Imba na Serena
Every volume of the saga has its own sound. For volume 5, “Agonie Fertile” (“Fertile Agony”), it is a single song: “Imba na Serena”.
In Swahili, imba means “sing” and na means “with”: “Sing with Serena”. The title is an invitation, and that is exactly what this piece is for.
A song that came out of the novel
In volume 5, a griot sings, accompanying himself on the kora, for Serena’s first birthday. “Imba na Serena” is that song: I wrote and composed it so that readers can hear it instead of only reading about it.
The lyrics are in Swahili. Here they are, with a translation.
The lyrics
Verse 1
Mtoto huiletea familia yake shangwe
kwa maana yeye humpa uhai wa milele
kupitia yeye wazazi wake watakuwa hai milele
katika kumbukumbu ya watoto wao.
A child brings joy to his family,
for he gives it eternal life:
through him, his parents will live on forever
in the memory of their children.
Chorus
Imba na Serena
gonga kwenye mikono yako
cheza ili kumwonyesha
unajivunia sana kumjua.
Sing with Serena,
clap your hands,
dance to show her
how proud you are to know her.
Verse 2
Serena ni mrembo zaidi msichana
tabasamu yake ni amani ya ulimwengu
viumbe vyote humpenda
na kwa kuimba majilio yake.
Serena is the most beautiful girl,
her smile is the peace of the world,
all creatures love her
and sing of her coming.
Chorus (repeated)
The song
- Title: Imba na Serena
- Words and music: Arthur Gyl (Jean-Christophe Ploquin)
- Language: Swahili
- For: volume 5, Agonie Fertile, of the saga De La Mort À La Vie
- Length: 2'03"
In the epub edition
The song will be included in the epub of volume 5. Readers will be able to listen to it from within the book, without leaving their e-reader, before opening the first chapter or after closing the last one.
As a composer of acousmatic music, I have always described my work as “science-fiction music”: it made sense for music and novel to end up in the same file.
Listen and read
- Listen to the song: player above
- Read volume 1 for free: free online reading (in French)
- The whole saga: Literature section
Arthur Gyl, October 2026