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
Soweto Blues
Miriam Makeba Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
It said: no more Xhosa, Sotho, no more Zulu.
Refusing to comply they sent an answer
That's when the policemen came to the rescue
Children were flying bullets dying
The mothers screaming and crying
The fathers were working in the cities
The evening news brought out all the publicity:
Chorus: "Just a little atrocity, deep in the city"
Soweto blues
Soweto blues
Soweto blues
Soweto blues
Benikuphi ma madoda (where were the men)
Abantwana beshaywa (when the children were throwing stones)
Ngezimbokodo Mabedubula abantwana (when the children were being shot)
Benikhupi na (where were you?)
There was a full moon on the golden city
Looking at the door was the man without pity
Accusing everyone of conspiracy
Tightening the curfew charging people with walking
Yes, the border is where he was awaiting
Waiting for the children, frightened and running
A handful got away but all the others
Hurried their chain without any publicity
Chorus: "Just a little atrocity, deep in the city"
Soweto blues
Soweto blues
Soweto blues
Soweto blues
Chorus: Benikuphi ma madoda (where were the men) abantwana beshaywa (when the children were throwing stones) ngezimbokodo
Mabedubula abantwana (when the children were being shot) Benikhupi na (where were you?)
Soweto blues
Soweto blues
Soweto blues - abu yethu a mama
Soweto blues - they are killing all the children
Soweto blues - without any publicity
Soweto blues - oh, they are finishing the nation
Soweto blues - while calling it black on black
Soweto blues - but everybody knows they are behind it
Soweto Blues - without any publicity
Soweto blues - they are finishing the nation
Soweto blues - god, somebody, help!
Soweto blues - (abu yethu a mama)
Soweto blues
The lyrics to Miriam Makeba's song Soweto Blues tell the harrowing tale of the Soweto Uprising in 1976. The uprising was sparked by a directive from the Apartheid government of South Africa, which mandated that all black school children were to be taught in Afrikaans, a language that was foreign and difficult for them to learn. The children, who were already oppressed and underserved, rebelled against this decree and organized a peaceful protest. However, the police responded with brutal force, firing upon the students and killing many of them. The parents and community members were horrified and heartbroken, with mothers screaming and crying, fathers working in the cities, and no one coming to the aid of the children. The media attention brought to the tragedy was minimal, merely labeling it as "just a little atrocity, deep in the city."
The lyrics of the song further highlight the pain and injustices faced by the black community in South Africa at the time. The man without pity, referred to in the lyrics, represented the Apartheid government, who accused the black community of conspiring against them, implemented curfews and charged people with walking. The government did all this while waiting for the children to test out their new weapons. The lyrics question the men, asking: "where were you when the children were throwing stones, and when they were being shot?" This question is a representation of the lack of support and the cowardice of the men, who didn't come to the aid of the children when they needed it the most.
Line by Line Meaning
The children got a letter from the master
A letter arrived addressed to the children from an authoritative figure
It said: no more Xhosa, Sotho, no more Zulu.
The contents of the letter contained a ban on certain languages including Xhosa, Sotho, and Zulu
Refusing to comply they sent an answer
The children refused to obey and sent a reply
That's when the policemen came to the rescue
The police arrived to intervene
Children were flying bullets dying
The children were caught in gunfire and lost their lives
The mothers screaming and crying
The mothers of these children were wailing and shedding tears
The fathers were working in the cities
The fathers were away in the cities, which left the mothers and children to face the police brutality
The evening news brought out all the publicity:
The event garnered media attention, and appeared in the news that evening
Just a little atrocity, deep in the city
The news referred to this tragedy as a mere small-scale horror story
Where were the men
The men of the community were nowhere to be found
When the children were throwing stones
When the kids were throwing stones at the police officers
When the children were being shot
When the children were being targeted and killed by bullets
There was a full moon on the golden city
The city was illuminated by the bright full moon
Looking at the door was the man without pity
The merciless man appeared at the door
Accusing everyone of conspiracy
He accused everyone of conspiring against him
tightening the curfew charging people with walking
He imposed strict rules and curfew regulations, with punishment for those who violated them
Yes, the border is where he was awaiting
He waited at the border for the group of children to arrive
Waiting for the children, frightened and running
He waited for the terrorized and frantic children to arrive
A handful got away but all the others
Only a few children escaped, while the rest
Hurried their chain without any publicity
Were taken, chained, and taken away without any media coverage
Soweto blues - abu yethu a mama
The pain and sorrow of Soweto town reflected in the blues, bemoaning the loss of the mothers' children
Soweto blues - they are killing all the children
The children of Soweto are being mercilessly killed
Soweto blues - without any publicity
The crimes committed are not enough in the news or widespread coverage
Soweto blues - oh, they are finishing the nation
These atrocities are destroying the nation
Soweto blues - while calling it black on black
This evil is being labeled as black-on-black violence
Soweto blues - but everybody knows they are behind it
Everyone knows the perpetrators of this crime
Soweto Blues - without any publicity
The tragic losses and events occurring in Soweto are not being covered enough
Soweto blues - god, somebody, help!
A prayer or cry for help, someone needs to intervene
Contributed by Lucy D. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
Junior
The melancholy in her voice
@ntiidoaniekan8693
I'm a Nigerian but at 11 years old I could sing every line of this song with all the emotions potrayed here. 💜
@ronnyigo2989
I love you already for that.
@germanalfred6960
Swears
I love this song with my soul 😊
@venombanefo7615
I am a Nigerian and I grew up on Mama Miriam Makeba. My late Dad and I were huge fans. As a singer, I learnt the art of lead and backup singing from listening to her music. She was phenomenal!
@shawnnaphtalisobers6757
I love this song so much. I can listen to it on repeat for days. The strange sensation enjoying a devastating and sad story told with such beauty. Tracy Chapman has that same skill.
@Angelum_Band
I am sorry you can but must not compare.
@neahkrayou8730
OMG! Mama Africa takes u on a spiritual journey everytime u listen to her sing.
@JohnMaxProducoes
Lindo ouvir ela cantar!
@tebogolamola4857
My goodness, the talent on this stage from band to vocalists
, Moses Molelekwa, Bra Hugh, Ta Nca, Ray Phi, Mama Africa