Miriam Makeba used her voice to entertain, but also to give a voice to millions of oppressed fellow South Africans who suffered as a result of apartheid. The price she had to pay for her actions was high, namely her South African citizenship. After she appeared, in 1960, in the an anti-apartheid documentary Come Back, Africa, the South African regime banned her from returning to her home country and took away her citizenship.
This event didn't stop her from continuing to raise her voice against the apartheid regime. Between 1964 and 1975, as a United Nations delegate of Guinea where she was granted asylum, Miriam Makeba addressed the General Assembly of the United Nations regularly on the tragic developments in South Africa.
Meanwhile she carried on singing, a process in which she put South African music on the map. Over the years Makeba worked with artists as Joe Sample, Stix Hooper, Arthur Adams, and David T. Walker of The Crusaders. In the late 1980's she joined Paul Simon and Ladysmith Black Mambazo during their world-wide Graceland tour and in 1990 she worked with Odetta and Nina Simone for the One Nation tour.
Following Nelson Mandela's release from prison, the citizen of the world Makeba returned to South Africa in December 1990; more than thirty years after she went in exile. In April 1991 she performed her first concert in her homeland in three decades.
The years after were busy ones for Makeba. She starred in the South African award-winning musical Sarafina! , about the 1976 Soweto youth uprisings, playing the role of the title character's mother. She then reunited with her first husband, trumpeter Hugh Masekela, for the Tour Of Hope. She also performed at the Vatican's Nevi Hall during the world-wide broadcasted show, Christmas In The Vatican. In 2000 Makeba released the grammy-nominated Homeland, her first studio album in a decade. In 2002 she shared the Polar Music Prize with Sofia Gubaidulina, in recognition of her exceptional achievements in the creation and advancement of music.
After her return to South Africa Miriam Makeba recorded over ten albums. In 2004, at the age of 72, she relased Reflections honoring the tenth anniversary of the end of apartheid in South Africa. In that same year Makeba was voted 38th in the Top 100 Great South Africans. She also started a 14 month worldwide farwell tour in 2005, holding concerts in all countries she had visited during her life.
With an impressive career spanning more than four decades Miriam Makeba is, indeed, one of the most respected, loved and cherished treasures in (South) Africa.
On the early morning of 10th of November 2008 she died at the age of 76 after being taken ill near the southern Italian town of Caserta, after performing at a concert against organized crime.
Source: Miriam Makeba, A true South African musical Legend
Discography on last.fm
External links:
Official website
Unofficial website
Movie database
Baya Ndi Memeza
Miriam Makeba Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Kutheni mntakwethu khawusondele kimi
Kutheni mntakwethu khawusondele kimi bo
Kutheni mntakwethu khawusondele kimi
Yebo kudala ngikumele khawusondele kimi bo
Kudala ngikumele khawusondele kimi
Mamo kudala ngikumele khawusondele kimi bo
Kuhle laph'eGolil kwaNdongaziyaduma bo
Kuhle laph'eGolil kwaNdongaziyaduma
Kuhle laph'eGolil kwaNdongaziyaduma bo
Kuhle laph'eGolil kwaNdongaziyaduma
Heh mame sibon'izintombi ziyehla ziyenyuka bo
Sibon'izintombi ziyehla ziyenyuka
Mama zeza nabantu ziy'ebantwini
Zeza nabantu ziy'ebantwini
Noseyishayile usengakayosi
Noseyishayile usengakayosi
Kanti noyosile usengakayidli bo
Kanti noyosile usengakayidli bo
Heh babe noseyidlile usedl'icala bo
Noseyidlile usedl'icala
Heh make zeza nabantu ziy'ebantwini
Zeza nabantu ziy'ebantwini
Noseyishayile usengakayosi bo
Noseyishayile usengakayosi
Kanti noyosile usengakayidli bo
Kanti noyosile usengakayidli bo
Eh baba noseyidlile usedl'icala bo
Noseyidlile usedl'icala
The song “Baya Ndi Memeza,” which means “They Are Crying Out,” is a powerful protest song by Miriam Makeba that speaks to the pain and struggles of Black people in South Africa during Apartheid. The song begins with Makeba asking her fellow Black people to stand with her and come together in the face of their oppressors. She pleads with them, asking why they have not yet come to her aid in their fight for freedom. She expresses how long she has been waiting and how tired she is, waiting for someone to come and help her fight the system.
The second verse speaks to the beauty of the land of the Zulus, where Makeba is from, and how it has been tainted by the horrors of Apartheid. She mentions how the girls are walking with their heads held high, yet they are still faced with discrimination simply for being Black. In the final verse, Makeba sings about how the government has taken away their basic human rights, leaving them with nothing but hunger and poverty.
Makeba’s song is a call to action, urging Black people to rise up and demand their rights. She speaks to the resilience of her people and their ability to stand up and fight for what is right, despite the odds being stacked against them. The song is a powerful reminder of the struggles faced by Black South Africans during Apartheid and an inspiration to continue fighting for justice and equality.
Line by Line Meaning
Kutheni mntakwethu khawusondele kimi bo
Why, my younger sibling, don't you come closer to me?
Yebo kudala ngikumele khawusondele kimi bo
Yes, I have missed you, younger sibling, why don't you come closer to me?
Kuhle laph'eGolil kwaNdongaziyaduma bo
It is beautiful in Golil, near Ndungaziyaduma
Heh mame sibon'izintombi ziyehla ziyenyuka bo
Oh mother, we see the girls coming up and dancing
Mama zeza nabantu ziy'ebantwini
Mother, come and see the people in the valleys
Noseyishayile usengakayosi
He pointed a gun at me but didn't kill me
Kanti noyosile usengakayidli bo
But he has insulted me and treated me badly
Heh babe noseyidlile usedl'icala bo
Oh father, he has insulted me and made me feel small
Make zeza nabantu ziy'ebantwini
Mother, come and see the people in the valleys
Eh baba noseyidlile usedl'icala bo
Oh father, he has insulted me and made me feel small
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Mfundo Piti
on To Those We Love (Nongqongqo)
At the time the song was composed and released all the people mentioned ((Mangaliso) Sobukhwe, (Albert) Luthuli, (Nelson) Mandela, and (Walter) Sisulu were alive. While the three were in prison at Robben Island, Luthuli was not in prison, hence the question to Luthuli asking what "will you do?". Luthuli was the president of the banned African National Congress (ANC). Sobukhwe the president of Pan Africanist Congress (PAC). Mandela and Sisulu occupied executive leadership positions within the ANC at the time of their sentencing to serve life sentences in prison (1964). The same question is asked to all Africans.
Mfundo Piti
on To Those We Love (Nongqongqo)
The lyrics of "To Those We Love" by Miriam Makeba are about the struggles, sacrifices, and resilience of great African leaders who fought for freedom, justice, and equality. The repetitive chorus, "Bahleli bonke entilongweni, Bahleli bonke kwaNongqongqo" refers to how all these leaders, including Sobukwe, Luthuli, Mandela, and Sisulu, are resting in peace or buried in their respective homes. The verses pose questions about their legacy and the continuation of their work, asking "Why, Baba Luthuli? What will you do?" and "What will happen to us, MaAfrica?" These questions are a call to action for listeners to carry on the struggle for freedom and justice.
Junior
on Soweto Blues
The melancholy in her voice
Junior
on Mama
It makes me cry I could not bury my mother cause I was in prison when I ask prison authorities to allow me an opportunity to go and attend the funeral they refused. We always underestimate the role of women
no
on Beware, Verwoerd! (Ndodemnyama)
no
hi! i enjoted. this song. i loved it
Matt Olomu
on Noweva
This is your challenge, South Africans who understand the lyrics of NOWEVER. Do yourselves and Africa a favour. Interpret it.