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
Jeux Interdits
Miriam Makeba Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
And though it's forbidden, my tears must have told you
That I hold you secretly each time we meet
In these forbidden games that I play
Though it's forbidden in dim, quiet places
To capture the rainbows my aching heart chases
My bittersweet ecstasies come to me here
Everyone knows you belong to another
Spinning your magic for her and no other
Still, I've been content to be part of this fantasy
Part of this game that I play
Though it's forbidden and you'll love me never
I'll keep my love hidden and love you forever
Through countless eternities you will be mine
In these forbidden games that I play
Everyone knows you belong to another
Spinning your magic for her and no other
Still, I've been content to be part of this fantasy
Part of this game that I play
Though it's forbidden and you'll love me never
I'll keep my love hidden and love you forever
Through countless eternities you will be mine
In these forbidden games that I play
In these forbidden games that I play
In these forbidden games that I play
Jeux Interdits, or Forbidden Games in English, is a song that explores the complicated and often painful experience of being in an affair with someone who belongs to another. Makeba's lyrics speak of the deeper emotional conflict behind the physical act of two people having an affair. Although it is forbidden for Makeba to be with the person she loves, she continues to secretly hold him in her arms, hiding her feelings from the world. Her tears betray the depth of her hidden love, but she is unable and unwilling to let go of him. Makeba's words evoke the desperate longing, the bittersweet ecstasies, and the endless fantasy games that two people in an affair experience.
The lyrics are also an exploration of the conflict between love and societal expectations, and how the two can never fully reconcile. Everyone knows that her lover belongs to another, and while Makeba is content to be part of the fantasy, she is also painfully aware that her love is forbidden and that he will never truly be hers. Despite this, she keeps her love hidden and vows to love him forever, even if it is in secret. The poignant final lines of the song speak to the eternal nature of love, even in the face of societal condemnation and expectations.
Line by Line Meaning
Though it's forbidden for my arms to hold you
I am not allowed to embrace you openly
And though it's forbidden, my tears must have told you
My eyes may have revealed my secret feelings for you
That I hold you secretly each time we meet
I keep my love for you hidden whenever we are together
In these forbidden games that I play
My unapproved love is expressed in these forbidden actions
Though it's forbidden in dim, quiet places
I am prohibited from indulging in romantic activities in dark, secluded spots
To capture the rainbows my aching heart chases
To capture the moments of joy that my yearning heart searches for
My bittersweet ecstasies come to me here
My conflicting feelings of pleasure and pain are experienced in these locations
Everyone knows you belong to another
It is common knowledge that you are committed to someone else
Spinning your magic for her and no other
You only exert your charm on your significant other
Still, I've been content to be part of this fantasy
Nevertheless, I have found contentment in this imaginary world
Though it's forbidden and you'll love me never
Despite being forbidden and knowing you will never love me
I'll keep my love hidden and love you forever
I will continue to conceal my love for you and cherish it forever
Through countless eternities you will be mine
I will possess your love for many ages to come
In these forbidden games that I play
These hidden, prohibited actions are my way of expressing my love
In these forbidden games that I play
These unapproved games are the way I show my affection
In these forbidden games that I play
These secret, unsanctioned actions are my way of expressing my love
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
CordeliaV
Wow, simply wonderful, gorgeous!