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
Chove Chuva
Miriam Makeba Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Chove sem parar...(2x)
Pois eu vou fazer uma prece
Prá Deus, nosso Senhor
Prá chuva parar
De molhar o meu divino amor...
É mais que o infinito
É puro e belo
Inocente como a flôr...
Por favor, chuva ruim
Não molhe mais
O meu amor assim...(2x)
Chove Chuva
Chove sem parar...(2x)
The lyrics to Miriam Makeba's song "Chove Chuva" depict a humble plea to God to stop the incessant rain from drenching the singer's divine love. The Portuguese title translates to "rain, rain", and the repetition of the phrase "chove sem parar" (rain without stopping) emphasizes the constant downpour that threatens to ruin the singer's happiness. The singer's prayer is characterized by adjectives and comparisons that evoke a sense of purity and innocence: the love is "more than infinite", "pure and beautiful", "innocent like a flower".
The use of natural imagery is notable as well, with rain representing the opposite of the love's beauty and perfection. The request to "chuva ruim" (bad rain) to stop drenching the beloved indicates that the rain has become an unwelcome intruder to the singer's personal life, and needs to be dispelled so that the blissful feelings can return. The lyrics convey a sense of desperation and urgency, as if the singer is willing to appeal to any higher power to save their relationship from the ruinous downpour.
Line by Line Meaning
Chove Chuva
It's raining heavily
Chove sem parar...(2x)
It's pouring continuously
Pois eu vou fazer uma prece
I am going to pray
Prá Deus, nosso Senhor
To God, our Lord
Prá chuva parar
To make the rain stop
De molhar o meu divino amor...
From wetting my divine love
Que é muito lindo
That is very beautiful
É mais que o infinito
It's more than infinity
É puro e belo
It's pure and beautiful
Inocente como a flôr...
Innocent like the flower
Por favor, chuva ruim
Please, bad rain
Não molhe mais
Don't wet anymore
O meu amor assim...(2x)
My love like this
Chove Chuva
It's raining heavily
Chove sem parar...(2x)
It's pouring continuously
Contributed by Brooklyn P. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
I Am Rod
Que dinâmica e que modulação vocal!!!
José Roberto Barbieri
Modulaçao audaciosa aos 2:02. Achei até que ela tinha saído do tom, mas a subida de tonalidade foi precisa. Maravilhosa!
derlan correia
Que linda canção, ficou esplêndida na voz de Miriam Makeba. Parabéns
Arthur Ramm Sachet
She speaks a surprisingly good Portuguese. She missed some of our phonemes, but got the right stress for every word.
Fabio
She managed to pronounce "LH" which is impressive.
Anderson Lopes
É lindo demais!!!!! É emocionante ver a parceria dela com Sivuca! <3
Paulo Costa
Que voz, que a arte da musica é um casamento no céu entre quem escreve e quem canta. Se os dois forem abencoados de Deus, nao importa a lingua tudo sera sempre extraordinariamente divino.
Buonasera Catuxa
Maravilhosa! Que cantora, que mulher...
Elder Fernandes
Wow, never imagined she sang in Portuguese!!! Perfect 😍
Ludes Vitor
Arraso!! Makemba cantando nosso Bem jor¡