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.
Mama
Hugh Masekela Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Since they came to take her away
She got twenty years in jail
For riding the freedom train
In the end she had to leave SA
Into exile in LA
When she saw her mama again
These are the only words she could say
UMama uyajabula (uMama uyajabula)
UMama uyajabula (uMama uyajabula)
UMama uyajabula (uMama uyajabula)
UMama uyajabula (uMama uyajabula)
Qho mangifik' ekhaya
Qho mangibuy' ekhaya
Qho mangifik' ekhaya
Qho mangibuy' ekhaya
Wath' uMama uyajabula (uMama uyajabula)
UMama uyajabula (uMama uyajabula)
UMama uyajabula (uMama uyajabula)
UMama uyajabula (uMama uyajabula)
Mama thought she'd never see her again
Many exiles never returned
Nobody knew where her baby had gone
But it wasn't long before freedom
And when Mandela came out of jail
There was her daughter walking next to the man
When she ran into her mother's arms
These are the only words she could say
UMama uyajabula (uMama uyajabula)
UMama uyajabula (uMama uyajabula)
UMama uyajabula (uMama uyajabula)
UMama uyajabula (uMama uyajabula)
UMama uyajabula (uMama uyajabula)
UMama uyajabula bo (uMama uyajabula)
Qho mangifik' ekhaya (uMama uyajabula)
Njalo mangifik' ekhaya
Qho mangifik' ekhaya (uMama uyajabula)
Njalo mangifik' ekhaya
Chisa, Chisa
UMama uyajabula (uMama uyajabula)
UMama uyajabula
UMama uyajabula (uMama uyajabula)
UMama uyajabula
Qho mangifik' ekhaya (uMama uyajabula)
Qho mangifik' ekhaya (uMama uyajabula)
Wathi
Qho mangifik' ekhaya (uMama uyajabula)
uMama uyajabula
Qho mangifik' ekhaya (uMama uyajabula)
uMama uyajabula (uMama uyajabula)
Umama uyajabula (uMama uyajabula)
UMama uyajabula (uMama uyajabula)
UMama uyajabula (Mangifik' ekhaya)
UMama uyajabula (uMama uyajabula)
The song "Mama" by Hugh Masekela tells the story of a woman who was forcibly removed from her home in South Africa and spent twenty years in jail for her involvement in the fight against Apartheid. She eventually left the country and went into exile in Los Angeles, where she was able to reunite with her mother after forty years. When she saw her mother again, she could only say the words "uMama uyajabula" (mother is happy) in her native language. The song celebrates this reunion and the joy of a mother and daughter seeing each other again after so many years.
The lyrics also acknowledge the many exiles who never returned to their homes in South Africa, highlighting the true cost of the fight against Apartheid. Masekela's use of traditional African rhythms and instrumentation gives the song a beautiful and uplifting feel, even as it tells a somber story of struggle and sacrifice.
Overall, "Mama" is a powerful tribute to the resilience and strength of those who fought against Apartheid and a reminder of the importance of family and community in times of hardship.
Line by Line Meaning
It's been a forty years and a day
It has been forty years and a day since the woman was taken away.
Since they came to take her away
Since the woman was taken away from her home.
She got twenty years in jail
The woman was sentenced to 20 years in jail.
For riding the freedom train
She was imprisoned for her involvement in the freedom movement.
In the end she had to leave SA
Eventually, she had to leave South Africa.
Into exile in LA
She went into exile and moved to Los Angeles.
When she saw her mama again
When the woman saw her mother again.
These are the only words she could say
These were the only words the woman could say in the moment.
UMama uyajabula (uMama uyajabula)
Mama is happy (Mama is happy).
Qho mangifik' ekhaya
When will I get back home?
Qho mangibuy' ekhaya
When will I be able to return home?
Mama thought she'd never see her again
The mother thought she would never see her daughter again.
Many exiles never returned
Many people who went into exile never returned home.
Nobody knew where her baby had gone
No one knew where her daughter had gone.
But it wasn't long before freedom
It wasn't long before South Africa achieved freedom.
And when Mandela came out of jail
When Nelson Mandela was released from prison.
There was her daughter walking next to the man
Her daughter was walking next to Mandela.
When she ran into her mother's arms
When the daughter ran into her mother's arms.
Chisa, Chisa
Burn, burn.
Qho mangifik' ekhaya (uMama uyajabula)
When will I get back home? (Mama is happy).
Njalo mangifik' ekhaya
I always ask when I can return home.
Wathi
She said.
uMama uyajabula
Mama is happy.
uMama uyajabula (uMama uyajabula)
Mama is happy (Mama is happy).
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: HUGH MASEKELA
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@melrosewilson6569
Love this song, love this man may he RIP🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰😍
@alfredlebudi
This song reminds me of my last mother; May her soul continue resting in peace 💔😭
@ashleymorrison3313
<3
@curtisesterhuizen5691
😢 I really don't wanna live anymore ma
@user-kn5md1nc4t
Amongst my favourite tunes by this legendary artist
@kahawainternet7739
Song is wonderful