At the age of 14, Clegg met Zulu street musician Charlie Mzila, who taught him Zulu music and dancing over the following two years. In 1969 Johnny Clegg and Sipho Mchunu met in Johannesburg when young sipho went there to find work. The 18-year-old Mchunu challenged the 16-year-old Clegg to a guitar contest, and the two became friends. Soon, they were performing together on the streets and in what few other unofficial venues a multi-racial band could safely play in under apartheid. They were forced to keep a low profile and their success came from word of mouth instead of through traditional publicity. Clegg himself was arrested and beaten up by the police on several occasions for his activities and also for the band's lyrics. For some commentators, Juluka was the band that had the greatest success in challenging the racial separateness of Apartheid. When performing, both black and white band members would appear on stage in traditional Zulu dress and perform the traditional Zulu war dance together while singing in Zulu and English.[1]
In 1976, they released their debut single, "Woza Friday", followed three years later by a critically acclaimed album, Universal Men.[2] The album's poetic lyrics were strongly influenced by John Berger's A Seventh Man as well as Pablo Neruda and Jean-Paul Sartre.[citation needed] Expanding to a quintet, they released a second album, African Litany, in late 1981. The album's lead single, "Impi", with its pointedly political lyrics about a defeat of the colonial British army by the Zulus at the Battle of Isandlwana, was banned by South African radio but became an underground hit. In contemporary South Africa it is often associated with national sports teams. The album garnered them their first international attention, and they were able to successfully tour in Europe and North America in 1982 and 1983. However, in June 1983, the British music magazine, NME, reported that they were initially banned by the Musicians Union as, ..."since it would not be possible to approve one of our bands working in South Africa, there is no possibility of an exchange". The ban was eventually lifted, with the group donating their fees to charity.[3]
In South Africa, Juluka was also banned by Radio Bantu, a government approved radio station for the black population, which allegedly refused to play Juluka's music, because Clegg's efforts were seen as "an insult to the Zulu and their culture".[4]
The group disbanded in 1985 when Mchunu moved back to the farm where he was born in Natal to take care of his family. Clegg went on to form a new band, Savuka, with whom he achieved even greater international success. In 1997, however, the two friends came back for a final album together. It did not receive the critical acclaim of early Juluka albums like Universal Men, African Litany, Work for All and Scatterlings.
Trouble Musa Ukungilandela
Juluka Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Lokhu ungilandela
Trouble, trouble ungifaka ezindaweni engingazazi mina
Lokhu ungilandela
Uma ngihamba
Yilokhu usecelini kwami, wena
Ngizwa iziqi zakho
Zithi "vhu!" zona
Mus' u'ngilandela, mus' u'ngilandela
Mus' u'ngilandela, mus' u'ngilandela
Mus' u'ngilandela, mus' u'ngilandela
Mus' u'ngilandela, mus' u'ngilandela
Trouble, trouble upheny' impilo yami njengebhuku, wena
Lokhu ungilandela
Trouble, trouble uzum' impilo yami njengebhuku, wena
Lokhu ungilandela
Uma ngihamba
Ugid' eduze kwami, wena
Ngizwa iziqi zakho
Zithi "gqisi!" zona
Zithi "qgisi!" zona
Mus' u'ngilandela, mus' u'ngilandela
Mus' u'ngilandela, mus' u'ngilandela
Mus' u'ngilandela, mus' u'ngilandela
Mus' u'ngilandela, mus' u'ngilandela
Mus' u'ngilandela, mus' u'ngilandela
Mus' u'ngilandela, mus' u'ngilandela
Mus' u'ngilandela, mus' u'ngilandela
Mus' u'ngilandela, mus' u'ngilandela
Trouble, trouble
Trouble, trouble
Trouble, trouble
Trouble, Trouble
Trouble, trouble
Trouble, trouble
Mus' u'ngilandela, mus' u'ngilandela
Mus' u'ngilandela, mus' u'ngilandela
Trouble, trouble
Trouble, trouble
Mus' u'ngilandela, mus' u'ngilandela
Mus' u'ngilandela, mus' u'ngilandela
Trouble, trouble
Trouble, trouble
Mus' u'ngilandela, mus' u'ngilandela
Mus' u'ngilandela, mus' u'ngilandela
Trouble, trouble
Trouble, trouble
The Juluka song "Trouble Musa Ukungilandela" expresses the singer's struggle with the troubles in their life. They are being followed by trouble like a chicken and they do not know where it comes from. The singer hears the trouble creeping up on them but they cannot pinpoint its source. They are constantly on the move, but the trouble is hot on their heels. The repeated phrase "Mus' u'ngilandela" is a plea to the trouble to not follow and stay away from them.
The imagery used in the song compares the singer's experience to that of a chicken being hunted by a predator, always on edge for the next attack. The repetition of "trouble, trouble" emphasizes the all-encompassing and overwhelming nature of the struggle. The use of isiZulu also gives the song cultural depth as it was one of the major languages spoken in South Africa at the time of the song's release.
Line by Line Meaning
Trouble, trouble upheny' impilo yami njengebhuku, wena
I am facing problems in my life like a chicken, and you are the cause of it.
Lokhu ungilandela
And you keep following me.
Trouble, trouble ungifaka ezindaweni engingazazi mina
You are putting me in trouble in places I am not familiar with.
Uma ngihamba
When I walk,
Yilokhu usecelini kwami, wena
You are the reason for my distress.
Ngizwa iziqi zakho
I can hear your footsteps.
Zithi "vhu!" zona
They say "shh!"
Mus' u'ngilandela, mus' u'ngilandela
Don't follow me, don't follow me.
Trouble, trouble uzum' impilo yami njengebhuku, wena
You are making my life difficult like a chicken.
Ugid' eduze kwami, wena
You are always close to me.
Zithi "gqisi!" zona
They say "hush!"
Zithi "qgisi!" zona
They say "quiet!"
Trouble, trouble
Problem, problem
Mus' u'ngilandela, mus' u'ngilandela
Don't follow me, don't follow me.
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Sunshine
Trouble, trouble upheny' impilo yami njengebhuku, wena
Lokhu ungilandela
Trouble, trouble ungifaka ezindaweni engingazazi mina
Lokhu ungilandela
Uma ngihamba
Yilokhu usecelini kwami, wena
Ngizwa iziqi zakho
Zithi "vhu!" zona
Zithi "vhu!" zona
Mus' u'ngilandela, mus' u'ngilandela
Mus' u'ngilandela, mus' u'ngilandela
Mus' u'ngilandela, mus' u'ngilandela
Mus' u'ngilandela, mus' u'ngilandela
Trouble, trouble upheny' impilo yami njengebhuku, wena
Lokhu ungilandela
Trouble, trouble uzum' impilo yami njengebhuku, wena
Lokhu ungilandela
Uma ngihamba
Ugid' eduze kwami, wena
Ngizwa iziqi zakho
Zithi "gqisi!" zona
Zithi "qgisi!" zona
Mus' u'ngilandela, mus' u'ngilandela
Mus' u'ngilandela, mus' u'ngilandela
Mus' u'ngilandela, mus' u'ngilandela
Mus' u'ngilandela, mus' u'ngilandela
Mus' u'ngilandela, mus' u'ngilandela
Mus' u'ngilandela, mus' u'ngilandela
Mus' u'ngilandela, mus' u'ngilandela
Mus' u'ngilandela, mus' u'ngilandela
Trouble, trouble
Trouble, trouble
Trouble, trouble
Trouble, Trouble
Trouble, trouble
Trouble, trouble
Mus' u'ngilandela, mus' u'ngilandela
Mus' u'ngilandela, mus' u'ngilandela
Trouble, trouble
Trouble, trouble
Mus' u'ngilandela, mus' u'ngilandela
Mus' u'ngilandela, mus' u'ngilandela
Trouble, trouble
Trouble, trouble
Mus' u'ngilandela, mus' u'ngilandela
Mus' u'ngilandela, mus' u'ngilandela
Trouble, trouble
Trouble, trouble
Karim Traoré
I Heard This Song for the first Time in 1986. Very nostalgic. South Africa's music IS the best in Africa.
Adama Cisse
I was listening to that song in 1986 and I couldn't even know that I will love this country and visit it. A country that I will always love to live in.
Fro
formidable titre, emblématique de Juluka et de cette magnifique période "nostalgique" du début des années 80 ...
Hernan Grey
Exito En Barranquilla y Cartagena Colombia!
loren pereira
Y en SINCELEJO también uffff
poods7
I love this whole album!!!
ibrahim conteh
Wow! Love this song soooo much. I first heard it in 1990.
Milena Rosa Mejia Peña
Lo mejor de todos los tiempos
Akunin Adou
Cette chanson a véritablement bercé mon enfance merci juluka
Heiddy Cuesta
Sabroso este disco 💃🏻 que recuerdos a mi adolescencia