Bongeziwe has performed some of the biggest festivals in South Africa including Cape Town World Music Festival, Oppikoppi and Rocking the Daisies, as well as Sakifo Festival in Reunion and Azgo Festival in Mozambique. His debut album Umlilo, received two nominations at the South African Music Awards 2013, for Best Newcomer and Best Adult African album categories.
2014 was been a big year for Bongeziwe Mabandla with his perfect blend of urban-African folk, heartfelt lyrics and honest delivery, seeing him take to the stage in Australia at the Australasian Worldwide Music Expo and the Mullumbimby Music Festival, Germany at Africa Festival, in Paris at Festival d’lle de France, at the renowned Primavera Sound Festival in Spain, at Sukiyaki Meets the World Festival in Japan. He took part in the One Beat program in the USA, an incubator for music-based social entrepreneurship where innovative musicians from around the world launch collaborative projects designed to make a positive impact on local and global communities. At home in South Africa he has collaborated with Joss Stone and Vieux Farka Toure on their South African tours.
2015 saw Bongeziwe play extensive run of shows across the globe; including a headline spot at Bushfire Festival in Swaziland, a comprehensive Canadian tour playing Nuits d' Afrique, Vancouver Folk Music Festival, Mission Folk Festival, Canmore Folk Festival and a second Australian tour including Woodford Folk Festival and Sydney Festival.
His follow up to Umlilo, titled Mangaliso (meaning “marvel” or “miracle”), is a worldclass record that confirms he’s among the most purposeful and gifted artists working in South Africa today. Among the highlights are first single, “Ndokulandela”, a hypnotic song that showcases Mabandla’s meditative, yet powerful, voice, “Bawo Wam” which carries with it the spirit of the ancient on a song built around a distinctively modern beat-heavy groove and “Khaya”, a track that reveals Mabandla’s guitarwork as among the most lyrical South Africa has produced.
Mangaliso was produced by Tiago Correia Paulo (Tumi and the Volume; 340ml) who also features, along with Mike Wright (Zebra & Giraffe), this new format has played some of the finest festivals in the region during 2017 including Sakifo Festival in Reunion Island, Zakifo Festival, Oppikoppi and Rocking the Daisies in South Africa.
Alright
Bongeziwe Mabandla Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
How you think you know something that you can hold on to
You put your pride and glory swear and live by it
Then one day before your eyes someone proves it all wrong
It makes it hard to even try, to even try and carry on
But no matter what happens I want you to know
Its gonna be o o o alright
One day alright
Its gonna be o o o alright
Just alright
One day alright
You see I don’t know how
To take all this pain and make it right
If what you love and worship will love you in return
And your greatest dreams a living reality
But i still sit here and think of a better life than this
Coz if there’s one thing I know you need to fight for your life
Its gonna be o o o alright
Just alright
One day alright
Its gonna be o o o alright
Just alright
One day alright
One day the sun will shine again (The sun will shine again)
There’ll be no pain, no rain (No pain no rain)
Nothing to explain
One day the sun will shine again (The sun will shine again)
There’ll be no pain, no rain (No pain no rain)
Nothing to explain
Its gonna be o o o alright
Just alright
One day alright
Its gonna be o o o alright
Just alright
One day alright
Its gonna be o o o alright
Just alright
One day alright
Its gonna be o o o alright
Just alright
One day alright
Bongeziwe Mabandla's song "Alright" speaks to the human condition and our collective desire for hope and redemption. The lyrics convey a sense of hopelessness and helplessness, describing life as being hard and strange. The singer realizes that things that once seemed unshakeable suddenly become proven wrong, leaving him feeling disillusioned and unable to carry on. Despite this, Mabandla urges listeners to keep faith as "it's gonna be alright".
Mabandla believes that life is unpredictable and acknowledges that we can’t control everything, no matter how much we try. He also states that we must fight for our lives, even if it seems like it’s not worth it. In the end, the sun will shine again, pain and rain will disappear, and everything will fall into place. The lyrics of "Alright" offer a message of hope that encourages people to keep fighting and never give up.
Line by Line Meaning
Life is funny, coz its hard and strange
Life is a paradox because it can challenge and surprise us.
How you think you know something that you can hold on to
Even if we believe we have control over something, it might not be the case.
You put your pride and glory swear and live by it
We often attach a lot of value and meaning to the things we hold dear.
Then one day before your eyes someone proves it all wrong
It only takes one person or event to undermine our beliefs and break the illusion we created.
It makes it hard to even try, to even try and carry on
It's tough to put effort in anything after getting disappointed or hurt.
But no matter what happens I want you to know
Still, there's always hope and we shouldn't lose sight of it.
Its gonna be o o o alright
The future holds promise, and everything will eventually fall into place.
Just alright
We don't have to aim for perfection, settling for a satisfactory outcome is still okay.
One day alright
The time frame is indefinite, but we should trust that things will improve one day.
You see I don’t know how
The process of healing is often hard and unclear.
To take all this pain and make it right
It's challenging to fix the hurt and wrongs in our lives.
If what you love and worship will love you in return
We hope that the things we cherish reciprocate our feelings towards them.
And your greatest dreams a living reality
We aspire for our biggest goals and hope to see them come to fruition.
But I still sit here and think of a better life than this
Despite everything, we still ponder about how life could be improved.
Coz if there’s one thing I know you need to fight for your life
We should defend and advocate for our well-being and happiness.
One day the sun will shine again (The sun will shine again)
We'll experience happiness and positivity after going through tough times.
There’ll be no pain, no rain (No pain no rain)
We'll be able to escape from suffering and difficulties eventually.
Nothing to explain
Our lives will make sense, and we'll no longer search for answers.
Its gonna be o o o alright
We can trust that everything will turn out okay in the end.
Just alright
Once again, we don't have to expect perfection, a good outcome will suffice.
One day alright
There's hope for improvement and better times in the future.
Its gonna be o o o alright
We can trust that the future holds promise.
Just alright
A satisfactory future is still okay.
One day alright
There's always hope for a better future.
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Nontsikelelo
on ndanele
But this man
grace
on Ndibuyile
In front of all the people
I swear
He lives my life
I leave it behind
This day is a mark
I introduce myself
I'm not the same person I used to be
I will follow you
Wherever you go
I will go with you
All the days of my life
I will follow you
Wherever you go
I will go with you
All day long
It’s my life my life
It's my life, my life
My whole heart
I set it before you
I don't have any more
It is the power
Help me, father
You have accepted me
He showed him the way
So that I can go
I will follow you
Wherever you go
I will go with you
All the days of my life
I will follow you
Wherever you go
I will go with you
All day long
It’s my life my life
It’s my life my life
The world can turn on me
People have turned their backs on me
I'm not going anywhere
I'll follow you
I will follow you
Wherever you go
I will go with you
All the days of my life
I will follow you
Wherever you go
I will go with you
All the days of my life
I will follow you
Wherever you go
I will go with you
All day long
It’s my life my life
It’s my life my life
I have decided to follow Jesus. May your children hear your voice, be moved by your Word.