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
When I've Passed On
Miriam Makeba Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Poor in every way
He will live on promises
'Til his dying day
Freedom from life is the only reward for me
High on the mountain side
That's where my soul shall bide
When I've passed on
Deep in my slumberland
Far from the sins of man
No heartache will I know
When I've passed on
When my trials are over
And I'm stripped of all my wells
I'll be free from all
My mortal and worldly cares
When all is said and done
Who'll share the prize I've won
Whose heart will weep and mourn
When I've passed on
When I've passed on
In Miriam Makeba's song "When I've Passed On," she paints a picture of a man who is born into poverty and lives his entire life waiting for a better tomorrow. He has no riches, no means of escape, and so he lives on promises until the day he dies. For Makeba, the only reward is freedom from life itself, where she imagines her soul will bide high on a mountain side with no markings for her grave when she passes on.
In the second verse, Makeba declares that her destination is slumberland, deep and far away from the sins of man, where there will be no heartaches when she has passed on. Through her trials and struggles, she anticipates the day when she'll finally be stripped of all her worldly cares and mortal woes. In the final verse, the singer reflects on who will mourn her passing and who will share in the rewards she believes she's won at the end of a lifetime.
The song has a quiet, contemplative, almost dreamy quality to it, and the lyrics are imbued with a sense of resignation, as if the singer is accepting that life may not always be what we want it to be. Death, as she sees it, is the only release from the burdens we bear.
Line by Line Meaning
Raptured is a man who is born
Blessed is a man who is born
Poor in every way
Without much material wealth or status
He will live on promises
He will hope for a better future
'Til his dying day
Until he passes away
Freedom from life is the only reward for me
Being free from the struggles of life is all I desire
High on the mountain side
Far away in a peaceful, elevated place
That's where my soul shall bide
That's where my soul will rest
No markings for my grave
No physical memorial needed for my passing
When I've passed on
After I have passed away
Deep in my slumberland
In a peaceful sleep
Far from the sins of man
Without the burden of human wrongdoing
No heartache will I know
I will be free from emotional pain
When my trials are over
When my struggles and challenges have come to an end
And I'm stripped of all my wells
When everything I have is taken away
I'll be free from all
I'll be released from all
My mortal and worldly cares
My earthly concerns and worries
When all is said and done
When everything is finished and complete
Who'll share the prize I've won
Who will experience the same success as I have
Whose heart will weep and mourn
Who will grieve and suffer
When I've passed on
After I have passed away
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management
Written by: William Salter
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Mfundo Piti
on To Those We Love (Nongqongqo)
At the time the song was composed and released all the people mentioned ((Mangaliso) Sobukhwe, (Albert) Luthuli, (Nelson) Mandela, and (Walter) Sisulu were alive. While the three were in prison at Robben Island, Luthuli was not in prison, hence the question to Luthuli asking what "will you do?". Luthuli was the president of the banned African National Congress (ANC). Sobukhwe the president of Pan Africanist Congress (PAC). Mandela and Sisulu occupied executive leadership positions within the ANC at the time of their sentencing to serve life sentences in prison (1964). The same question is asked to all Africans.
Mfundo Piti
on To Those We Love (Nongqongqo)
The lyrics of "To Those We Love" by Miriam Makeba are about the struggles, sacrifices, and resilience of great African leaders who fought for freedom, justice, and equality. The repetitive chorus, "Bahleli bonke entilongweni, Bahleli bonke kwaNongqongqo" refers to how all these leaders, including Sobukwe, Luthuli, Mandela, and Sisulu, are resting in peace or buried in their respective homes. The verses pose questions about their legacy and the continuation of their work, asking "Why, Baba Luthuli? What will you do?" and "What will happen to us, MaAfrica?" These questions are a call to action for listeners to carry on the struggle for freedom and justice.
Junior
on Soweto Blues
The melancholy in her voice
Junior
on Mama
It makes me cry I could not bury my mother cause I was in prison when I ask prison authorities to allow me an opportunity to go and attend the funeral they refused. We always underestimate the role of women
no
on Beware, Verwoerd! (Ndodemnyama)
no
hi! i enjoted. this song. i loved it
Matt Olomu
on Noweva
This is your challenge, South Africans who understand the lyrics of NOWEVER. Do yourselves and Africa a favour. Interpret it.