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.
You'll Never Know
Hugh Masekela Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
You'll never know just how much I care
And if I tried, I still couldn't hide my love for you
You ought to know, for haven't I told you so
A million or more times?
You went away and my heart went with you
I speak your name in my every prayer
I swear I don't know how
You'll never know if you don't know now
(You went away and my heart went with you
I speak your name in my every prayer)
If there is some other way to prove that I love you
I swear I don't know how
You'll never know if you don't know now
You'll never know if you don't know now
Hugh Masekela's "You'll Never Know" is a love song that expresses the depth of the singer's feelings for someone who has left them. The lyrics speak to the pain and longing that the singer feels, as well as the frustration of not being able to express their love adequately. The song opens with the line "You'll never know just how much I miss you," conveying the sense of loss and emptiness that the singer feels without their loved one.
As the song progresses, the singer reflects on the times they have tried to express their love, but still feel that they have not been able to communicate the depth of their feelings. The repetition of the line "If there is some other way to prove that I love you, I swear I don't know how" reinforces this sense of frustration and helplessness.
The final lines of the song, "You'll never know if you don't know now," speak to the urgency and importance of expressing one's love in the present moment. The singer is pleading with their loved one to recognize and acknowledge their feelings, before it's too late.
Overall, "You'll Never Know" is a poignant and heartfelt love song that captures the raw emotions of longing, loss, and the struggle to communicate one's feelings to another person.
Line by Line Meaning
You'll never know just how much I miss you
I miss you immensely, but you will never understand how much
You'll never know just how much I care
I care for you deeply, but you will never comprehend the extent of my love
And if I tried, I still couldn't hide my love for you
Even if I attempted to conceal it, my love for you would still be obvious
You ought to know, for haven't I told you so
I have informed you of my love for you many times, so you should already be aware
A million or more times?
I have expressed my love countless times, and it still hasn't been recognized
You went away and my heart went with you
When you left, you took my heart with you, making it impossible to forget about you
I speak your name in my every prayer
Every time I pray, I mention your name, demonstrating how much you mean to me
If there is some other way to prove that I love you
If there's another method to show my affection for you
I swear I don't know how
Even though I want to show you how much I love you, I don't know how to do it effectively
You'll never know if you don't know now
If you don't realize my love for you at this moment, you may never comprehend how much I love you
(You went away and my heart went with you
When you left, you took my heart with you, making it impossible to forget about you
I speak your name in my every prayer)
Every time I pray, I mention your name, demonstrating how much you mean to me
Lyrics © Peermusic Publishing, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: Mack Gordon, Harry Warren
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind