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
Talking & Dialoging
Miriam Makeba Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Mama, tata buy'emaweni mama
Yeh babo mama bayakubiza mama
Kwazul'amadoda phaya ow
Weh mama yeah
Brothers African
Do you understand?
Look at Foster come and go everywhere
See our brothers smile at him here and there
All day long
They just keep on talking
Yeah after year
They just keep on dialoguing
South Africa
Colonized by whites
Black men have no rights
Exploited and oppressed
By fear and brutal-ness
South Africa
Talkin' bout state within a state
Just one more iron gate
Where the Bantus stun fiction
More sufferage and addiction
What is thing called dialogue?
Is day count what you want
What is thing called dialogue?
It's your land, make your stand
To be free let's come on Africans
Our brothers African
Do you understand?
This is my land
Look at Foster come and go everywhere
See our brothers smile at him here and there
All day long
They just keep on talking
Yeah after year
They just keep on dialoguing
Oh yes, they keep on dialoguing
While men die deep down in the belly of the earth
In the Gold mines and Diamond mines
Where they dig gold and diamonds
That do not benefit their people
But diamonds and gold
That go across the seas to benefit other nations
Yes they keep on dialoguing
While our children are being denied education
Sasol, Sasko, yes indeed
South Africa
What is thing called dialogue?
Is day count what you want
What is thing called dialogue?
It's your land, make your stand
To be free let's be all Africans
Hmm brothers African
Do you understand?
This is my land
Yes brothers African
Do you understand?
This is my land
All day long
They just keep on talking
All day long
They just keep on dialoguing
All day long
They just keep on talking
I said year after year
They just keep on dialoguing
This is my land
Do you understand?
This is my, my land
Ahh abhubh'amadoda baba yho
Yelele yelele
Oh baba yeh yeh
Oh abhubh'amadoda babo
Hmm
Bahlalel'ukukhuluma babo yeh
Ukukhuluma madoda yeh
Kuhlel'izingxoxo isizwe siyaphela
Bahleli bakhuluma babo yeah, baba yah
Do you understand?
This is my land
The song "Talking & Dialoging" by Miriam Makeba is a protest song that specifically addresses the oppressive colonial conditions in South Africa. The song opens with a traditional Zulu phrase "Mama, tata buy'emaweni mama Yeh babo mama bayakubiza mama," which roughly translates to "Mother, Father, [there are] troubles in the mountains, Mother. Yes, Father, Mother is calling." This phrase is said to have been used to warn the community of danger.
The first verse addresses the wider African community, asking them if they understand that the land is theirs and that it has been colonized by white people who have exploited and oppressed black men. The second verse addresses the specific issue of the Bantu ("black") people being confined and restricted by the state, suffering addiction, and being denied education. The chorus emphasizes that there must be action taken to reclaim the land and freedom, rather than just talking about it year after year, which is done in the traditional Zulu call-and-response style.
The third verse addresses the irony of the fact that while people are just "keep[ing] on dialoguing," people are dying in the mines while the diamonds and gold extracted from the mines are not benefiting the people of South Africa. The verse also references Sasol and Sasko, two companies heavily involved in apartheid policies at the time of the song's release. The song concludes by repeating the call to action for all Africans to stand up for their land and freedom.
Line by Line Meaning
Mama, tata buy'emaweni mama
Brothers African, do you understand? This is our land. Look at Foster come and go everywhere. See our brothers smile at him here and there
All day long, they just keep on talking
South Africa colonized by whites. Black men have no rights. Exploited and oppressed by fear and brutal-ness
Yeah after year, they just keep on dialoguing
Talkin' bout state within a state. Just one more iron gate. Where the Bantus stun fiction. More sufferage and addiction
What is thing called dialogue? Is day count what you want?
Our brothers African, do you understand? This is my land. Look at Foster come and go everywhere. See our brothers smile at him here and there
What is thing called dialogue? It's your land, make your stand. To be free let's come on Africans
Oh yes, they keep on dialoguing. While men die deep down in the belly of the earth. In the Gold mines and Diamond mines. Where they dig gold and diamonds. That do not benefit their people. But diamonds and gold. That go across the seas to benefit other nations. Yes they keep on dialoguing. While our children are being denied education. Sasol, Sasko, yes indeed
All day long, they just keep on talking. All day long, they just keep on dialoguing. All day long, they just keep on talking
South Africa, what is thing called dialogue? Is day count what you want? What is thing called dialogue? It's your land, make your stand. To be free let's be all Africans
Hmm brothers African, do you understand? This is my land
Brothers African, do you understand? This is my land
Ahh abhubh'amadoda baba yho. Yelele yelele. Oh baba yeh yeh. Oh abhubh'amadoda babo. Hmm. Bahlalel'ukukhuluma babo yeh. Ukukhuluma madoda yeh. Kuhlel'izingxoxo isizwe siyaphela. Bahleli bakhuluma babo yeah, baba yah
All day long, they just keep on talking. Yeah after year, they just keep on dialoguing. This is my land. Do you understand? This is my, my land
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@bozm9961
That voice,those words,that warrior..M A K E B A.
@myocha2
Wow she tells it like it is
@ProfYounge
Yebo!