The duo came together in the early '80s in New York when Rosen met Liben through a friend of his girlfriend. Soon after meeting they started spending time together in clubs listening to different types of dance music. In 1983 they released two singles on Elektra Records, AEIOU Sometimes Y and Bag Lady (I Wonder), with the former becoming a modern rock radio staple for a short while, and the latter a minor radio hit. Both had videos that received significant airplay on MTV. The video for "Bag Lady" features actress Imogene Coca in the title role. Their only LP, Feeling Cavalier, included both singles and was released in January 1984. The duo then went their separate ways.
Liben went on to work with comedian Judy Tenuta (as her music director) and Scritti Politti, while Rosen formed a studio group, before leaving music to become a screenwriter. Liben passed away in 1998 of a heart attack.
Kuchenga Pamoja
Ebn-Ozn Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Ant upon a hillside
Little ant on a hillside
Working in the heat
Carries food five times his own size
Home so he can eat
The sky grows dark
The lightning make him nervous
The thunder has a purpose
Beware...Hatari, the clouds will dump the water
Take care...Hatari, we'll all be swept away
Down come the rain...
Sweeping from the black sky
Crashing through the trees
Beating up the hillside
The ant falls to his knees
The others run unruly
Kuchenga Pamoja...
He still holds to his load
Big wind blows so cruelly
He perseveres so bold
So bold
Kuchenga Pamoja!
Harambe...
They scurry down the hillside
Looking for their food
"Oh all is ruined!" they cry
"Oh my, what shall we do?"
The sun is shining
He shakes the weakness off
Continues on his climbing
The others ran for naught
Three cheers! Hooray!
The old ant is so happy
Oh...awful day
The others are still hungry
Harambe...
The little brave ant's
Climb is finished
He's home now at the top
Oooh...eating up his dinner
Proud of what he wrought
The moral of the story
To every girl and fella
To Labor man and Tory
You got to
Carry an umbrella
You need that big umbrella
[Kuchenga Pamoja - Let's work together
Harambe - Let's pull together
A field hand's chant used by President Kenyatta as a
Cry for national unity]
The lyrics of Ebn-Ozn's Kuchenga Pamoja explore the themes of perseverance and unity through the story of an ant's journey to collect food during a storm. The song begins with the ant working tirelessly to collect food, carrying loads five times its own size. When a storm arrives, the ant is afraid but is encouraged by an older ant to persevere through the "hatari," or danger, of the storm. The storm arrives and the ant holds on to its load despite the others running unruly. In the end, the ant reaches home and enjoys its dinner while proud of what it has accomplished. The song ends with the moral message that everyone needs to carry an umbrella, emphasizing the importance of being prepared for challenges.
Line by Line Meaning
Harambe..
Let's pull together..
Ant upon a hillside
A little ant that was working hard on a hillside
Little ant on a hillside
A small ant on top of the hillside
Working in the heat
Working very hard despite the heat
Carries food five times his own size
Carrying food that is five times larger than its own size
Home so he can eat
Carries food back to its home so it can eat
The sky grows dark
The sky is becoming dark
The lightning make him nervous
The ant is nervous because of the lightning
The old ant screams "Hark"
The old ant shouts 'Hark'
The thunder has a purpose
The thunder is serving some purpose
Beware...Hatari, the clouds will dump the water
Be careful because the clouds will rain heavily
Take care...Hatari, we'll all be swept away
Be cautious because we might all be washed away
Down come the rain...
It starts raining heavily
Sweeping from the black sky
The rain is coming from the dark sky
Crashing through the trees
The rain is making noise as it hits the trees
Beating up the hillside
The rain is hitting the hillside with great force
The ant falls to his knees
The ant falls down due to the force of rain
The others run unruly
The other ants are running in a disorganized manner
Kuchenga Pamoja...
Let's work together...
He still holds to his load
The ant is still holding onto the food it was carrying
Big wind blows so cruelly
A strong wind is blowing harshly
He perseveres so bold
The ant persists with bravery
So bold
What a bold and brave ant
Kuchenga Pamoja!
Let's work together!
Harambe...
Let's pull together...
They scurry down the hillside
The ants are running down the hill
Looking for their food
They are searching for their lost food
"Oh all is ruined!" they cry
"Everything is destroyed!" they lament
"Oh my, what shall we do?"
"What should we do now?" they ask
The sun is shining
The sun comes back out
He shakes the weakness off
The ant overcomes its weakness
Continues on his climbing
The ant goes back to its work
The others ran for naught
The other ants ran for no reason
Three cheers! Hooray!
Three cheers and hooray for the successful ant
The old ant is so happy
The old ant is very happy
Oh...awful day
It was a terrible day
The others are still hungry
The other ants are still hungry
Harambe...
Let's pull together...
The little brave ant's
The small, brave ant's
Climb is finished
The ant is done climbing
He's home now at the top
The ant is now at the top where it lives
Oooh...eating up his dinner
The ant is enjoying its dinner
Proud of what he wrought
The ant is proud of what it accomplished
The moral of the story
The lesson of the story is
To every girl and fella
For everyone, young or old, male or female
To Labor man and Tory
For blue-collar and white-collar workers
You got to
You have to
Carry an umbrella
Be prepared for anything that may come your way
You need that big umbrella
You need to be well prepared
Kuchenga Pamoja - Let's work together
Let's work together, Kuchenga Pamoja
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA/AMCOS
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