Bayethe, Zintlanga zitsho zithi
Bayethe, Kumkani yeKumkani
Bayethe, Zintlanga zitsho zithi
(Hail King of kings, every tribe hails you as King)
Join us every other day of Advent 2025 for more worship songs in different languages from believers across the globe to celebrate this Christmas season together.
To learn more about this series, you can read our blog post introducing ‘Twelve Songs for Christmas’ here.
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