Hugh Masekela was an old collaborator of Abdullah Ibrahim. He is reported to have been initially inspired in his musical growth by Trevor Huddleston, a British priest working in the South African townships who financed Masekela's first trumpet. Masekela played his way through the vibrant Sophiatown scene with The Jazz Epistles and to Britain with King Kong, to find himself in New York in the early 1960s. He had hits in the United States with the pop jazz tunes "Up, Up and Away" and the number one smash "Grazin' in the Grass".
A renewed interest in his African roots led him to collaborate with West and Central African musicians, and finally to reconnect with South African players when he set up a mobile studio in Botswana, just over the South African border, in the 1980s. Here he re-absorbed and re-used mbaqanga strains, a style he has continued to use since his return to South Africa in the early 1990s.
In the 1980s, he toured with Paul Simon in support of Simon's then controversial, but highly critically acclaimed, album Graceland, which featured other South African artists such as Ladysmith Black Mambazo, Miriam Makeba, Ray Phiri, and other elements of the band Kalahari, which Masekela recorded with in the 1980s. He also collaborated in the musical development for the Broadway play, Sarafina! He previously recorded with the band Kalahari.
In 2003, he was featured in the documentary film Amandla!, about how the music of South Africa aided in the struggle against apartheid. In 2004, he released his autobiography, Grazin' in The Grass: The Musical Journey of Hugh Masekela, which thoughtfully details his struggles against apartheid in his homeland, as well as his personal struggles against alcohol addiction from the late 1970s through to the 1990s, a period when he migrated, in his personal recording career, to mbaqanga, jazz/funk, and the blending of South African sounds to an adult contemporary sound through two albums he recorded with Herb Alpert, and notable solo recordings, Techno-Bush (recorded in his studio in Botswana), Tomorrow (featuring the anthem "Bring Him Back Home"), Uptownship (a lush-sounding ode to American R and B), Beatin' Aroun' de Bush, Sixty, Time, and most recently, "Revival".
Essential recordings include:
* "Bring Him Back Home"
* "Coal Train (Stimela)"
* "Ziph'nkomo"
* "Don't Go Lose It Baby"
* "Ha Le Se Li De Khanna (The Dowry Song)"
* "Bajabule Bonka"
* "Grazing in the Grass"
* "U-Dwi"
* "The Joke of Life"
* "The Boy's Doin' It"
His song, "Soweto Blues", sung by his former wife, Miriam Makeba, mourns the carnage of the Soweto riots in 1976.
Hugh Masekela is the father of Sal Masekela, host of American channel E!'s Daily 10 show, along with Debbie Matenopoulos.
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Hugh Masekela Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
'Til you've learned the meaning of the blues
Until you've loved a love you've had to lose,
You don't know what love is.
You don't know how lips hurt
Until you've kissed and had to pay the cost,
Until you've flipped your heart and you have lost,
Do you know how a lost heart fears
At the thought of reminiscing,
And how lips that taste of tears
Lose their taste for kissing?
You don't know how hearts burn
For love that can, not live yet never dies.
Until you've faced each dawn with sleepless eyes,
You don't know what love is.
Hugh Masekela's song, "You Don't Know What Love Is," speaks to the idea that one cannot truly understand love until they have experienced heartbreak and loss. The first verse suggests that the meaning of love cannot be grasped until one has felt the blues, which often accompany heartache. The second verse speaks to the physical and emotional pain that comes with heartbreak, emphasizing that one cannot fully comprehend love until they have had to pay the cost of lost love.
The third verse delves deeper into the emotions associated with lost love, highlighting the fear that comes with remembering a broken heart and how the tears of heartbreak can change someone's perception of intimacy. Finally, the choruses emphasize that the pain of love can burn like fire, robbing one of sleep and leading to a constant sense of loss.
Overall, Masekela's lyrics showcase the often-painful reality of love and how it requires experiencing both the good and the bad to fully comprehend it.
Line by Line Meaning
You don't know what love is
You have not truly understood what love is
'Til you've learned the meaning of the blues
Until you have felt the pain of heartbreak and loss
Until you've loved a love you've had to lose,
Until you have experienced the sadness of losing someone you love
You don't know what love is.
You cannot comprehend the true nature of love
You don't know how lips hurt
You cannot fathom the pain caused by kissing someone who does not love you back
Until you've kissed and had to pay the cost,
Until you have suffered the consequences of loving someone who does not return your affection
Until you've flipped your heart and you have lost,
Until you have given your heart to someone and lost it
You don't know what love is.
You cannot truly understand the essence of love
Do you know how a lost heart fears
Have you ever felt the fear and emptiness of a broken heart?
At the thought of reminiscing,
When you think about the memories of a lost love
And how lips that taste of tears
How the taste of tears on your lover's lips can be a painful reminder
Lose their taste for kissing?
How the desire to kiss someone decreases after a heartbreak
You don't know how hearts burn
You cannot comprehend the intensity of the emotional pain caused by losing someone you love
For love that can, not live yet never dies.
For a love that cannot be, but still remains in the heart
Until you've faced each dawn with sleepless eyes,
Until you have suffered the agony of sleepless nights because of a broken heart
You don't know what love is.
You cannot truly understand what love is
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group, Warner/Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: HOAGY CARMICHAEL, JOHNNY MERCER
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@AldenRDavis
A classic.. Still loving this in 2023.. anyone else?
@illwitness
this song reminds me of my beautiful mother, god bless her soul. she would sing this all the time, cooking, cleaning, washing making me lunch, dinner and even in her sleep. she was the greatest mother of all time.......all mums are awesome. man, south african people really are special. rest in peace mum, rest with all those others mums that have gone. we'll see you all again one day, peace all.
@charlesliberacemurphy5087
Only in the motherland can a person create a hit like this . Rip brother !
@therichardgravesgroup4747
I disagree. This music has the same energy as Quincy Jones "Ai No Corrida". This because we (African Americans) and Africans are of one soul.
@ilanhaba5744
RIP MR Hugh Masekela, Thank you very much for the beautiful music you've left for us to dance to. ILAN HABA wishing for one love for all and ,peace on earth across from AUSTRALIA. X .
@wernerbluhm2996
Habe mir damals sofort die LP von HUGH MASEKELA gekauft! Ein Spitzensong! Großartig! SUPER!!!
@1717carpediem
i forgot this song completely, shame on me, untill yesterday, they've used it in a dutch banking commercial for the worldchampionship football in South Africa i love this song!!
@jh165z
Back when music was good... amazing rhythm in this song, got to love it! =)
@user-yc5zb8uq8k
Pangea island streaming here 😅 ayeeeeeeeee from Mississippi an American Indian pharaoh mummies
@SolarWebsite
Like nearly everybody else, I got to know this through the Dutch ING TV commercial. I can't believe this is 36 years old. No wonder it's good!