'60s Africa found the Zulu and Sotho beginning to incorporate the influences of African American R&B, jazz, and blues into their traditional, indigenous music. New styles such as township jazz, pennywhistle street music, Kwela, and marabi were formed. Eventually, these myriad styles coalesced to create a new hybrid pop music that came to be known as mbaqanga. Though mbaqanga employs the traditional instrumentation of Western pop (guitar, bass, drums, keyboards, and vocals), the approach to song structure and rhythmic, melodic, and harmonic phrasing is uniquely African.
Recorded between 1981 and 1984, THE INDESTRUCTIBLE BEAT OF SOWETO is the first (and arguably the best) of a slew of South African pop recordings that soon followed. Characterized by insistent, rhythmically complex beats, elastic, burbling basslines, tight, ska-sounding guitar accompaniment, and thick, multi-part vocals, this music is as intriguing as it is appealing. Groups with such names as Udokotela Shange Namajaha and Amaswazi Emvelo serve up bright, infectious melodies and percussively insistent tracks that are clearly intended for dancing. Though this "pop" may at first seem strange to Western ears, repeated listens reveal its true nature: rich, individual, joyous, and simply wonderful music.
Zonke Sezendile
Amaswazi Emvelo Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Awuyeke ukuqoma kakhulu
Ngithi hey wena Nonhlanhla hey wena
Awuyeke ukuqoma kakhulu
Ngithi awu wena Nonhlanhla
Awuyeke ukuqoma kakhulu
Aw wena Nonhlanhla yey wena
Awuyeke ukuqoma kakhulu
Njalo ngonyaka nonyaka
Wena uqoma kaningi
Awukwazi
Ukuthola umkhwenyana oqondile
Ubaba wakh'akwaz'ukuthol'izinkomo
Njalo ngonyaka nonyaka
Wena uqoma kaningi
Awukwazi
Ukuthola umkhwenyana oqondile
Ubaba wakh'akwaz'ukuthol'izinkomo
Hey wena Nonhlanhla yey wena
Awuyeke ukuqoma kakhulu
Hey wena Nonhlanhla ngithi yey wena
Awuyeke ukuqoma kakhulu
Ngithi hey wena Nonhlanhla yeh mntakababa
Awuyeke ukuqoma kakhulu
Njalo ngonyaka nonyaka
Wena uqoma kaningi
Awukwazi
Ukuthola umkhwenyana oqondile
Ubaba wakh'akwaz'ukuthol'izinkomo
Njalo ngonyaka nonyaka
Wena uqoma kaningi
Awukwazi
Ukuthola umkhwenyana oqondile
Ubaba wakh'akwaz'ukuthol'izinkomo
Awubheke khona manje
Lezingan'eziz'emuva kwakho
Zonke sezendile
Awubheke khona manje
Lezingan'eziz'emuva kwakho
Zonke sezendile
Wosala nkosazane zonke sezendile
Wosala zenda zamshiya zonke sezendile
Wosala nkosazane kababa zonke sezendile
Wosala zenda zamshiya bo zonke sezendile
Wosala mntakababa zonke sezendile
Wosala zenda zamshiya zonke sezendile
Wosala nkosazane zonke sezendile
Wosala njalo zonke sezendile
The lyrics of Amaswazi Emvelo's song "Zonke Sezendile" convey a message about Nonhlanhla, who is asked to let go and stop holding on so tightly. The repeated lines, "Hey wena Nonhlanhla / Awuyeke ukuqoma kakhulu" (Hey Nonhlanhla, let go of holding on so tightly), emphasize the plea for Nonhlanhla to release whatever it is that she is holding onto so tightly. The song suggests that by letting go, she will find freedom and experience a sense of relief.
The lyrics also touch on the idea of the passing years, with the lines "Njalo ngonyaka nonyaka / Wena uqoma kaningi" (Every year you hold on tightly). This implies that Nonhlanhla has been holding on for a long time without being able to find what she is looking for. The mention of finding a wise son-in-law and a father who could find cattle adds to the theme of searching for something elusive.
The repeated refrain, "Awukwazi / Ukuthola umkhwenyana oqondile / Ubaba wakh'akwaz'ukuthol'izinkomo" (You can't find a wise son-in-law / Father couldn't find cattle), reinforces the idea that Nonhlanhla has been searching for something valuable but has been unable to find it.
Line by Line Meaning
Hey wena Nonhlanhla
Hey, Nonhlanhla, listen up
Awuyeke ukuqoma kakhulu
Stop complaining too much
Ngithi hey wena Nonhlanhla hey wena
I say, hey, Nonhlanhla, hey
Aw wena Nonhlanhla yey wena
Oh, Nonhlanhla, it's you
Njalo ngonyaka nonyaka
Year after year
Wena uqoma kaningi
You complain a lot
Awukwazi
You don't know
Ukuthola umkhwenyana oqondile
To find a wise husband
Ubaba wakh'akwaz'ukuthol'izinkomo
Your father couldn't find cattle
Hey wena Nonhlanhla yey wena
Hey, Nonhlanhla, it's you
Awuyeke ukuqoma kakhulu
Stop complaining too much
Ngithi awu wena Nonhlanhla
I really mean you, Nonhlanhla
Njalo ngonyaka nonyaka
Year after year
Wena uqoma kaningi
You complain a lot
Awukwazi
You don't know
Ukuthola umkhwenyana oqondile
To find a wise husband
Ubaba wakh'akwaz'ukuthol'izinkomo
Your father couldn't find cattle
Hey wena Nonhlanhla yey wena
Hey, Nonhlanhla, it's you
Awuyeke ukuqoma kakhulu
Stop complaining too much
Hey wena Nonhlanhla ngithi yey wena
Hey, Nonhlanhla, I say it's you
Awuyeke ukuqoma kakhulu
Stop complaining too much
Ngithi hey wena Nonhlanhla yeh mntakababa
I say, hey, Nonhlanhla, o child of my father's brother
Awuyeke ukuqoma kakhulu
Stop complaining too much
Njalo ngonyaka nonyaka
Year after year
Wena uqoma kaningi
You complain a lot
Awukwazi
You don't know
Ukuthola umkhwenyana oqondile
To find a wise husband
Ubaba wakh'akwaz'ukuthol'izinkomo
Your father couldn't find cattle
Njalo ngonyaka nonyaka
Year after year
Wena uqoma kaningi
You complain a lot
Awukwazi
You don't know
Ukuthola umkhwenyana oqondile
To find a wise husband
Ubaba wakh'akwaz'ukuthol'izinkomo
Your father couldn't find cattle
Awubheke khona manje
Look there now
Lezingan'eziz'emuva kwakho
Your past mistakes
Zonke sezendile
Everything is gone
Awubheke khona manje
Look there now
Lezingan'eziz'emuva kwakho
Your past mistakes
Zonke sezendile
Everything is gone
Wosala nkosazane zonke sezendile
Stay, young woman, everything's gone
Wosala zenda zamshiya zonke sezendile
Stay, abandon your wandering, everything's gone
Wosala nkosazane kababa zonke sezendile
Stay, young woman without a father, everything's gone
Wosala zenda zamshiya bo zonke sezendile
Stay, abandon your wandering, everything's gone
Wosala mntakababa zonke sezendile
Stay, child of my father's brother, everything's gone
Wosala zenda zamshiya zonke sezendile
Stay, abandon your wandering, everything's gone
Wosala nkosazane zonke sezendile
Stay, young woman, everything's gone
Wosala njalo zonke sezendile
Stay like that, everything's gone
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind