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These Days
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The Crossing (Osiyeza)
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I Can Never Be (What You Want Me To Be)
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When The System Has Fallen
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Tough Enough
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The Promise
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Inevitable Consequence Of Progress
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In My African Dream
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Emotional Allegiance (Stand By Me)
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Foreign Nights (Workind Dog In Babylon)
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Your Time Will Come
These days
Yashimbawula! (the watchman's fire is burning)
What happened to the diamonds in your eyes,
What happened to the hunger for the day's chase?
What happened to the electric smile
That danced across your face
We used to talk about changing the world
Now all you want to do is change your name
Come on baby don't surrender now
to the empty heart of these days.
We used to talk so deep into the night
You had the heart of a wild horse running
You bared your soul to me
and we both knew these days were coming
Chorus:
These days -- blood in the heavens
These days -- fire and ice
These days -- burning streets and visions
These days -- of the loveless child
Yashimbawula!
You were the reason I came here
You will always be the one I am looking for
I can't stand to see the way
these days are pushing you against the wall
Got to get up, got to move out
Face the tide beyond the door
Outside there's a whole world changing
We can't stand here, trapped inside
Let's step out and test the weazther
Hang on baby, it's going to ge a rough ride thru'
Chorus
These days -- searching for a vision
These days -- gun metal blue
These days -- changing my religion
These days -- heartless and cruel
say the words and fill my sails
I will love you through the coming gale
we'll get through the darkest heart of these days
"It's killing time"
Who will watch the watchers?
Who will keep the keepers?
Who will love the lovers -- could you?
Chorus....
The Crossing (OSIYEZA)
(for Dudu)
Through all the days that eat away
at every breath that I take
through all the nights I've lain alone
in someone else's dream, awake
all the words in truth we have spoken
that the wind has blown away
it's only you that remains with me
clear as the light of day
Chorus: O Siyeza, o siyeza , sizofika webaba noma
(we are coming, we are coming, we will arrive soon)
O siyeza, o siyeza, siyagudle lomhlaba
(we are coming, we are coming, we are moving across this earth)
Siyawela lapheshaya lulezontaba ezimnyama
(we are crossing over those dark mountains)
Lapha sobheka phansi konke ukhulupheka
(where we will lay down our troubles)
A punch drunk man in a downtown bar
takes a beating without making a sound
through swollen eyes he sways and smiles
'cause noone can put him down
inside of him a boy looks up to his father
for a sign or an approving eye
oh, it's funny how those once so close and now gone
can still so affect our lives
Chorus
Take me now, hold me close
don't let go, I'm coming home
Chorus
I Can Never Be (What you want me to be)
Shooting star across my sky
I wanted to keep you in my heaven
"I will be anything you want!" I said
"I will live into your dream just to see you smile"
"Be my baby -- I'll be your crusade
your clown-lover, renegade
I'll be anything you want if it will make you stay"
-- oh but it could never be that way cause:
Chorus:
I can never be what you want
I can never be what you want me to be
The great pretender inside your head
a king wearing someone else's crown
sacrificed who I am so that this heart could be fed
I spend so much time keeping myself underground
You know I love you but I am shaking inside
I know I'm not going to leave here alive 'cause:
Chorus:
I can never be what you want
I can never be what you want me to be
I have sailed this impossible ocean
I have sailed this crazy sea
I can never be what you want,
whatever you want me to be
There is a spirit rising against what I have become
I have to come out and choose to stay our make my run
I'm slowly dying, I have to make a stand
I'm coming home, you'll have to take me for what I am
Chorus
Be? I can never be!
I can never be what you want!
I can never be what you want me to be!
When the System has fallen
Sweat in the heat for days on end
waiting for you to come again
to hear the words spill from your lips
"the system has fallen"
Mass action on the radio
like a great river ebbs and flows
carrying us to the final close
when the system has fallen
I know that you are tired and weary
seen too much to believe any more
but we have to keep moving down that long road
if we want to reach that far shore.
Chorus:
We're on our way home to find our freedom
and I'm on my way home to find you my friend
where we can stand in the light of the people
and breathe life into the land again.
Siyathemba, siyathemba kuwena nkosi
Sizo fika ema khaya
[We are still hoping and we still believe
we wil reach our final destination]
Hey! You! if you dance in the shadows
the shadows will cover you
and paralyse all the hope in your eyes
that you'll need to bring you shining through
Could you believe that I am your brother?
could you believe that I am your friend?
and although I don't speak the language you speak
we could be closer than you have ever dreamt.
Chorus....
Ngizobeka phansi uku zondana kwami
[I will put down my hatred]
Ngizobeka phansi izenzo zegazi
[I will lay down my acts of revenge]
Ngizoxolelana nezitha zami wemadoda
[I will forgive my enemies]
Sizofika emakhaya
[and will reach our homes]
I'm on my way, on my way, on my way
to find you my friend.
Tough enough
LOMHLABA UNZIMA, LOMHLABA
[this world is a harsh place, this world]
Picture the end of a cycle
here's the fire from heaven
There's a tired planeet closing down
no more news at eleven
somewhere the last of a species has died
somewhere a child is born
when I hold you, I tremble inside
can we ride out the storm?
Are you tough enough -- can you take the strain?
Are you tough enough -- to walk in the burning rain
Are you tough enough -- can you take the change?
Are you tough enough -- baby just say!
Chorus:
Into the heart of the human dream
into a strange new world
remember me under the Tree of Man
where I first heard your words
gonna make it through, I can feel it
What we need is a miracle
what we need is some time
what we need is an angel of Mercy
in this life
Are you tough enough -- can you take the heat?
Are you tough enough -- to walk in the burning street
Are you tough enough -- can you take the change
Are you tough enough -- baby just say!
Chorus...
There's your mama and your papa
waving good-bye in the cold moonlight
in their eyes the confusion of a world gone by
and you hold me tightly as we step out
into the morning light
and I know you are thinking that for something to be born
somthing has to die.
Chorus...
Vele vele we mama kunjalo
[It is true, it's obvious. Mama, it is just as you say].
The Promise
Electric chair didn't burn a hair
and the newspaperman asked why
and while the warden explain in great detail
the newsman looked in the sky
"I'm sure!", he said, "if you look a little deeper
for something in his life
we could understand the reason why
he reached out for a knife."
Oooh! What happened to the promise?
Oooh! what happened to the one we knew?
So, onto a a train the newspaperman rode
down to the southern lands
to find out about a child long gone
turned into a lightning man.
Chorus:
Oooh! what happened to the promise?
Oooh! what happened to the one we knew?
Oooh! what happened to the promise?
Oooh! what happened to the heart so true.
"Some of them make it through", she said
"some of them never do, and one of them
got lost in time -- that child of mine
Oh, I loved that child of mine!"
Arriving in a country town
with a notepad in his hand
he spoke to the mother and the father
and a friend and a teacher and a preacher man
They all recalled a regular boy chewing gim
and playing in the sand
nothing could explain how he became
a lonely lightning man
And when the coffin came
on the southbound train
and the old folks shuffled by
the one they came to bury
was not very heavy, just a child lost in time
Chorus
What happens to the clear blue eye
when it enters the forest?
does anybody know where the little one goes?
what happens to the child in time?
-- some of them make it through
-- some of them never do
-- some of them are lost and saved
-- some of them find their way
oooh -- hold on to the promise
we're going to make it through my baby
we're going to make it through my little darling
Inevitable Consequence of Progress
Chopper standing in the clearing, fuelled and ready to ride
Captain in the doorway, telling us to step inside
last minute check, all weapons set
parachute and right sight
going to drop in on the jungle
and grease some stone age tribe
The 'sarge jokes about taking out the last link
to his troubled past
as we hit the canopy. I feel a shadow across my heart
Chorus:
Inevitable Consequence of Progress --
is what he said to me
inevitable Consequence of Progress --
in the judgement of history
inevitable Consequence of Progress --
going to change your destiny
And I felt the sun, sun, sun, the Son, Son, Son
going down on me
The pilot pulled the chopper around
and we got into position
we made all the right moves and
there wasn't any real opposition
Crazy tribesmen shooting arrows at the 'ship overhead
Such a wierd spectacle
the 'sarge he smiled and he said
"There's a new world coming and
there ain't no place for them--
Don't feel sad son for what history has condemned."
Inevitable Consequence of Progress --
is what he said to me
inevitable Consequence of Progress --
in the judgement of history
inevitable Consequence of Progress --
going to change your destiny
And I felt the sun, sun, sun, the Son, Son, Son
had gone down on me
Bridge:
I've been waiting for the clouds to clear
I've been waiting for the dawn
I've been waiting for the fear to subside
and for the sun to make me warm again
"Live and let live" -- step into real life,
step into the lifeline boy
In My African Dream
Something broke the place where the rain is bornb
something stole the promise from the light of dawn
people, people were everywhere struggling to get their share
honest cruelty in the eyes of the innocent
squeezing one more harvest from this tired earth
they call to you, but the wind just blows away their words
didn't believe in miracles, didn't believe you'd come
didn't see any reason to carry on
Chorus:
But in my African Dream, you touched my face
raised up my children and gave them grace
in my African Dream you wiped away my tears
and whispered the promise of a thousand years
Children with eyes like souls ready to fly
looking at me -- for some kind of sacred sign
who will teach the young, the names of the ancient ones
who will tell them from whence they come
I have no answer, don't even have a prayer
All I can do is close my eyes and hope that you will be thre
In my African Dream you blessed the rain
let me stand proud, eased the pain,
you raised me up,
gave me love, filled my cup.
Old man sits in the shade of the thorn treee
he says "these thorns are all that are true
life is suffering, suffering is life,
be happy with the small things that come to you
They will come to you, come to you."
Chorus
Emotional Allegiance (Stand by me)
I don't want to be a tourist in your heart
I don't want to visit someone else's ruins
Don't want a day trip to the feelings in the dark
Don't want a quick-fix honeymoon
Bridge:
We need: emotional allegiance, devotional love
a living promise like in the story of RAM
Chorus:
Raghupati raghava raja Ram
Patite pavana Sita Ram
Stand be me -- feel the sun
Emotional allegiance -- divine love
There's a change in the weather
and a hole in the sky
snow in the summer
and the rivers run dry
who will guard your fragile dreams of rain
when your heart is tired of daytrippers
and nobody stays....
Bridge:
We need: emotional allegiance, devotional love
a living promise like in the story of RAM
Chorus...
Foreign nights (Working dog in Babylon)
(for Jenny)
I'm a working alien in a land of heat and stone
a casulaty of an economic war
that took me away from home.
It's the politics of money and power
It's the hope that we can build a future in world
getting smaller everywhere
Bridge:
I can hear a siren in the workyard
another shift and I'll be closer to you
I'm a working dog in Babylon and only
your love can get me through
Chorus:
Foreign nights -- took you away from me
Foreign nights -- are not where I belong
Foreign nights -- filled with dust and dreams
Foreign nights -- trapped me in Babylon
AS long as I keep moving
I know I will be all right
cause if I stop to think I'll drown and sink
in the sea of foreign nights
I've got to keep my hands busy
got to keep pushing through
got to learn to deal with this time away from you
Bridge:
I can hear a siren in the workyard
another shift and I'll be closer to you
I'm a working dog in Babylon and only
your love can get me through
Chorus....
Quiet moments in the dark are hardest to face
the sun goes down but not the pain
I want to be with you all the time
I want to be with you, to be with you all my life
I'm going to have to get through... foreign nights.
Your time will come
WAQAMB' AMANGA MUS' UKUQAMB' AMANGA
[you were lying, do not tell lies]
WANGI QAMBELA AMANGA UFUNA UKUNGILAHLISA
ITHEMBA LAMI WEMAME!
[You told lies, trying to mislead me,
so that I would give up my faith and hope.]
WASHO NJALO! WATHI IKUSASA LETHU
SELIMNYAMA HAWU WASI QAMBELA AMANGA
[that is what you said -- you said that our future is hopeless,
our tomorrow is bleak, you were lying,
trying to mislead us]
NGEKE SIVUMA -- NGEKE SILAHLA ITEMBA
[No can do! we will never relinquish our faith]
Chorus:
KUZULONGA UKUTHI NINI? ASAZI!
[Everything will be all right --
It's just when this will be, we cannot know]
KUZOLONGA WENA 'MNGANE WAMI
[Everything will come right, I tell you friend]]
MASUKU LAHLA ITHEMBA LAKHO
[Do not throw away your hope]
MINA NGAPHA WENA NGAPHA SIZOYI BAMBA
[Me holding on one side, you holding on the other side
together we will pull through]
THINA NAWE, THINA NAWE
[you and me, you and me]
UMOYA WAMI ONAKELE
[my spirits are down]
WENA WEMTAKA ANTIE HAWU WANGI SHAYISA UVALO
[I say to you child of my aunt, you have caused me great fear]
WASHO NJALO! WATHI IKUSASA LETHU
SELIMNYAMA HAWU WASI QAMBELA AMANGA
[You told lies, trying to mislead me,
so that I would give up my faith and hope.]
WASHO NJALO! WATHI IKUSASA LETHU
SELIMNYAMA HAWU WASI QAMBELA AMANGA
[that is what you said -- you said that our future is hopeless,
our tomorrow is bleak, you were lying,
trying to mislead us]
NGEKE SIVUMA -- NGEKE SILAHLA ITEMBA
[No can do! we will never relinquish our faith]
Chorus:
KUZULONGA UKUTHI NINI? ASAZI!
[Everything will be all right --
It's just when this will be, we cannot know]
KUZOLONGA WENA 'MNGANE WAMI
[Everything will come right, I tell you friend]
KUZOLONGA 'MNGANE WAMI NGIYAKUTSHELA
[It will be all right my friend, I'm telling you]
WOZA WESIBINDI! UYAPHILISA UYABULALA
[come true courage, for it is you who gives
life and takes it away
MINA NGAPHA -- WENA NGAPHA SIZOYIBAMBA
[me on this side, you on the other,
we will hold it together]
UNGALALLELI LAW' AMANGA 'MNGANE WAMI
[don't listen to the lies of my compatriot]
OH SIZOBAHLULA THINA NAWA
[we will be victorious in the end, just you and me]
OH THINA NAMA
[just you and me]
I saw the Berlin Wall fall
I saw Mandela walk free
I saw a dream whose time has come
Change my history -- so keep on dreaming
Deam on dreamer, dreamer
In the best of times and in the worst of times
gotta keep looking at the skyline
not at a hole in the road
Your time will come, sister, your time will come
nobody's gonna rush history, we have to ease it along
-- just ease it along
All songs written by Johnny Clegg
All songs copyright (C) 1991
by HRBV Music (ASCAP)
