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.
Vasco da Gama
Hugh Masekela Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
He was no friend of mine
Vasco Da Gama
He was no friend of mine
Vasco Da Gama
He was no friend of mine
Vasco Da Gama
Vasco Da Gama left Portugal
To go to India
To look for spices and emeralds
He went via Africa
He had to stop in South Africa
To get the? of water
He invented discovery
For colonization
He was no friend of mine
He was no friend of mine
He was no friend of mine
He was no friend of mine
Christopher Colombus
In the? Santa Maria
Discovered America
He was no friend of mine
He was no friend of mine
He was no friend of mine
He was no friend of mine
(Vasco Da Gama? the sailor man)
(Vasco Da Gama? the sailor man)
(Vasco Da Gama? the sailor man)
(Vasco Da Gama the sailor man)
Vasco Da Gama
He was no friend of mine
Vasco Da Gama
He was no friend of mine
Vasco Da Gama
He was no friend of mine
Vasco Da Gama
He was no friend of mine
The lyrics of Hugh Masekela's "Vasco da Gama (The Sailor Man)" reveal the singer's disdain for the titular explorer. Vasco da Gama was a Portuguese explorer who was known for his successful voyage to India in 1498, during which he established a profitable trade route. However, the singer of the song does not hold Vasco da Gama in high regard, stating that he was "no friend of mine." The lyrics describe how Vasco da Gama traveled to India via Africa, and had to stop in South Africa to obtain water. The singer accuses him of using discovery as an excuse for colonization, suggesting that Vasco da Gama's true motives were to exploit the people and resources of the lands he encountered.
In the latter half of the song, the singer contrasts Vasco da Gama with another famous explorer, Christopher Columbus, who discovered America (although it is important to note that Columbus was not the first explorer to reach the Americas). The inclusion of Columbus in the song highlights the singer's contempt for Vasco da Gama, suggesting that the former was a more honorable figure than the latter.
Overall, the song can be interpreted as a critique of the exploitation and colonization of non-European territories by European powers, and a condemnation of the harm caused to the peoples and cultures of those lands in the name of discovery and profit.
Line by Line Meaning
Vasco Da Gama
The man named Vasco Da Gama
He was no friend of mine
I didn't like or approve of him
Vasco Da Gama left Portugal
Vasco Da Gama departed from Portugal
To go to India
With the intention of traveling to India
To look for spices and emeralds
To search for valuable commodities like spices and emeralds
He went via Africa
He traveled through Africa
He had to stop in South Africa
While traveling, he had to make a stop in South Africa
To get the? of water
To obtain necessary water supplies
He invented discovery
He has been credited with the act of discovering new lands
For colonization
For the purpose of establishing colonies or territories
Christopher Colombus
A sailor named Christopher Colombus
In the? Santa Maria
On board a ship called Santa Maria
Discovered America
Claimed to have found the continent of America
(Vasco Da Gama? the sailor man)
(A reference to Vasco Da Gama being a sailor)
Vasco Da Gama
The man named Vasco Da Gama
He was no friend of mine
I didn't like or approve of him
Vasco Da Gama
The man named Vasco Da Gama
He was no friend of mine
I didn't like or approve of him
Vasco Da Gama
The man named Vasco Da Gama
He was no friend of mine
I didn't like or approve of him
Vasco Da Gama
The man named Vasco Da Gama
He was no friend of mine
I didn't like or approve of him
Writer(s): Hugh Masekela
Contributed by Isabelle D. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
@jaye501
man oh man i used to love this song...
@rodgertebele9437
Still love it up until this day...lovely song...lovely melody...loverly instrumental...lol clear message
@divasdiva27
Thanks for sharing, brings back memories if my youth!!!1Love
@carlosmagana5775
I was 21 when this came out Lvit nice to Reminisce
@lapijo75
aaaaahhhhhh thanks for posting!!!!!!
@btsbom5511
My teacher showed me this song I’m addicted
@casualdespair
Mrs Fairweather, would you care to elaborate? As a portuguese citizen, I would like to know more. Thank you.
@HM-bd9un
Rest in peace, son of the soil...
@valemanuel5620
I
@mojalefapitso9377
One of the most underrated songs by bra Hugh