What does Daalu mean?
Daalu is Igbo for thank you. You will hear it in the market, at the bus stop, in church, and at the end of every phone call with your mother.
But it carries more than politeness. When an Igbo person says Daalu, they are recognising that something was done for them. It is gratitude with a witness in it.
What about Imeela? It also means thank you. Many people read it as you have done well. Some communities lean on one word, some on the other, and most of us use both. If there is a difference, it is this. Daalu says thank you. Imeela says I saw what you did.
So when we say Daalu to God, we are not being formal. We are saying we noticed.
The names of God in this song
Igbo people do not have one name for God. We have many, and each one is a sentence. When you call a name, you are saying what you know Him to be. These are the names I sing in Daalu.
- Chineke
- God the Creator. The God who made everything, and the name you will hear most in any Igbo church.
- Olisa
- God. Short and direct. It is the name you call when you have no time for more.
- Ebube Dike
- The glorious, mighty one. This is a name for praise, when you want the room to rise.
- Osebuluwa
- The Lord who carries the world. If He carries the world, He can carry me.
- Chimdi
- My God lives. My God is here. It is a name and a testimony at the same time.
Sing them slowly. Every name is a reason to say Daalu.
What the song is about
Daalu is a song of thanksgiving. It counts what God has done and admits the list is too long to finish. It thanks Him for children, for family, for work that came when the money finished, and for friends who stayed when it was not easy. It also thanks Him for the doors He kept shut. Then it calls Him by His names, one after another, and answers each one with Daalu.
Daalu is the title song of my album, released on 3 November 2026. The chorus is simple enough for any congregation to learn in one go.
Listen
Daalu arrives on 3 November 2026 on YouTube, Spotify, Apple Music, Audiomack, Boomplay and every other platform. The player will be right here on release day.
Daalu lyrics
IntroDaalu eh Chineke
Daalu eh eh
I cannot count it all
Daalu eh Chineke
Daalu eh eh
I cannot count it all
Verse 1You are good
You are near
You are everything to me
I counted what I have this morning and I ran out of fingers
My children in the next room, breathing while I sing
PrechorusFor you are Ebube Dike eh Osebuluwa eh
The God who carried me
ChorusDaalu eh Chineke
Daalu eh eh
I cannot count it all
Daalu eh Chineke
Daalu eh eh
I cannot count it all
Verse 2You are kind
You are true
You are everything to me
The doors that opened when I had no key
The work that came when the money finished and the friends who stayed when it was not easy at all
PrechorusFor you are Ebube Dike eh Osebuluwa eh
The God who carried me
ChorusDaalu eh Chineke
Daalu eh eh
I cannot count it all
Daalu eh Chineke
Daalu eh eh
I cannot count it all
Verse 3Chineke, Olisa Ebube Dike
You are everything to me
Osebuluwa, you carry the world
Chimdi, you live
There is no one, there is no one like you
BridgeChineke you are God
Osebuluwa you carried me
Chimdi you are alive
Daalu eh for what you gave for free
Chineke you are God
Ebube Dike you are mighty
Olisa you are here
Daalu eh for the doors you held shut
ChorusDaalu eh Chineke
Daalu eh eh
I cannot count it all
Daalu eh Chineke
Daalu eh eh
I cannot count it all
TagDaalu Chineke Daalu I cannot count it all
OutroDaalu eh Chineke Daalu eh eh I cannot count it all Daalu eh
For choirs and worship leaders
You are welcome to sing Daalu in your church. Send me a message at @michaelukwuma on Facebook, Instagram or X and I will send the lyric sheet with the Igbo pronunciations written out. All I ask is that you tell me where it was sung.