Hello everybody on HIVE, and especially the AFRITUNES Community. My name is Jasper, and I'm writing (and singing) to you from Cape Town, South Africa! Welcome to Week 118 of AFRITUNES.
I love South Africa and some of the special flavours of music we get here, and I look forward to doing a few posts on AFRITUNES to bring you music from South Africa, or to show you my original songs that have South African inspiration…
After playing some of my original songs I’ve written myself, but where I know that I’ve been influenced by a traditional South African musical style (or where I use some words from another local South African language) it’s time to put my “Cover Hat” back on.
Today I would like to sing you a song by Johnny Clegg and his second band “Savuka” called “Great Heart”. This is a wonderful song that South Africans play at sporting events to rile us up and get us in the mood to cheer on our national soccer and rugby teams!
Here is a video of the original version of the song used to accompany footage from one of our great Safari parks here in South Africa:
Lyrics for “Great Heart” by Johnny Clegg and Savuka
The world is full of strange behaviour
Every man has to be his own saviour
I know I can make it on my own if I try
But I'm searching for a great heart to stand me by
Underneath the african sky
A great heart to stand me by
Chorus:
I'm searching for the spirit of the great heart
To hold and stand me by
I'm searching for the spirit of the great heart
Under african sky
I'm searching for the spirit of the great heart
I see the fire in your eyes
I'm searching for the spirit of the great heart
That beats my name inside
Sometimes I feel that you really know me
Sometimes there's much you can show me
There's a highway of stars across the heavens
The whispering song of the wind in the grass
There's the rolling thunder across the savanna
A hope and dream at the edge of the sky
And your life is a story like the wind
Your life is a story like the wind
Chorus
Background isiZulu lyrics
Guka 'mzimba (body grow old)
Sala 'nhliziyo (but heart remain behind)
SOURCE: https://genius.com/Johnny-clegg-and-savuka-great-heart-lyrics
▶️ 3Speak
