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.
Stimela
Hugh Masekela Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Wangibambel'eduze (Dudu sithandwa sami)
Wangikhumbuz'eGoli mama
EZola (Stimela sam saseZola)
Wangibek'esifubeni weh mama
(Yelele mama, njengengan'encane)
Thambo lam lekhentaki
Sambulela sam selanga
Sithuthuthu sami (Stimela sam saseZola)
Sajika emadrayini ah we mama
(Yelele mama, njengengan'encane)
Welcome Dover baby
Stofu sam samalahle (Dudu sithandwa sami)
Ngikuthanda nom'uvutha baby iyo (Stimela sam saseZola)
Iyo! Iyo! (Yelele mama, njengengan'encane)
Sengihamba ngo Commisioner
Ngigqok'u-arrow shirt
Awubhek'ezansi Florsheim shoes baby (Stimela sam saseZola)
Ngiyobona wena lovey eZola
(Yelele mama, njengengan'encane)
Sengihamba ngo Commisioner
Ngigqok' u-arrow shirt
Awubhek'ezansi Florsheim shoes baby (Stimela sam saseZola)
Ngiyobona wena lovey eZola
(Yelele mama, njengengan'encane)
The lyrics to Hugh Masekela's song Stimela paint a picture of the hardships faced by miners in South Africa during the apartheid era. The opening lines describe a young man being held by the hand by his mother, likely as she is saying goodbye to him as he sets out to work in the mines. The repeated use of "Dudu sithandwa sami" (loosely meaning "my beloved one") could suggest that the mother and son are close and that the separation is difficult for them both.
As the song progresses, we see the harsh reality of the miners' lives. The line "Thambo lam lekhentaki" could be interpreted as a reference to the miners carrying heavy sacks of ore on their shoulders. "Sambulela sam selanga" (meaning "I searched for the moon") paints a picture of the miners working deep into the night. The line "Sajika emadrayini" (meaning "We drank in the shebeens (illicit bars)") suggests that many miners turned to alcohol as a way to cope with the stresses of their jobs.
The last verse takes on a different tone, describing a man who has perhaps been able to escape from the mines and now wears smart clothes and has the attention of a woman from his hometown of Zola. However, the repetition of the previous lines suggests that the man is still haunted by his experiences in the mines and that his success has come at a great cost.
Overall, the lyrics of "Stimela" are a powerful commentary on the exploitation of workers under apartheid, and a reminder of the human cost of our reliance on natural resources.
Line by Line Meaning
Wangibamba kwamancane
He held me with force
Wangibambel'eduze (Dudu sithandwa sami)
He held me tightly (My beloved Dudu)
Wangikhumbuz'eGoli mama EZola (Stimela sam saseZola)
He reminded me of Johannesburg and my home in Zola (My train of coal from Zola)
Wangibek'esifubeni weh mama (Yelele mama, njengengan'encane)
He put me close to his heart (Crying out, mother, as a child)
Thambo lam lekhentaki
My thin bone
Sambulela sam (Dudu sithandwa sami)
I miss her (My beloved Dudu)
Sambulela sam selanga Sithuthuthu sami (Stimela sam saseZola)
I miss her in the moonlight (My train of coal from Zola)
Sajika emadrayini ah we mama (Yelele mama, njengengan'encane)
I cry in the tavern (Crying out, mother, as a child)
Welcome Dover baby
Welcome Dover, my baby
Stofu sam samalahle (Dudu sithandwa sami)
My blanket folded neatly (My beloved Dudu)
Ngikuthanda nom'uvutha baby iyo (Stimela sam saseZola) Iyo! Iyo!
I love you with all my strength, baby (My train of coal from Zola) Yes! Yes!
Sengihamba ngo Commisioner
I am traveling with the Commissioner
Ngigqok'u-arrow shirt
I am wearing an Arrow shirt
Awubhek'ezansi Florsheim shoes baby (Stimela sam saseZola)
Don't look down, baby, at my Florsheim shoes (My train of coal from Zola)
Ngiyobona wena lovey eZola (Yelele mama, njengengan'encane)
I will see you, my love, in Zola (Crying out, mother, as a child)
Sengihamba ngo Commisioner
I am traveling with the Commissioner
Ngigqok'u-arrow shirt
I am wearing an Arrow shirt
Awubhek'ezansi Florsheim shoes baby (Stimela sam saseZola)
Don't look down, baby, at my Florsheim shoes (My train of coal from Zola)
Ngiyobona wena lovey eZola (Yelele mama, njengengan'encane)
I will see you, my love, in Zola (Crying out, mother, as a child)
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@user-km1yg3td1t
Stimela sihamba ngamalahle, (The train that drives using coal)
Sivela eDalaku Bay (Coming from Delgoa Bay - Now Maputo)
Sangilahla kwa-Guqa (It dropped me off Kwa-Guqa (Witbank - Emalahleni))
Bathi sizomba amalahle (They say we are here to mine for coal)
Sihleli njenge Zinja (We live like dogs)
Emigodini (Underground)
Sikhalel' izihlobo zethu (We weep for our relatives)
Masibuyeleni ekhaya bo (Let's go back home)
Sikhalel' izingane zethu (We weep for our children)
Masibuyeleni ekhaya bo (Let's go back home)
Sikhalel' amaCherrie wethu (We weep for our girlfriends)
Masibuyeleni ekhaya bo (Let's go back home)
Sikhalel' abazali bethu (We weep for our parents)
Masibuyeleni ekhaya bo (Let's go back home)
@samukelomadide797
When i listen to jazz i just miss my mother, am 21 years now(born in 2001 ) my mom passed in 2009😭😭😭😭. But now am a full grown up man , my mother's mother (granny)raised me, may God protect her till I get the powers to make her happy financially. Please love your parents. Wish you all great festive season.💙💙💙
@samuelitu155
One time I played this song while chilling with my dad and I could see tears literally running down his cheeks. He's been working in the coal mines in Emalahleni for the past 35 years.. 😭
@tlotlegomokalake6347
😭😭
@theboyleigh
Power of music
@dudutsoaela630
It takes me to a place I've never been but I feel every single part, almost like I'm a reincarnation of someone who has experienced what your father has.
@hazelmasia3091
💔😭
@kagisorapoo7533
I feel you bro...😭😭😭😭
@phemomotshwane7365
Life in Southern Africa summarized in song in the most artistic way ever. Thank you Bra Hugh <3
@iBackupTV
Hi Phemo
@legran25
One Afrika!