From the day you heard your very first lullaby sung to you as an infant, that was the day music provided the “soundtrack” of your life. You hear but you don’t listen to the soundtrack playing in the background of your favourite movie, not realising the power music has upon your life.
Music flows through every single part of our lives, whether its religion, education or recreation, music is who we are. It is part of our victories and defeats, visions and missions. Music is part of our heritage, and what better way to justify my thoughts than the heart-warming unofficial anthem “SHOSHOLOZA”.
Though it might remain a mystery about the original author of the song, according to , “Shosholoza is a traditional miner’s song, originally sung by groups of men from the Ndebele ethnic group that traveled by steam train from their homes in Zimbabwe to work in South Africa and gold mines.” This is why the “sho” sound in Shosholoza is important because it pays tribute to the sound made by the steam trains.
The song is sung in different contexts in South Africa to show solidarity in sporting events and other national events to portray a message of support to the players, just like the unforgettable year of 1995 when a newly born nation had just shrugged of the shackles of apartheid hosted the Rugby world cup and took victory upon its competitors and made history. That monumental day turned Shosholoza the anthem of the Springbok team made up of white South Africans.
This song has been sung in so many different ways and flavours, which makes it quite interesting and appealling to the new generation, which shows that the music industry needs to continuously update themeselves and keep up with the latest trends in order to keep the old loyal fans of the song and still attract new fans who were born into democracy. This will not only teach the young and upcoming musicians the value of good music, but it will keep the song alive and kicking, good thing social sites like YouTube for instance does allow talented people to showcase their music, whether new or old as long as it will be out there.
This song has been sung in so many different ways and flavours, which makes it quite interesting and appealling to the new generation, which shows that the music industry needs to continuously update themeselves and keep up with the latest trends in order to keep the old loyal fans of the song and still attract new fans who were born into democracy. This will not only teach the young and upcoming musicians the value of good music, but it will keep the song alive and kicking, good thing social sites like YouTube for instance does allow talented people to showcase their music, whether new or old as long as it will be out there.
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| Mandela and Pienaar, share a moment of victory |
In a country of diversity like Mzansi, where most of the time values, cultures and languages clash, Shosholoza has broken the barriers and united people of different backgrounds.
This poses a question of curiosity about our generation, do we really understand the value of music or are we just ignorant because we didn’t live in the apartheid era long enough to feel the pain our ancestors felt? Is it possible to forget this song, unless its got flavour which you like, then you wont hesitate to listen to it?
lyrics and video of Shosholoza: Link
nice one girl. indeed shosholoza is one of the remarkable song in mzanzi, irrespective of our language barriers or values. i can still remember hearing amabokoboko singing the song. it was really nice
ReplyDeletem glad u agree girl.we need 2 acknowlege da old songs dt wer made b4 we wer born because these songs shape our lives n future.WE as da youth r so focused on useles songs wth no significance n dn we expect 2 b on da map 4 da world 2 c bt we hav nthng 2 show except "hlokoloza"
ReplyDeleteWith no doubt music is changing our lives and touching them also.
ReplyDeletelucky do u thnk our generation is capable of producing such songs dt mean sumthng or r we jst 2 focused on dance??
ReplyDelete@staight talk with lorraine i believe that some where along the line generations has lost the real meaning of music. Even though it is a way of expressing yourself and your talent,the youth just has not been able to produce music that can be respected and pledged for generations to come.
ReplyDeletegirl this song has brought this nation together as one and i believe that it will always be pledged and respected for generations to come.
ReplyDeleteWhen i sing this song i can feel that I am an african, thanks for reminding me such a nice song.
ReplyDeleteChellas i am glad u agree,young n free its good to go back in time and remember where ur roots come from
ReplyDeletenicely said sister, it is good to know that even though we might still have differences between each other there are some things that are able to unite us in one umbrella, like music. music is not just music but has very deep meanings within it thus it is important for us to know the meaning and roots of the music we involve ourselves into.
ReplyDeleteNQWQABA DO YOU THINK THAT IT IS STILL NECESSARY TO REMIX OLD SONGS LIKE THESE ONES IN ORDER TO SUIT OUR LATEST PREFERENCES OR ARE THEY JUST BETTER OF IN THE ORIGINAL BEATS?
Deletei think music should motive people to change and good in a more csi light
ReplyDeletethat is where a good PRP comes in. musicians are mostly focused on making money and just getting rich, forgetting that they got to where they are because of their fans, having an excellent PRP will make sure that all CSI programmes and charity work are part of a musicians schedule.
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