https://3speak.tv/watch?v=jasperdick/dkjhnbhu
Hello everybody on HIVE, and especially the AFRITUNES Community. My name is Jasper, and I'm writing (and singing) to you from Cape Town, South Africa! Welcome to Week 118 of AFRITUNES.

I love South Africa and some of the special flavours of music we get here, and I look forward to doing a few posts on AFRITUNES to bring you music from South Africa, or to show you my original songs that have South African inspiration…

After playing some of my original songs I’ve written myself, but where I know that I’ve been influenced by a traditional South African musical style (or where I use some words from another local South African language) it’s time to put my “Cover Hat” back on.

Today I would like to sing you a song by Johnny Clegg and his second band “Savuka” called “Great Heart”. This is a wonderful song that South Africans play at sporting events to rile us up and get us in the mood to cheer on our national soccer and rugby teams!

Here is a video of the original version of the song used to accompany footage from one of our great Safari parks here in South Africa:

Lyrics for “Great Heart” by Johnny Clegg and Savuka

The world is full of strange behaviour

Chorus:

There's a highway of stars across the heavens

Chorus

Background isiZulu lyrics

Guka 'mzimba (body grow old)

SOURCE: https://genius.com/Johnny-clegg-and-savuka-great-heart-lyrics

https://3speak.tv/watch?v=jasperdick/gnbnghoe
Hello everybody on HIVE, and especially the AFRITUNES Community. My name is Jasper, and I'm writing (and singing) to you from Cape Town, South Africa! Welcome to Week 117 of AFRITUNES.

I love South Africa and some of the special flavours of music we get here, and I look forward to doing a few posts on AFRITUNES to bring you music from South Africa, or to show you my original songs that have South African inspiration…

After playing some of my favourite South African covers (there will be more), I thought it might be nice to do a few weeks where I play original songs I’ve written myself, but where I know that I’ve been influenced by a traditional South African musical style, or where I use some words from another local South African language.

Today I would like to sing you an original song I have written called “You are the Rain”.

In a place like London, where it is grey and rainy all the time (what a pain!), a song about rain is probably going to be a sad song… However, in some parts of South Africa, especially the Karoo and Namaqualand, it might not rain all year, and rain is seen as a huge blessing that can turn a semi-desert into fields of wild-flowers and potentially give some grazing to farmer’s animals! There is even a historical town called Pella, where the spring would sometimes dry up, and the town would have to be abandoned for years until things improved…

In this song, I compare the desperation for it to rain with missing a special person who can “quench the drought” when they finally come home to you!

Lyrics for “You Are The Rain” by @jasperdick (original)

There ain’t a cloud in this burning sky

I see a cloud forming in the sky

My heart could tear! Without you there… My heart could tear! Without you there…

You are the rain

Big drops are falling down from the sky

I don’t like living without you…

My heart could tear! Without you there… My heart could tear! Without you there…

You are the rain… You quench the drought in my soul, and

https://3speak.tv/watch?v=jasperdick/mimhprpg
Hello everybody on HIVE, and especially the AFRITUNES Community. My name is Jasper, and I'm writing (and singing) to you from Cape Town, South Africa! Welcome to Week 116 of AFRITUNES.

I love South Africa and some of the special flavours of music we get here, and I look forward to doing a few posts on AFRITUNES to bring you music from South Africa, or to show you my original songs that have South African inspiration…

After playing some of my favourite South African covers (there will be more), I thought it might be nice to do a few weeks where I play original songs I’ve written myself, but where I know that I’ve been influenced by a traditional South African musical style, or where I use some words from another local South African language.

Today I would like to sing you an original song I have written called “Factory Town”.

It was inspired by my first job working as a newly graduated Engineer in a literal factory town in one of the very few ugly places in South Africa, where the gold mining turns to coal mining, the air is polluted, and the only mountains are made of ash… So… I got out of there as soon as my year of bursary ended! This was a brave move (by my standards) because the money was good, but I wanted more from life and especially to live in beautiful Cape Town again!

I am not always brave with chasing what I want from life, and so now I use the song “Factory Town” as a metaphor for a state of mind where I am feeling stuck and scared of making a change… and the song reminds me to take some risks to pursue what I really want, to remind myself to be brave in life!

Musically, the song is very bouncy, and there are parts, especially the little solo after the second chorus, that are inspired by a similarly bouncy style of traditional music here in South Africa, called Kwela, which is played by street musicians, often with penny-whistle accompaniment!

Lyrics for “Factory Town” by @jasperdick (original)

All my life, I've been waiting

No no no, Mother and Father, let me go

All my friends, I've seen them come and go

Oh no please, MoMother and Father, let me go

This town won't drag me down, no I don't need no factory town

https://3speak.tv/watch?v=jasperdick/gbvbdufy
Hello everybody on HIVE, and especially the AFRITUNES Community. My name is Jasper, and I'm writing (and singing) to you from Cape Town, South Africa! Welcome to Week 115 of AFRITUNES.

I love South Africa and some of the special flavours of music we get here, and I look forward to doing a few posts on AFRITUNES to bring you music from South Africa, or to show you my original songs that have South African inspiration…

After 7 weeks of playing some of my favourite South African songs (there will be more), I thought it might be nice to throw in the odd original song I’ve written myself, but where I know that I’ve been influenced by a traditional South African musical style, or where I use some words from another local South African language.

Today I would like to sing you an original song I have written called “Mamela!”.

“Mamela” means LISTEN in both isiZulu and isiXhosa, the two most widely spoken local languages here in South Africa. It tells the listener about how our current government has let the country down through a mixture of incompetence, corruption and focusing on the competition between factions within the ruling party, rather than focussing on the needs of the people and combatting our huge problems of poverty and unemployment.

On 29 May 2024, we get to vote in our next elections – 30 years after our first Democratic Elections that marked the end of Apartheid in 1994. The first two Presidents of the ruling African National Congress (ANC) did pretty well, but that generation has now been replaced by disgustingly corrupt Politicians who seem to steal everything, while our most basic services like electricity, water, roads and railways are falling apart.

South Africa has a violent crime level that can only be rivalled by the worst places in South America. I remember reading that we have literally the worst statistics for fatal stabbings in the entire world! As for income inequality, according to this wikipedia page (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_income_equality), South Africa has the WORST gini coefficient of all the countries they managed to get data from!

While it seems likely that the ANC will still get more votes than any other party, there is a good chance that they will finally score below 50% and will have to work in a coalition with another party. Not perfect, but hopefully a good start to them either fixing up their act, or losing even more support next time! So, I think this song “Mamela” is describing how more and more people, across all races, are feeling these days…

Lyrics for “Mamela” by @jasperdick (original)

Your father died a poor man, my friend

Mamela! My brother!

They say that they will help you today

Mamela! My brother!

They tell us lies… so don’t believe them…

Mamela! My brother!

https://3speak.tv/watch?v=jasperdick/gfzupihz
Hello everybody on HIVE, and especially the AFRITUNES Community. My name is Jasper, and I'm writing (and singing) to you from Cape Town, South Africa! Welcome to Week 114 of AFRITUNES.

I love South Africa and some of the special flavours of music we get here, and I look forward to doing a few posts on AFRITUNES to bring you music from South Africa, or to show you my original songs that have South African inspiration…

After 7 weeks of playing some of my favourite South African songs (there will be more), I thought it might be nice to throw in the odd original song I’ve written myself, but where I know that I’ve been influenced by a traditional South African musical style, or where I use some words from another local South African language.

I’d like to start with a short, simple original song where I do both. The song is called “Ngiya EKhaya” which means “I’m coming home” in isiZulu. A lot of my friends have left South Africa to live in places like Canada, Australia or the UK. All of them miss South Africa a lot, and some have even missed it so much that they have returned, despite the issues that this country faces. This song is for them!

Musically, I am inspired by the rapid-fire thumb-and-first finger guitar playing style that features in a traditional Zulu street guitar music called “Maskandi”. I explain more in the video, but here is a video of the “Honourary White Zulu” Johnny Clegg (that I often mention) playing a traditional Zulu Street Guitar song, with the sort of vibe I am trying to borrow from. Please wait for his friends to join in the singing, it is magic!

Oh well, I hope you enjoy my version of being inspired by Maskandi/Zulu Street Guitar. Here are the lyrics to my song “Ngiya Ekhaya”:

Lyrics for “Ngiya Ekhaya” by @jasperdick (original)

I’m so tired of this London Town

Ngiya ekhaya! (I’m going home)

I close my eyes and I see the blazing sun

Ngiya ekhaya! (I’m going home)

https://3speak.tv/watch?v=jasperdick/zbxhrsij
Hello everybody on HIVE, and especially the AFRITUNES Community. My name is Jasper, and I'm writing (and singing) to you from Cape Town, South Africa! Welcome to Week 113 of AFRITUNES.

I love South Africa and some of the special flavours of music we get here, and I look forward to doing a few posts on AFRITUNES to bring you music from South Africa, or to show you my original songs that have South African inspiration…

Today I would like to sing “Africa”, a song released by the “White Zulu” Johnny Clegg and his band Juluka that I love so much. Please click the links below for my previous posts to read the story of how Johnny Clegg befriended Zulu people and formed the Juluka band with Sipho Mchunu, mixing Zulu music and language into Western Music during a time when this was illegal in Apartheid South Africa:

https://ecency.com/hive-195772/@jasperdick/rtwpsovs

https://ecency.com/hive-195772/@jasperdick/oyinjpdo

As for this week’s song, the chorus basically says “Africa cries out to the Holy Ones/Righteous People: Stay”

Give a listen to the original here:

Lyrics for “Africa” by Juluka

Afrika kukhala abangcwele (Africa cries out for the holy ones/the righteous)

He was born in the African dawn and orphaned to the land

Repeat Chorus

As he grew people told him, son, don't you trust anyone

Repeat Chorus

And so he walked in the fashion of his lands

Repeat Chorus

SOURCE: https://www.songlyrics.com/johnny-clegg-juluka/africa-lyrics/

https://3speak.tv/watch?v=jasperdick/fxyqwtpv
Hello everybody on HIVE, and especially the AFRITUNES Community. My name is Jasper, and I'm writing (and singing) to you from Cape Town, South Africa! Welcome to Week 112 of AFRITUNES.

I love South Africa and some of the special flavours of music we get here, and I look forward to doing a few posts on AFRITUNES to bring you music from South Africa, or to show you my original songs that have South African inspiration…

Today I would like to sing “Paradise Road”, a song released by a group called “Joy” in 1980. Although this song was not an official anti-Apartheid song written to protest against the government and its enforced racial segregation limiting the freedoms of most South Africans immensely, it definitely seems to spark hope for a better future in the country with the lyrics: “There are better days before us, and a burning bridge behind us…”. For me these lyrics just conjure up an image of leaving an apocalyptic fiery Hell behind you, as you walk towards something more like Heaven. Because of this, the song became a bit of an unofficial anthem in South Africa, and is still played on the radio often for nostalgia’s sake.

Give a listen to the original here:

Lyrics for “Paradise Road” by Joy

[Verse 1]

[Chorus]

[Verse 2]

[Chorus]

[Break]

[Chorus]

There are better days before us

[Outro]

SOURCE: https://genius.com/Joy-sa-paradise-road-lyrics

https://3speak.tv/watch?v=jasperdick/fxxirzds
Hello everybody on HIVE, and especially the AFRITUNES Community. My name is Jasper, and I'm writing (and singing) to you from Cape Town, South Africa! Welcome to Week 110 of AFRITUNES.

I love South Africa and some of the special flavours of music we get here, and I look forward to doing a few posts on AFRITUNES to bring you music from South Africa, or to show you my original songs that have South African inspiration…

Today, I’d like to sing the song “Weeping” by Bright Blue, one of my favourite Anti-Apartheid songs ever, and was released in 1987.

This is a definite protest song, responding to how the 1985 State of Emergency had resulted in the killing of peaceful demonstrators against racial segregation in South Africa. “Weeping” even managed to smuggle some of the melody of “Nkosi Sikelel’ iAfrika”, which was the banned anthem of the suppressed African National Congress at the time, but then became the first part of the National Anthem of the New South Africa when Apartheid was finally ended.

Lyrics for “Weeping” by Bright Blue

[Verse 1]

He built a wall of steel and flame

[Chorus]

But as the night came 'round

[Verse 2]

"My friends," he said, "we've reached our goal

[Chorus]

But as the night came round

[Coda]

Say over

Say over

It doesn't matter now

https://3speak.tv/watch?v=jasperdick/oyinjpdo
Hello everybody on HIVE, and especially the AFRITUNES Community. My name is Jasper, and I'm writing (and singing) to you from Cape Town, South Africa! Welcome to Week 110 of AFRITUNES.

I love South Africa and some of the special flavours of music we get here, and I look forward to doing a few posts on AFRITUNES to bring you music from South Africa, or to show you my original songs that have South African inspiration…

Today, I’d like to sing the song “Impi” by Juluka, the band that was started by the white “Honourary Zulu” Johnny Clegg and his friend Sipho Mchunu.

This song is about a battle that happened during the Anglo-Zulu War in 1879, where a regiment of Zulu Warriors armed with short spears and cattle-hide shields were able to defeat a British regiment armed with modern (for the time) Martini Henry rifles and even a few cannons.

The song makes reference to “Chelmsford”, who was the real British General that was defeated. “Mageba” was one of the original Zulu chiefs over 100 years before, and so “Children of Mageba” is a poetic way to describe the entire Zulu tribe. “Zulu” means sky, and so “People of the Sky” is another poetic way to describe the entire tribe!

The song Impi is a war song about a horrific real event in South Africa’s history! Luckily, we now only use the song’s rousing theme to rile up our “warriors” on the sports fields representing South Africa at soccer or rugby!

Lyrics for "Impi” by Juluka

Chorus

(isiZulu) Impi! wo 'nans' impi iyeza

(Rough English translation)

Verses

All along the river Chelmsford's army lay asleep

Mud and sweat on polished leather

They came to the side of the mountain

Source: Musixmatch

https://3speak.tv/watch?v=jasperdick/dxjnzvni
Hello everybody on HIVE, and especially the AFRITUNES Community. My name is Jasper, and I'm writing (and singing) to you from Cape Town, South Africa! Welcome to Week 109 of AFRITUNES.

I love South Africa and some of the special flavours of music we get here, and I look forward to doing a few posts on AFRITUNES to bring you music from South Africa, or to show you my original songs that have South African inspiration…

Today, I’d like to introduce you to kwela music, which is a bouncy kind of traditional street guitar music here in South Africa, where a pennywhistle often plays along!

The song I’d like to try this with is “Meadowlands”! According to the Wikipedia article for the song (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Meadowlands_(song)), “Meadowlands” was written during Apartheid, where the Government decided to enforce racial segregation by forcibly removing black people out of Sophiatown to a new township called “Meadowlands” in 1955.

This song is typically up-beat sounding like most of Kwela, and the lyrics sarcastically say “We Love Meadowlands”, which meant the white Apartheid Government mistakenly thought the song approved of the relocation program, and therefore decided NOT to ban the song like they did with many more blatant protest songs.

Here's Archie Coker and the Meteors singing it in 1962 and making it famous:

Lyrics for "Meadowlands” by Strikes Vilikazi (The Mango Groove Version)

Meadowlands, Meadowlands

O tlwa utlwa botsotsi ba re ( Eita )

Phola hier, phola hier ( Phola hier, phola hier )

Source: LyricFind