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CRUEL,
CRAZY, BEAUTIFUL
WORLD
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One (hu)man, One Vote
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Cruel, Crazy, Beautiful World
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Jericho
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Dela
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Moliva
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It's an Illusion
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Bombs Away
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Woman Be my Country
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Rolling Ocean
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Warsaw 1943
One (Hu)'man One Vote
Bayeza abafana bancane wema
Bayeza abafana bancane wema
Baphethe iqwasha, baphethe ibazooka
Bathi "Sangena savuma thina,
Lapha abazange bengena abazali bethu
Nabadala, bayasikhalela thina ngoba asina voti."
(The young boys are coming,
the young boys are coming.
They carry homemade weapons and a bazooka.
They say "We have agreed to enter a place
that has never been entered before
by our parents or our ancestors
and they cry for us, for we do not have the right to vote.)
Hayiyaah!
The west is sleeping in a fragile freedom
Forgotten is the price that was paid
Ten thousand years of marching through a veil of tears
To break a few links in these chains
These things come to us by way of much pain
Don't let us slip back into the dark
On a visible but distant shore -- a new image of man
The shape of his own future, now in his own hands -- he says:
Chorus:
One 'man, one vote -- step into the future
One 'man, one vote -- in a unitary state
One 'man, one vote -- tell them when you see them
One 'man, one vote -- it's the only way
Bayeza abafana abancane
(The young boys are coming)
Hayiyaah!
In the east a giant is awakening
And in the south we feel the rising tide
The soul inside the spark that gives breath to your life
Can no longer be made to hide
These things come to us by way of much pain
Don't let us slip back into the dark
On a visible but distant shore -- a new image of man
The shape of his own future, now in his own hands -- he says:
Chorus
Cruel Crazy Beautiful World
You have to wash with the crocodile in the river
You have to swim with the sharks in the sea
You have to live with the crooked politician
Trush those things that you can never see
Ayeye ayeye jesse mfana (jesse boy) ayeye ayeye
Chorus:
It's a cruel crazy beautiful world
Every time you wake up I hope it's under a blue sky
It's a cruel crazy beautiful world
One day when you wake up I will have to say goodbye
Goodbye -- It's your world so live in it!
Beyond the door, strange cruel beautiful years lie waiting for you
It kills me to know you won't escape loneliness,
Maybe you lose hope too
Ayeye ayeye jesse mfana ayeye ayeye
Chorus
When I feel your small body close to mine
I feel weak and strong at the same time
So few years to give you wings to fly
Show you the stars to guide your ship by
Chorus
It's your world so live in it
Jericho
You are a dreamer of dreams walking a lonely shore
Dream if you will but remember there are iron laws
However much you seek to solve this mystery
No one ignores the iron vice of history
All those gone before dreamed to escape
They tried to fly over the palisades
Chorus:
Standing at the gates
This is Jericho
And the walls reach up to the stars
And outside we were singing psalms
Such a strange, strange place
For we are the prisoners
Of the prisoners we have taken
And the prophets' dreams are now forsaken
Sing me the songs of a world that I once knew
Recall the legends once so proud and true
My people used to live here not so long ago
But they fled into the night and I was left alone
I guard these walls for you and me
Dream on, sail on my memory
Chorus
Dela (I Know Why The Dog Howls At The Moon)
One day I looked up and there you stood
Like a simple question looking for an answer
Now I am a whale listening to some inner call
Swimming blindly to throw myself upon your shores
But what if I don't find when I have landed
Would you leave me here to die on your shores stranded?
I think I know why the dog howls at the moon.
I think I know why the dog howls at the moon.
I say:
"Dela! Dela! Ngiyadela!
(Content, content I am content)
When I am with you!
Dela! Sondela mama!
(Closer, closer, come closer mama)
I burn for you!
Chorus:
I've been waiting for you all my life -- waiting for a miracle
I've been waiting day and night -- waiting for redemption
I burn for you
A blind bird sings inside the cage that is my heart
And the image of your face comes to me when I'm alone in the dark
If I could give a shape to this ache that I have for you
If I could find the voice that says the words that capture you
I think I know, I think I know
I think I know why the dog howls at the moon.
I say:
"Dela! Dela! Ngiyadela!
(Content, content I am content)
When I am with you!
Dela! Sondela mama!
(Closer, closer, come closer mama)
I burn for you!
Chorus
Moliva
Hawu baba ngashada intombi yami esikolweni emoliva
(Oh father I married my girl at the school on Mooi River)
Kwashunqa uthuli kwandlovu madoda silwela lobuhle
(The dust was rising with all the preparations at Ndlovu's home)
Usipho wakipha izinkomo ezamalobolo ezinamasondo
(Sipho paid the bride price with a motor car)
Wadlala umukwa wami, wadlala engalindile
(And my father-in-law performed an unexpected war dance
on the spur of the moment)
Wadlala umukwa wami engalindile kwakhikhiza abafazi
(My father-in-law performed an unexpected war dance
and the women encouraged him with shrill cries)
Ngisho izulu eliphezulu lalihleka kancane
(Even the Heaven above - i.e. the Zulu King - gave a small laugh)
'Zulu eliphezulu lalikhona lalihleka kancane
(The Heaven above was present and he gave a small laugh)
Emoliva, emoliva
(At Mooi River)
Chorus:
Yamnandi lendaba ngaze ngashada emoliva ngiyabonga webanguni
(It was a wonderful event, for I eventually got married at Mooi River
and I thank you people of the chunu clan)
Ngaze ngashada ngaze ngathola nowami
(I eventually got married, I eventually even got my own wife)
Wemzila wangincelisa amasiko ngaze ngaba wumuthu
(Mzila! you suckled me on the traditions and customs
of the Zulu and I became a person)
Hawu wemakhabela nangikhulisa ngaze ngaba wumuthu
(Oh you people from Makhabeleni you raised me until I became a person)
Kungathiwani ngani banguni nahlanganisa zonke izizwe
(And what can be said about you, Machunu people,
for you brought together all the nations)
Nahlanganisa zonke izizwe ubesehlulekile ubotha
(You brought all the nations together,
Botha long having failed to do this)
Nahlanganisa zonke izizwe ngobuhle ubesehlulekile ubotha
(You brought all the nations together in good spirit,
Botha having long failed)
Emoliva
(At Mooi River)
Chorus
(Here I call out the praise names of various people who have been
important in my life, most of whom were present at my marriage)
Chorus
It's An Illusion
Hum mmm oh, hum mm oh yehum
It's an illusion!
Once again my wings on fire
Flapping round your deadly flames
Walking on the old high wire
Trying to keep myself away
You come walking down your marble stairs
Throwing back your yellow hair
And I want you and I need you
But every time you let me near
You leave me feeling such sweet despair
'Going to keep away, keep away
Chorus:
It's an illusion
To think I can keep away from you
It's an illusion
Like eskimoes in Mogadishu
It's an illusion
This state of independence I'm in
It's an illusion
Like polar bears in Berlin
When I feel happy, you feel deep
You always go out when I want to sleep
Fire, water, sun and rain
War and peace and night and day
Who can understand
Love's magic incompatibilities?
Going to keep away, keep away
Chorus:
It's an illusion
It's just a cheap masquerade
It's an illusion
Hiding this love I can't evade
It's an illusion
Can't you see through the camouflage?
It's an illusion
Without you life is a mirage
I'm a foot without a shoe, I'm the fuzz without a clue
I'm a ship without a crew, I'm lost without you
One and one that can't make two, carrots looking for some stew
A lawyer with no one to sue, I'm lost without you
I'm the sky that's lost its blue, I'm the beer that just won't brew
I'm a stamp that has no glue, I'm lost without you
A hound with no fox to pursue, I'm a cat that's lost its mew
A star without an interview, I'm lost without you
Bombs Away
It was a day or so ago
I saw him run into the night
And on his face, more than a trace
Of wild fear in the eye
He was haunted by a tragic dream
Of people in death machines
And he did not know which side he was on
And he hated being in between oh
Chorus:
Bombs away, bombs away
Sign of the times -- watch where you're going
What will you do -- see you if I free you
Into the night -- feel the fear
Do you know your left from your right?
He's tired of the lies
He's tired of the truth
They never give him what they say
He's tired of the fight
He's tired of the truce
The blackmail of judgement day
He believes in a magic wave
That rolls on the sea of time
That can touch every single human soul
If they could recognize it when it came -- too late
Chorus
Ye hum oh ye hum we mame, bathini? ngingenzani?
(What do they say? What can I do?)
Into the night -- feel the fear
It's so near -- look over your shoulder
Turn to the left -- turn to the right
At any time it can appear
Woman Be My Country
Here we stand on the edge of the day
Faces melting in the african rain
So many seasons of silent war
So many drowned before they reached the shore
Nothing is clear to me any more in this sad and strange landscape
I've got no defense, I've got no attack
I can't leave, I can't stay and I've got no way back
Hard to deal with the way things have been
I can't lie but the truth is so extreme
Chorus:
Woman be my country, 'till my country can be mine
Hide me deep inside your borders in these dark and troubled times
Remember me my innocence before I drowned in the sea of lies
Woman be my country, 'till my country can be mine
Too many seasons of quiet rage
Too many young people just wasted away
Too many futures hanging in the balance
Too much owing nothing left to pay
A lonely flag flutters in the breeze
for the hardened hearts who still want to believe
Am I the witness or am I the crime
A victim of history or just a sign of the times
Across my heart questions and shadows still fly
But in the dead of the night I know where the answer lies
Chorus:
Woman be my country, 'till my country can be mine
I have no flag, I sing no anthem, I no longer carry an armalite
Bathe me in you sweet rivers, anoint me with your touch and your smile
To your colours I give my allegiance, I lay it on the line
Ngikhathele ngifile wena weqat' izwe
(I am dead tired of you who causes friction in the land)
Ngikhathele ngifile zindaba zakho
(I am dead tired of you, and your matters)
Yash' imizi yobada
(The homes of my fathers are burning)
Chorus
Rolling Ocean
Chorus:
You are the rolling ocean
You are the mighty sea
You are the breath that brings each new day to me
You are what you are, you are
You be what you are, you be what you are
Some came to conquer
Some came to understand
Some came to live their lives as best they can
Me, I looked up at the stars to find my way
But I was young and I got them mixed up
And so forgot my name
As I tried to remember you were standing next to me
While other came seeking power
You, you had come to set them free
Chorus
Women of salt and earth
They tell the same story
They saw you walking wounded
Wearing rags of glory
And when you rejoiced they saw you smiling at your rejoicing
When you wept they saw you smiling at your weeping
When you smiled they saw you smiling at your smiling
And you said "That's the way I've survived these years of dust and
blood."
Chorus
Suffer little children
Suffer sister, brother too
Suffer mother, father
That's all the world can promise you
In our hearts we feel it
A mighty dream is coming true
Hold on and we'll dream it
Keep it up we're going to push it through
Don't give it up, don't give it up
Warsaw 1943 (I Never Betrayed The Revolution)
Amambuka, amambuka azothengisa izwe lakithi, izwe lakithi
(The betrayers, the betrayers will sell our land, our land)
He was taken in the night
They came without any warning
No time to hide or fight
They came like bees aswarming
The questions start to fly
Will he break or will he defy?
Can he withstand the worst that is to come?
A child in a man's clothing
Resisting the fascist' ploy
The underground puts iron in the heart of any boy
Swimming in a sea of pain, he knows this is the end
He hears himself whisper the name of his best friend
Chorus:
I never betrayed you, and I never betrayed the revolution
I just didn't want to die alone, I needed you to see me home
And if I could save you, and if I could find a solution
I would die a thousand times, to get you out of here
Sharing the same cold cell
Betrayer and betrayed
An island with two frightened castaways
Not a word is spoken,
How can he explain?
Through swollen eyes they watch the dawn's first rays
It's all over now
They stand backs to the wall
Waiting for the fascist's sword to fall
In the desperation of a young life about to end
He turns before the bullet
And forgives a friend
Chorus
All songs written by Johnny Clegg
(Giyana written with V Mabuso)
All titles published by Sweet 'n
Sour Songs Ltd.
(C) H.R. Music - BMI 1986 and
1986