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
Imagine me
Miriam Makeba Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I'm acting like a child over you
I'm wild over you
What have you done to me?
To make feel so free
Imagine me
I'm shining like a star out of space
I can't explain this thing
That makes me want to sing
And dance
As though my heart had wings to fly
Don't ask me why
Just let me love you, love you
Love you, love you till I die
Imagine me
Imagine me in love over you
In love over you
This is so heavenly
Imagine me
I want to sing
And dance
As though my heart has wings to fly
Don't as me why
Just let me love you, love you
Love you, love you till I die
Imagine me
Imagine me in love over you
In love over you
This is so heavenly
Imagine me
Imagine me
Imagine me
Imagine me
Imagine me
Imagine me
The song "Imagine Me" by Miriam Makeba is a love song about the overwhelming feelings of love the singer experiences towards their partner. The lyrics describe the almost childlike joy and freedom that love can bring, making the singer feel as though they are shining like a star and able to fly with wings like a bird. The chorus of the song repeats the phrase "imagine me in love over you" as a way to express the depth of emotion and feelings of bliss that the singer is experiencing.
The opening lines, "I'm acting like a child over you, I'm wild over you" show the singer's vulnerability and openness towards their loved one. The lyrics suggest that this love has unexpectedly taken hold of the singer and they cannot explain why they feel this way. The line "What have you done to me? To make me feel so free" emphasizes the power of the other person in the relationship to evoke such a strong emotional response.
The lyrics are simple, but the melody and Miriam Makeba's soulful voice create an atmosphere that showcases the joy and freedom of love. The song's beauty is in its simplicity, and it captures the essence of the power of love to make people feel young and fearless. "Imagine Me" is a timeless love song that captures the essence of the liberating freedom of love.
Line by Line Meaning
Imagine me
Picture me in your mind
I'm acting like a child over you
I'm enthusiastic about you, like a child that just discovered something exciting
I'm wild over you
I'm crazy about you
What have you done to me?
What did you say or do to make me feel this way?
To make feel so free
You made me feel liberated and happy
I'm shining like a star out of space
I'm glowing like a celestial body, beyond this world
I'm far out of place
I feel like I don't belong here, it's overwhelming
I can't explain this thing
I can't describe this feeling I have inside me
That makes me want to sing
There's something that's pushing me to express myself through music
And dance
Also through dance moves
As though my heart had wings to fly
I feel like I could fly away with joy from how happy you make me
Don't ask me why
I can't give you a logical explanation for my overwhelming emotions
Just let me love you, love you
Just allow me to express my affection towards you
Love you, love you till I die
I will love you eternally, until I pass away
Imagine me in love over you
Picture me falling in love with you
This is so heavenly
It feels like paradise
I want to sing
I'm eager to express myself with music
Imagine me
Picture me in your mind
Imagine me
Picture me in your mind
Imagine me
Picture me in your mind
Imagine me
Picture me in your mind
Imagine me
Picture me in your mind
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management
Written by: Auchee Lee, William Salter
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@sabrinawilliams3854
I Love this lady so much. She’s the reason why I sing
@epimelgares9713
Listen to this song is a passage to my childhood back in my Country..
I love it
@angelanewton2577
Such a beautiful voice/song from my childhood days: heard it on the radio as soon as I opened my eyes and found it on Google.😊😢❤
@4meincognito
Wow! I've been trying to find this song for ages and just couldn't. Here I am sitting in all this heat on my beautiful island, Jamaica humming it to myself and focusing on this voice that soothed my soul when I was very young and voila! I said to myself that unmistakable voice must be that of the one and only Miriam Makeba. I was right. Thank you Lord for this wonderful love of music that I have deep inside my heart and soul. I think I read somewhere that it was fellow Jamaican, Harry Belafonte who introduced her to the world. A beautiful woman with a powerful voice.
@tessah.137
To the heavenly one who uploaded this song. Thanks from this dimension to the next. I have been searching for this song for years. I have loved it since I was three years old. And now...Thank You!!!!
@oliviersouth9712
+Tessa Hinds I heard it to day for the first time.. Love this girl completely..
@eighttothebar5339
+Tessa Hinds Thank you for your nice comment. I loved 'Pata Pata' back in the 60s when I was a kid, but never knew this song until recently. Yeah, this song is the very reason for me to upload some of her songs.
@tessah.137
Sweet, let's change our world over and over ...! I love you all!!! tesquest.org
@jakko6467
Simply Beautiful...both the song and the singer.
@anthonyrooseveldt6010
Oh what a beautiful song, I too have memories of it since as a child...love to you always Miriam, rest in peace