HELP! Do you know any songs protesting South African apartheid?

[madonna's child]

I'm doing a presentation on South African music for school. We're (hoping) to break it down into three sections:

• Traditional Tribal Music
• Modern Music spoken in Afrikaan or Tribal languages AND modern music spoken in English with tribal influences
• Protest music against apartheid

I know the song "Sun City" was written in the 80's as a protest. And I know Silver and Gold is a protest song. But, I was hoping to have three. They don't have to be western artists, but they need to be in English. Know another song?

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Sunday all the lights of London / Shining, sky is fading red to blue / I'm kicking through the Autumn leaves / And wondering where it is you might be going to

Love,
Emily
<A HREF="http://www.geocities.com/springtime5348/index.html" TARGET=_blank>
Emily's Wallpapers
</A>

 

[U2Bama]

I know the perfect song:

"Biko" from one of Peter Gabriel's 3 self-titled albums. It was written for slain anti-apartheid activist Steve Biko. It starts with traditional South African music, then Gabriel's song comes in over a dark drumbeat. I would strongly suggest it for your purpose.

Another good one would be Simple Minds' "Mandela Day" from their STREET FIGHTING YEARS CD. It was written at the release of Nelson Mandela and has a very joyous sound, not really traditional South African, but great nonetheless. It may be a good closer for your presentation.

~U2Alabama

[This message has been edited by U2Bama (edited 05-16-2002).]

 

[scatteroflight]

Simple Minds also did a good cover of Biko, on Street Fighting Years, but it would probably make more sense to use the original.



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See the bird with the leaf in her mouth
After the flood all the colours came out

 

[U2Bama]

Ha! Scatteroflight, I forgot about Simple Minds' cover on their same album! And I remembered "Mandela Day" as an afterthought. Looks like we have some common musical interests.

~U2Alabama

 

[martha]

The album Sun City has some other great stuff on it as well.

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You have fairly generic bunions. --my podiatrist, 4-11-02

 

[scatteroflight]

Originally posted by U2Bama:
And I remembered "Mandela Day" as an afterthought.

Hmm, that one should have been obvious! Great song.



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See the bird with the leaf in her mouth
After the flood all the colours came out

 

[foray]

I've forgotten the title, but there's a song sung by Jamaican guys, reggae-style, that's about growing black roses in the garden, then the white man came and destroyed them, and his black roses don't grow anymore. Anyone know which song I'm talking about?

foray

 

[AM]

"Gimme hope johanna" by Eddy Grant is a great song as well.

The lyrics:
Well Johanna she runs a country
she runs in durban AND theb transvaal
she makes a few of her people happy oh
she don't care about the rest at all

She got a system they call apartheid
it keeps a brother in a subjection
but maybe pressure will make Johanna see
How everybody could a live as one

OH Gimme hope johanna, hope Johanna

Gimme hope Johanna, till the morning comes

Gimme hope Johanna, hope Johanna
Hope before the morning comes

I hear she making the golden money
to buy new weapons, any shape of guns
while every mother in a black soweto
fears the killing of another son

Sneakin' across all the neighbours borders
now AND again having little fun
She doesn't care if the fun AND games she play

Is dangerous to everyone

She's got supportes in high-up places
who turn thir heads to the city sun
Johanna give them the fancy money oh
to tempt anyone who'd come

She even knows How to swing opinion
In every magazine, an the journals
for every bad move that this Johanna makes
They got a good explanation

Even the preacher who works for Jesus
The archbishop who's a peaceful man
together say that the freedom figters will
Overcome the very strong

I wanna know if you're blind Johanna
if you Wanna hear the sound of drums
Can't you see that the tide is turning oh
Don't make me wait till the morning comes .


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"The bass player's got it. The bass player's fucking got it." Bono, Boston 6-9-01

[This message has been edited by AM (edited 05-17-2002).]

 

[madonna's child]

Those sound like great ideas, guys. Thank you so much for the help!!!

------------------
Sunday all the lights of London / Shining, sky is fading red to blue / I'm kicking through the Autumn leaves / And wondering where it is you might be going to

Love,
Emily
<A HREF="http://www.geocities.com/springtime5348/index.html" TARGET=_blank>
Emily's Wallpapers
</A>

 

[Kieran McConville]

Ah, how about Silver and Gold? It had something to do with apartheid I think...

"Outside are the prisoners, inside the free

set them free".

On a side note, and one for the 'misheard lyrics' file, I used to think it was 'a blind spider in a corner is told/ hit where it hurts/ silver and gold'.

Which really doesn't make much sense.

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It's not the twilight zone

 

[joyfulgirl]

Cry Freedom by Dave Matthews Band

How can I turn away
Brother/Sister go dancing
through my head
Human as to human
The future is no place
To place your better days

Cry freedom, cry
From a crowd '0,000 wide
Hope laid upon hope
That this crowd will not subside
Let this flag burn to dust
And a new a fair design be raised
While we wait head in hands,
hands in prayer
And fall into a dreamless sleep again
And we wave our hands

Hands and feet are all alike
But gold between divide us
Hands and feet are all alike
But fear between divide us
All slip away

There was a window and by it stood
A mirror in which
he could see himself
He thought of something
Something he had never had but hoped would come along
Cry freedom, cry
From deep inside
Where we are all confined
While we wave hands in fire
Wave our hands

Hands and feet are all alike
But gold between divide us
Hands and feet are all alike
But fear between divide us,
Slip away
In this room stood a little child
And in this room this little child
she would remain
Until someone might decide
To dance this little child
across this hall
Into a cold, dark, space
Where she might never trace her way across this crooked mile
Across this crooked page
Cry freedom, cry
From deep inside where
we are all confined
Till we wave our hands

How can I turn away
Brother/Sister go dancing
through my head
Human as to human
The future is no place
To place your better days

Hands and feet are all alike
But gold between divide us
Hands and feet are all alike
But fear between divide us
Hands and feet are all alike
Hear what I say
Hear what I say
Oh, so be it

How can I turn away
Brother/Sister go dancing
through my head
Human as to human
The future is no place
To place your better days

 

[Ana]

Originally posted by Kieran McConville:
'a blind spider in a corner is told/ hit where it hurts/ silver and gold'.

 

[joyfulgirl]

Pretoria by Steven Van Zandt (Little Steven)

I was standing in Pretoria
Waiting for the sky to fall

Impilo Geyethu [life is for living - life is ours]
Thina Sigidela Phambili [we will not wait - we dance forward]

I am like any other man - I don't complain
But my family's so far away
I want to be with them someday
Men outside my window dressed in mask - they live a lie
But there's one truth that they cannot deny
Their blood's the same color as mine

I am not the prisoner today
You've been too long your soul locked away
Look around there is so much
What are you so afraid of?

Pretoria

Gather strength children say goodbye to the past
Dry your eyes and prepare to dance
The dance of freedom at last
Put your hand here touch me now
What you feel is what's lost when we're kept apart
It's the beating of your own heart

I'm no soldier - no politician
I'm just a working man whose time has come
Look around there is so much
What are you so afraid of?

Impilo Geyethu
Thina Sigidela Phambili
Pretoria
Come dance with us

I was standing in Pretoria
Waiting for the sky to fall
And the eyes of the war crimes icons
Stared down with false immortality
The fallen flowers of the purple jacaranda
Covered the blood on the streets
The faces of the statues are tainted
With an unclean righteousness
But inside they're crumbling
They know they ain't got much time left
In Pretoria