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

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 favourite South African covers (there will be more), I thought it might be nice to do a few weeks where I play 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.

Today I would like to sing you an original song I have written called “You are the Rain”.

In a place like London, where it is grey and rainy all the time (what a pain!), a song about rain is probably going to be a sad song… However, in some parts of South Africa, especially the Karoo and Namaqualand, it might not rain all year, and rain is seen as a huge blessing that can turn a semi-desert into fields of wild-flowers and potentially give some grazing to farmer’s animals! There is even a historical town called Pella, where the spring would sometimes dry up, and the town would have to be abandoned for years until things improved…

In this song, I compare the desperation for it to rain with missing a special person who can “quench the drought” when they finally come home to you!

Lyrics for “You Are The Rain” by @jasperdick (original)

There ain’t a cloud in this burning sky
And the land is dry and grey
If it don’t rain soon then everything will die
That’s how I feel when you’re away, ‘coz…
I don’t like living without you…
I don’t like living without you there
I don’t like living without you…
This loneliness is more than I can bare, oh…

I see a cloud forming in the sky
Rolling in from the sea
Now there’s a chance that everything won’t die
It’s like I’ve heard that you’re coming home to me, ‘coz…
I don’t like living without you…
I don’t like living without you there
I don’t like living without you…
Come home soon or my heart could tear…

My heart could tear! Without you there… My heart could tear! Without you there…

You are the rain
You quench the drought in my soul, and
You take away the pain
So Darling, come on home…

Big drops are falling down from the sky
The land is green again
Tears of joy roll down from my eyes
As long as you remain, ‘coz

I don’t like living without you…
I don’t like living without you there
I don’t like living without you…
If you leave again, my heart could tear…

My heart could tear! Without you there… My heart could tear! Without you there…

You are the rain… You quench the drought in my soul, and
You take away the pain… So Darling, don’t let go…

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 favourite South African covers (there will be more), I thought it might be nice to do a few weeks where I play 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.

Today I would like to sing you an original song I have written called “Factory Town”.

It was inspired by my first job working as a newly graduated Engineer in a literal factory town in one of the very few ugly places in South Africa, where the gold mining turns to coal mining, the air is polluted, and the only mountains are made of ash… So… I got out of there as soon as my year of bursary ended! This was a brave move (by my standards) because the money was good, but I wanted more from life and especially to live in beautiful Cape Town again!

I am not always brave with chasing what I want from life, and so now I use the song “Factory Town” as a metaphor for a state of mind where I am feeling stuck and scared of making a change… and the song reminds me to take some risks to pursue what I really want, to remind myself to be brave in life!

Musically, the song is very bouncy, and there are parts, especially the little solo after the second chorus, that are inspired by a similarly bouncy style of traditional music here in South Africa, called Kwela, which is played by street musicians, often with penny-whistle accompaniment!

Lyrics for “Factory Town” by @jasperdick (original)

All my life, I've been waiting
For the day, that I turn eighteen
'Coz all my life, I've been held down
Growing up, in this Factory Town

No no no, Mother and Father, let me go
There is a whole world, I need to know
Mother and Father, don't drag me down
Life is just too short, for Factory Town...

All my friends, I've seen them come and go
Freedom is a word they'll never know
All the girls are factory secretaries...
And all the boys are factory employees

Oh no please, MoMother and Father, let me go
There is a whole world, I need to know
Mother and Father, don't drag me down
Life is just too short, for Factory Town...

This town won't drag me down, no I don't need no factory town
This town won't drag me down, no I don't need no factory town
This town won't drag me down, no I don't need no factory town
Shit town won't drag me down, no I don't need no factory town

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 7 weeks of playing some of my favourite South African songs (there will be more), I thought it might be nice to throw in the odd original song 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.

Today I would like to sing you an original song I have written called “Mamela!”.

“Mamela” means LISTEN in both isiZulu and isiXhosa, the two most widely spoken local languages here in South Africa. It tells the listener about how our current government has let the country down through a mixture of incompetence, corruption and focusing on the competition between factions within the ruling party, rather than focussing on the needs of the people and combatting our huge problems of poverty and unemployment.

On 29 May 2024, we get to vote in our next elections – 30 years after our first Democratic Elections that marked the end of Apartheid in 1994. The first two Presidents of the ruling African National Congress (ANC) did pretty well, but that generation has now been replaced by disgustingly corrupt Politicians who seem to steal everything, while our most basic services like electricity, water, roads and railways are falling apart.

South Africa has a violent crime level that can only be rivalled by the worst places in South America. I remember reading that we have literally the worst statistics for fatal stabbings in the entire world! As for income inequality, according to this wikipedia page (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_income_equality), South Africa has the WORST gini coefficient of all the countries they managed to get data from!

While it seems likely that the ANC will still get more votes than any other party, there is a good chance that they will finally score below 50% and will have to work in a coalition with another party. Not perfect, but hopefully a good start to them either fixing up their act, or losing even more support next time! So, I think this song “Mamela” is describing how more and more people, across all races, are feeling these days…

Lyrics for “Mamela” by @jasperdick (original)

Your father died a poor man, my friend
He struggled to survive
They said it would get better in the end, oh Baba…(Baba is a term of respect, meaning “Father”, for a man that is senior to you here in South Africa)
But the jobs did not arrive

Mamela! My brother!
Can you feel the anger that burns within you?
They’ve let us down

They say that they will help you today
But you will not forget
They’ve made you the same promise before, oh Baba…
They have not kept it yet

Mamela! My brother!
Can you feel the anger that burns within you?
They’ve let us down

They tell us lies… so don’t believe them…
If they don’t lead us, then we don’t need them…
We can fix it… if we work together…
Don’t let them make us… hate each other…

Mamela! My brother!
Can you feel the anger that burns within you?
They’ve let us down

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 7 weeks of playing some of my favourite South African songs (there will be more), I thought it might be nice to throw in the odd original song 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.

I’d like to start with a short, simple original song where I do both. The song is called “Ngiya EKhaya” which means “I’m coming home” in isiZulu. A lot of my friends have left South Africa to live in places like Canada, Australia or the UK. All of them miss South Africa a lot, and some have even missed it so much that they have returned, despite the issues that this country faces. This song is for them!

Musically, I am inspired by the rapid-fire thumb-and-first finger guitar playing style that features in a traditional Zulu street guitar music called “Maskandi”. I explain more in the video, but here is a video of the “Honourary White Zulu” Johnny Clegg (that I often mention) playing a traditional Zulu Street Guitar song, with the sort of vibe I am trying to borrow from. Please wait for his friends to join in the singing, it is magic!

Oh well, I hope you enjoy my version of being inspired by Maskandi/Zulu Street Guitar. Here are the lyrics to my song “Ngiya Ekhaya”:

Lyrics for “Ngiya Ekhaya” by @jasperdick (original)

I’m so tired of this London Town
The frigid frowning people drag me down
A longing for my homeland starts to burn
I’m counting down the days ‘til my return…

Ngiya ekhaya! (I’m going home)
Ngiya hamba, ngiya ekhaya (I’m going, I’m going home)
I’m going, I’m going home…
I’m going, I am going home…

I close my eyes and I see the blazing sun
The smiles that seem to shine from everyone
It feels like my homeland is trying to call
It sounds like thunder as raindrops start to fall (the entire Eastern side of South Africa has impressive thunderstorms on Summer afternoons, where big drops fall and kick up the dust, and you are still warm as it happens, so you tend to enjoy it and the smells it releases from the ground and plants!)

Ngiya ekhaya! (I’m going home)
Ngiya hamba, ngiya ekhaya (I’m going, I’m going home)
I’m going, I’m going home…
I’m going, I am going home…

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…

Today I would like to sing “Africa”, a song released by the “White Zulu” Johnny Clegg and his band Juluka that I love so much. Please click the links below for my previous posts to read the story of how Johnny Clegg befriended Zulu people and formed the Juluka band with Sipho Mchunu, mixing Zulu music and language into Western Music during a time when this was illegal in Apartheid South Africa:

https://ecency.com/hive-195772/@jasperdick/rtwpsovs

https://ecency.com/hive-195772/@jasperdick/oyinjpdo

As for this week’s song, the chorus basically says “Africa cries out to the Holy Ones/Righteous People: Stay”

Give a listen to the original here:

Lyrics for “Africa” by Juluka

Afrika kukhala abangcwele (Africa cries out for the holy ones/the righteous)
EAfrika kukhala abangcwele wena
Afrika kukhala abangcwele
EAfrika kukhala abangcwele wena
Hlala Hlala (Stay)

He was born in the African dawn and orphaned to the land
So gentle in the eye he was as any woman′s child

Repeat Chorus

As he grew people told him, son, don't you trust anyone
You learn how to trust a stone
This is not gentle land then it breaks those
Who never learned how to be alone

Repeat Chorus

And so he walked in the fashion of his lands
Until at last he cried out
Can anybody hear me, hear me, hear the song in my heart
There′s a song to be sung that can heal these broken men
Let us sing and we'll walk through the dark
Hand in hand, hand in hand

Repeat Chorus
Repeat Chorus (with key up 2 semitones)

SOURCE: https://www.songlyrics.com/johnny-clegg-juluka/africa-lyrics/

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…

Today I would like to sing “Paradise Road”, a song released by a group called “Joy” in 1980. Although this song was not an official anti-Apartheid song written to protest against the government and its enforced racial segregation limiting the freedoms of most South Africans immensely, it definitely seems to spark hope for a better future in the country with the lyrics: “There are better days before us, and a burning bridge behind us…”. For me these lyrics just conjure up an image of leaving an apocalyptic fiery Hell behind you, as you walk towards something more like Heaven. Because of this, the song became a bit of an unofficial anthem in South Africa, and is still played on the radio often for nostalgia’s sake.

Give a listen to the original here:

Lyrics for “Paradise Road” by Joy

[Verse 1]
Come with me down paradise road
This way please, I'll carry your load
This you won't believe
Come with me to paradise skies
Look outside and open your eyes
This you must believe

[Chorus]
There are better days before us
And a burning bridge behind us
Fire smoking, the sky is blazing
There's a woman waiting weeping
And a young man nearly beaten all for love
Paradise was almost closing down

[Verse 2]
Come with me to paradise days
It'll change your life
It'll shorе change your ways
This you won't believе
Take my hand down paradise lane
Away from heart ache without any pain
I know 'cause I have been

[Chorus]
There are better days before us
And a burning bridge behind us
Fire smoking, the sky is blazing
There's a woman waiting weeping
And a young man nearly beaten all for love
Paradise was almost closing down

[Break]

[Chorus]
There are better days before us
And a burning bridge behind
Fire smoking, the sky is blazing
There's a woman waiting weeping
And a young man nearly beaten all for love

There are better days before us
And a burning bridge behind
Fire smoking, the sky is blazing
There's a woman waiting weeping
And a young man nearly beaten all for love

[Outro]
You must believe (You must believe this)
You must believe (You must believe this)
You must believe (You must believe this)

SOURCE: https://genius.com/Joy-sa-paradise-road-lyrics

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…

Today, I’d like to sing the song “Weeping” by Bright Blue, one of my favourite Anti-Apartheid songs ever, and was released in 1987.

This is a definite protest song, responding to how the 1985 State of Emergency had resulted in the killing of peaceful demonstrators against racial segregation in South Africa. “Weeping” even managed to smuggle some of the melody of “Nkosi Sikelel’ iAfrika”, which was the banned anthem of the suppressed African National Congress at the time, but then became the first part of the National Anthem of the New South Africa when Apartheid was finally ended.

Lyrics for “Weeping” by Bright Blue

[Verse 1]
I knew a man who lived in fear
It was huge, it was angry, it was drawing near
Behind his house, a secret place
Was the shadow of the demon he could never face

He built a wall of steel and flame
And men with guns to keep it tame
Then, standing back, he made it plain
That the nightmare would never ever rise again
But the fear, the fire, and the guns remained

[Chorus]
It doesn't matter now
It's over anyhow
He tells the world that it's sleeping

But as the night came 'round
I heard it slowly sound
It wasn't roaring, it was weeping
It wasn't roaring, it was weeping

[Verse 2]
And then, one day, the neighbours came
They were curious to know about the smoke and flame
They stood around outside the wall
But, of course, there was nothing to be heard at all

"My friends," he said, "we've reached our goal
The threat is under firm control
As long as peace and order reign
I'll be damned if I can see a reason to explain
Why the fear and the fire and the guns remain"

[Chorus]
It doesn't matter now
It's over anyhow
He tells the world that it's sleeping

But as the night came round
I heard it slowly sound
It wasn't roaring, it was weeping
It wasn't roaring, it was weeping

[Coda]
Say over
Say over
Say over now

Say over
Say over
Say over now

Say over
Say over
Say over now
Say over
Say over
Say over now

It doesn't matter now
It's over anyhow
He tells the world that it's sleeping
But as the night came 'round
I heard it slowly sound
It wasn't roaring, it was weeping
It wasn't roaring, it was weeping
It wasn't roaring, it was weeping
(We heard a roaring sound)
It wasn't roaring, it was weeping
SOURCE: https://genius.com/Bright-blue-weeping-lyrics

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…

Today, I’d like to sing the song “Impi” by Juluka, the band that was started by the white “Honourary Zulu” Johnny Clegg and his friend Sipho Mchunu.

This song is about a battle that happened during the Anglo-Zulu War in 1879, where a regiment of Zulu Warriors armed with short spears and cattle-hide shields were able to defeat a British regiment armed with modern (for the time) Martini Henry rifles and even a few cannons.

The song makes reference to “Chelmsford”, who was the real British General that was defeated. “Mageba” was one of the original Zulu chiefs over 100 years before, and so “Children of Mageba” is a poetic way to describe the entire Zulu tribe. “Zulu” means sky, and so “People of the Sky” is another poetic way to describe the entire tribe!

The song Impi is a war song about a horrific real event in South Africa’s history! Luckily, we now only use the song’s rousing theme to rile up our “warriors” on the sports fields representing South Africa at soccer or rugby!

Lyrics for "Impi” by Juluka

Chorus

(isiZulu) Impi! wo 'nans' impi iyeza
Obani bengathinta amabhubesi?

(Rough English translation)
War! Here the army is coming
Who can stand up to the lions?

Verses

All along the river Chelmsford's army lay asleep
Come to crush the Children of Mageba
Come to exact the Realm's price for peace
And in the morning as they saddled up to ride
Their eyes shone with the fire and the steel
The General told them of the task that lay ahead
To bring the People of the Sky to heel

Mud and sweat on polished leather
Warm rain seeping to the bone
They rode through the season's wet weather
Straining for a glimpse of the foe
Hopeless battalion destined to die
Broken by the Benders of Kings
Vainglorious General and Victorian pride
Would cost him and eight hundred men their lives

They came to the side of the mountain
Scouts rode out to spy the land
Even as the Realm's soldiers lay resting
Mageba's forces were at hand
And by the evening the vultures were wheeling
Above the ruins where the fallen lay
An ancient song as old as the ashes
Echoed as Mageba's warriors marched away

Source: Musixmatch
Songwriters: Johnny Clegg

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…

Today, I’d like to introduce you to kwela music, which is a bouncy kind of traditional street guitar music here in South Africa, where a pennywhistle often plays along!

The song I’d like to try this with is “Meadowlands”! According to the Wikipedia article for the song (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Meadowlands_(song)), “Meadowlands” was written during Apartheid, where the Government decided to enforce racial segregation by forcibly removing black people out of Sophiatown to a new township called “Meadowlands” in 1955.

This song is typically up-beat sounding like most of Kwela, and the lyrics sarcastically say “We Love Meadowlands”, which meant the white Apartheid Government mistakenly thought the song approved of the relocation program, and therefore decided NOT to ban the song like they did with many more blatant protest songs.
However, the target audience of black people understood the sarcasm, and “Meadowlands” is now one of the most recognised anti-Apartheid anthems in South Africa, and has been popularised by being sung by some of South Africa’s best including Miriam Makeba and Mango Groove! The version I’m singing is in Northern Sotho and “Tsotsitaal” (a mixture of Afrikaans and other South African languages).

Here's Archie Coker and the Meteors singing it in 1962 and making it famous:

Lyrics for "Meadowlands” by Strikes Vilikazi (The Mango Groove Version)
O tla utlwa makgowa a re
Are yeng ko Meadowlands
O tla utlwa makgowa a re
Are yeng ko Meadowlands
(You can hear the white people say “Let’s go to Meadowlands”)

Meadowlands, Meadowlands
Meadowlands, sithandwa sam
Meadowlands, Meadowlands
Meadowlands, sithandwa sam
(We love Meadowlands!)

O tlwa utlwa botsotsi ba re ( Eita )
Ons gaan nie on phola hier
O tlwa utlwa botsotsi ba re ( Eita )
Ons dak ni ons phola hier
(You can hear all the scoundrels say “We’re not leaving, we’re staying here!”)

Phola hier, phola hier ( Phola hier, phola hier )
Phola hier sithandwa sam
Phola hier, phola hier ( Phola hier, phola hier )
Phola hier sithandwa sam
(We love it here!)

Source: LyricFind
Songwriters: David Daniel Strike Vilakazi
Meadowlands lyrics © O/B/O Capasso

Hello everybody on HIVE, and especially the Music Zone Community. My name is Jasper and I'm writing (and singing) to you Cape Town in South Africa! Welcome to Week 4 of the Jamming Zone, a brand-new initiative by @juliopalomo!

In this initiative, we are supposed to be jamming and improvising (are you contributing @sunsethunter? This is his bread-and-butter!).

Where’s my guitar? Do I need my guitar? They’re so last century! Now is the time of talentless rappers like Nikki and Cardi making the millions (note: not all rappers are talentless, but they certainly are!).

So… I figured I would try to create a rap song with nothing but a loop pedal and my voice, with some popular themes of modern rap… and I may even do a better job than Nikki or Cardi…

Lyrics to “The Worst Rap Song since the last Time Nikki Minaj released anything” by @jasperdick

I love my shoes… (Repeat)

My shoes look good just like they should when I’m walking through the neighbourhood
I pull out the stops with a pair of high-tops to help me run away from the cops
It’s not as if I did anything wrong, I just told the cop that I fucked his mom
And it’s not as if I did anything bad, besides stealing his mama from his dad…

I said “hey cop, have you heard the news, yo mama like my dick, and my shoes!”
And when she met me, she said “Young buck, I love your shoes do you wanna fuck?”
And now she loves to give me sass, so I’ll turn her around and spank her ass
I said “hey cop, are you really her son? I guess your dad is the ugly one!”

And so my friends I gotta say, I had a close escape today
When it comes to running, my shoes never fail, if it weren’t for my shoes I would be in jail!

I love my shoes… (Repeat)

(ESP)

Hola a todos en HIVE, y especialmente a la comunidad Music Zone. ¡Mi nombre es Jasper y te escribo (y canto) en Ciudad del Cabo, Sudáfrica! ¡Bienvenidos a la Semana 4 de Jamming Zone, una nueva iniciativa de @juliopalomo!

En esta iniciativa, se supone que debemos tocar e improvisar (¿estás contribuyendo con @sunsethunter? ¡Este es su pan de cada día!).

¿Dónde está mi guitarra? ¿Necesito mi guitarra? ¡Son tan del siglo pasado! Ahora es el momento en que raperos sin talento como Nikki y Cardi ganan millones (nota: no todos los raperos carecen de talento, ¡pero ciertamente lo son!).

Entonces… pensé en intentar crear una canción de rap con nada más que un pedal de loop y mi voz, con algunos temas populares del rap moderno… y puede que incluso haga un mejor trabajo que Nikki o Cardi…

Letra de “La peor canción de rap desde la última vez que Nikki Minaj lanzó algo” de @jasperdick

Amo mis zapatos… (Repetir)

Mis zapatos lucen bien como deberían cuando camino por el vecindario
Hago todo lo posible con un par de zapatillas altas para ayudarme a huir de la policía.
No es que haya hecho nada malo, solo le dije al policía que me follé a su mamá.
Y no es que haya hecho nada malo, además de robarle a su mamá a su papá…

Le dije: "Oye policía, ¿has oído la noticia? ¡A mamá le gustan mi polla y mis zapatos!"
Y cuando me conoció, me dijo: "Joven, me encantan tus zapatos, ¿quieres follar?"
Y ahora le encanta mostrarme descaro, así que le daré la vuelta y le daré una palmada en el culo.
Le dije “oye policía, ¿eres realmente su hijo? ¡Supongo que tu papá es el feo!

Y, amigos míos, debo decir que hoy estuve a punto de escapar.
Cuando se trata de correr, mis zapatos nunca fallan, ¡si no fuera por mis zapatos estaría en la cárcel!

Amo mis zapatos… (Repetir)

Hello everybody on Hive and especially the Hive Open Mic Community! My name is Jasper and I'm writing (and singing) to you from Cape Town in South Africa.

Welcome to Week 208 of the Hive Open Mic Challenge. The theme for this week is “Hive”!

For those of you who don’t know, I’ve decided to alter my Three Tune Tuesday posts to be based around the Hive Open Mic theme of the week, and how I would go about tackling it. If you are wanting to take part this week, but need some help interpreting what kind of songs would suit the theme, please go check out my post here:

https://ecency.com/hive-193816/@jasperdick/music-three-tune-tuesday-149

Well, there are two ways I could interpret “Hive”. The first is the house that bees live in and turn pollen into honey. A cool option could be “Queen Bee” by Taj Mahal.

The other interpretation is this Hive blockchain that we all know and love!

In this case, something like “We Are Family” by Sister Sledge would be a good choice. Hive is still a relatively small world with only a few thousand active users. Because of this, it is quite likely that you know, and have become friends with, the people that have similar interests as you in the Communities you post in most often (in my case, Music, Music Zone, Hive Open Mic, Vibes, SurfHive, etc…)

However, I am going to choose to tackle “The Gambler” by Kenny Rogers! Why?

Well, we get paid out for our blogs/vlogs on the Hive blockchain in Hive/HP, which is very volatile, and in HBD which is much more tied to the Dollar and is therefore much more stable (and offers generous 20% interest if you put it in savings).

Because of this, there are some strategies and decisions you need to make, depending on your preference for risk and whether you will be around for several bull/bear cycles, or need to see growth in a shorter time frame.

You may also decide to try and sell Hive for HBD when the Hive price is relatively high, and then buy it back when the Hive price is relatively low. Even then, will you be doing this often based on minor fluctuations, or only during a proper bullish spike similar to the one in November 2021?

So, yes, you have got to “know when to hold them, know when to fold them” in the world of the Hive blockchain, and the strategy should be different depending on the person and their goals!

Here’s the original!

Lyrics for “The Gambler” by Kenny Rogers

On a warm summer's evening
On a train bound for nowhere
I met up with a gambler
We were both too tired to sleep
So we took turns a-starin'
Out the window at the darkness
The boredom overtook us
And he began to speak

He said, "Son, I've made a life
Out of readin' people's faces
And knowin' what the cards were
By the way they held their eyes.
So if you don't mind my sayin'
I can see you're out of aces
For a taste of your whiskey
I'll give you some advice."

So I handed him my bottle
And he drank down my last swallow
Then he bummed a cigarette
And asked me for a light
And the night got deathly quiet
And his face lost all expression
Said, "If you're gonna play the game, boy,
You gotta learn to play it right.

You got to know when to hold 'em,
Know when to fold 'em,
Know when to walk away,
And know when to run.
You never count your money
When you're sittin' at the table.
There'll be time enough for countin'
When the dealing's done.

Every gambler knows
That the secret to survivin'
Is knowin' what to throw away
And knowin' what to keep.
'Cause every hand's a winner,
And every hand's a loser,
And the best that you can hope for
Is to die in your sleep."

And when he finished speakin'
He turned back toward the window
Crushed out his cigarette
And faded off to sleep
And somewhere in the darkness
The gambler he broke even
And in his final words
I found an ace that I could keep

You got to know when to hold 'em
Know when to fold 'em
Know when to walk away
And know when to run
You never count your money
When you're sittin' at the table
There'll be time enough for countin'
When the dealing's done

You've got to know when to hold 'em
(When to hold 'em)
Know when to fold 'em
(When to fold 'em)
Know when to walk away
And know when to run
You never count your money
When you're sittin' at the table
There'll be time enough for countin'
When the dealing's done

You got to know when to hold 'em
Know when to fold 'em
Know when to walk away
And know when to run
You never count your money
When you're sittin' at the table
There'll be time enough for countin'
When the dealing's done

SOURCE: https://www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/kennyrogers/thegambler.html

(ESP)

¡Hola a todos en Hive y especialmente a la comunidad Hive Open Mic! Mi nombre es Jasper y les escribo (y canto) desde Ciudad del Cabo en Sudáfrica.

Bienvenido a la Semana 208 del Hive Open Mic Challenge. ¡El tema de esta semana es “Hive”!

*** Para aquellos de ustedes que no lo saben, he decidido modificar mis publicaciones de Three Tune Tuesday para basarlas en el tema de la semana de Hive Open Mic y en cómo abordarlo. Si deseas participar esta semana, pero necesitas ayuda para interpretar qué tipo de canciones se adaptarían al tema, consulta mi publicación aquí:***

https://ecency.com/hive-193816/@jasperdick/music-tres-tune-tuesday-149

Bueno, hay dos formas en que podría interpretar "Hive". La primera es la casa donde viven las abejas y convierten el polen en miel. Una buena opción podría ser “Queen Bee” de Taj Mahal.

¡La otra interpretación es esta cadena de bloques Hive que todos conocemos y amamos!

En este caso, algo como “We Are Family” de Sister Sledge sería una buena opción. Hive es todavía un mundo relativamente pequeño con sólo unos pocos miles de usuarios activos. Debido a esto, es muy probable que conozcas y te hayas hecho amigo de personas que tienen intereses similares a los tuyos en las comunidades en las que publicas con mayor frecuencia (en mi caso, Music, Music Zone, Hive Open Mic, Vibes, SurfHive, etc.)

Sin embargo, ¡voy a optar por abordar “The Gambler” de Kenny Rogers! ¿Por qué?

Bueno, nos pagan por nuestros blogs/vlogs en la cadena de bloques Hive en Hive/HP, que es muy volátil, y en HBD, que está mucho más vinculado al dólar y, por lo tanto, es mucho más estable (y ofrece un generoso interés del 20 % si lo pones en ahorros).

Debido a esto, hay algunas estrategias y decisiones que debes tomar, dependiendo de tu preferencia por el riesgo y de si estarás presente durante varios ciclos alcistas/bajistas, o si necesitarás ver crecimiento en un período de tiempo más corto.

También puede decidir intentar vender Hive por HBD cuando el precio de Hive sea relativamente alto y luego volver a comprarlo cuando el precio de Hive sea relativamente bajo. Incluso entonces, ¿hará esto a menudo basándose en fluctuaciones menores o solo durante un pico alcista similar al de noviembre de 2021?

Entonces, sí, tienes que “saber cuándo retenerlos, saber cuándo doblarlos” en el mundo de la cadena de bloques Hive, ¡y la estrategia debe ser diferente dependiendo de la persona y sus objetivos!

¡Aquí está el original!

Letra de “The Gambler” de Kenny Rogers

En una cálida tarde de verano
En un tren con destino a ninguna parte
Me encontré con un jugador
Ambos estábamos demasiado cansados para dormir.
Así que nos turnamos para mirar
Por la ventana en la oscuridad
El aburrimiento nos superó
Y empezó a hablar

Él dijo: "Hijo, he hecho una vida
Fuera de leer las caras de la gente
Y sabiendo cuáles eran las cartas
Por cierto, se sostuvieron los ojos.
Así que si no te importa que te diga
Puedo ver que te has quedado sin ases
Para probar tu whisky
Te daré algunos consejos."

Entonces le entregué mi botella.
Y bebió mi último trago
Luego encendió un cigarrillo
Y me pidió una luz
Y la noche se volvió mortalmente silenciosa
Y su rostro perdió toda expresión.
Dijo: "Si vas a jugar, muchacho,
Tienes que aprender a tocarlo bien.

Tienes que saber cuándo sostenerlos.
Sepa cuándo doblarlos,
Sepa cuándo alejarse,
Y saber cuándo correr.
Nunca cuentas tu dinero
Cuando estás sentado en la mesa.
Habrá tiempo suficiente para contar
Cuando el trato esté hecho.

Todo jugador sabe
Ese el secreto para sobrevivir
Es saber qué tirar
Y saber qué conservar.
Porque cada mano es ganadora
Y cada mano es un perdedor,
Y lo mejor que puedes esperar
Es morir mientras duermes."

Y cuando terminó de hablar
Se volvió hacia la ventana
Apagó su cigarrillo
Y se desvaneció para dormir
Y en algún lugar de la oscuridad
El jugador que alcanzó el punto de equilibrio
Y en sus últimas palabras
Encontré un as que podía conservar

Tienes que saber cuándo sostenerlos
Sepa cuándo doblarlos
Sepa cuando alejarse
Y saber cuando correr
Nunca cuentas tu dinero
Cuando estás sentado en la mesa
Habrá tiempo suficiente para contar
Cuando el trato esté hecho

Tienes que saber cuándo sostenerlos.
(Cuándo sostenerlos)
Sepa cuándo doblarlos
(Cuándo doblarlos)
Sepa cuando alejarse
Y saber cuando correr
Nunca cuentas tu dinero
Cuando estás sentado en la mesa
Habrá tiempo suficiente para contar
Cuando el trato esté hecho

Tienes que saber cuándo sostenerlos
Sepa cuándo doblarlos
Sepa cuando alejarse
Y saber cuando correr
Nunca cuentas tu dinero
Cuando estás sentado en la mesa
Habrá tiempo suficiente para contar
Cuando el trato esté hecho

FUENTE: https://www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/kennyrogers/thegambler.html

Hello everybody on HIVE, and especially the Music Zone Community. My name is Jasper and I'm writing (and singing) to you from Cape Town in South Africa! Welcome to Week 77 / Round 2 of the Hive Music Festival!

Well! After 75 weeks, I was starting to run out of ideas for songs to play each week on the Hive Music Festival, so I figured “why don’t all of you out there, around the world, help me with ideas?” Because of this, I decided to be brave, and bring back my Cover Request Challenge initiative, and base it here on the Hive Music Festival!

Here’s how it works:

• In the comments section of this post, please let me know what cover song you would like me to tackle?
• Next week I will select a song from the previous weeks’ comment sections, and then attempt to cover that song! Eek!
• To spread the love (and hopefully spread the word) I am doing to give 50% of the post rewards (this time in a 50-50 split between HP and HBD) to the HIVE account that requested that winning song!

Well, I only have one remaining suggestion to work with: “We are the World” which was written by Michael Jackson and Lionel Richie. This song was requested by @g2comfort!

According to the Wikipedia page https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/We_Are_the_World, this song was the idea of musician and activist Harry Belafonte (the man who sang songs like “Day-O (The Banana Boat Song)” and “Jamaica Farewell” – I wrote a tribute post to him recently here (https://ecency.com/hive-193816/@jasperdick/bojfpcfx) as he passed away in 2023).

Harry Belafonte was inspired by Band Aid’s song “Do They Know it’s Christmas?” which was released in December 1984, and decided to organise another charity song to be released in early 1985 involving a huge number of the worlds most famous musicians at the time, and to be written by Michael Jackson and Lionel Richie.

Here is the resulting video! See how many of the artists you recognise! Harry Belafonte was humble enough to merely sing the chorus in the choir in the back row, but musicians who had a solo line or two include:

• Lionel Richie
• Stevie Wonder
• Bob Dylan
• Bruce Springsteen
• Michael Jackson
• Tina Turner (another artist who sadly passed away in 2023, that I wrote a tribute to here - https://ecency.com/hive-193816/@jasperdick/sclypzzx)
• Paul Simon
• Diana Ross
• Cindi Lauper
• Ray Charles
• …etc…

Back in 1985, the song managed to raise over $80 million, which due to inflation, would be worth over $200 million today.

Another cast of more modern musicians covered the song “We are the World 25 for Haiti” to raise relief for the 2010 Haiti Earthquake. Here’s that version. Perhaps if you are young, you might recognise more of these stars, starting with a very young Justin Bieber, but also including Pink, Adam Levine, Usher, Tony Bennett and Celine Dion!

So, @g2comfort, you are a very deserving recipient of 50% of whatever this post earns, let me have a crack at “We Are The World”!

Lyrics for “We Are the World” by Michael Jackson and Lionel Richie

There comes a time when we heed a certain call
When the world must come together as one
There are people dying
Oh, when it's time to lend a hand to life
The greatest gift of all

We can't go on pretending day by day
That someone somewhere will soon make a change
We're all a part of God's great big family
And the truth, you know
Love is all we need

We are the world
We are the children
We are the ones who make a brighter day
So, let's start giving
There's a choice we're making
We're saving our own lives
It's true we'll make a better day
Just you and me

Well, send them your heart so they'll know that someone cares
And their lives will be stronger and free
As God has shown us by turning stone to bread
And so we all must lend a helping hand

We are the world
We are the children
We are the ones who make a brighter day
So, let's start giving
Oh, there's a choice we're making
We're saving our own lives
It's true we'll make a better day
Just you and me

When you're down and out
And there seems no hope at all
But if you just believe
There's no way we can fall
Well, well, well
Let's realize, oh, that a change can only come
When we stand together as one

[Repeat with ad-libs until the end:]
We are the world
We are the children
We are the ones who make a brighter day
So, let's start giving
There's a choice we're making
We're saving our own lives
It's true we'll make a better day
Just you and me

SOURCE: https://www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/michaeljackson/weretheworldusaforafrica.html

(ESP)

Hola a todos en HIVE, y especialmente a la comunidad Music Zone. ¡Mi nombre es Jasper y les escribo (y canto) desde Ciudad del Cabo en Sudáfrica! ¡Bienvenidos a la Semana 77/Ronda 2 del Hive Music Festival!

¡Bien! Después de 75 semanas, estaba empezando a quedarme sin ideas de canciones para tocar cada semana en el Hive Music Festival, así que pensé "¿por qué todos ustedes, en todo el mundo, no me ayudan con ideas?" Debido a esto, decidí ser valiente y recuperar mi iniciativa Cover Request Challenge, ¡y basarla aquí en el Hive Music Festival!

Así es como funciona:

• En la sección de comentarios de esta publicación, déjame saber qué cover te gustaría que abordara.
• ¡La próxima semana seleccionaré una canción de las secciones de comentarios de las semanas anteriores y luego intentaré hacer un cover de esa canción! ¡Eek!
• Para difundir el amor (y con suerte hacer correr la voz) estoy haciendo para dar el 50% de las recompensas de las publicaciones (esta vez en una división 50-50 entre HP y HBD) a la cuenta HIVE que solicitó esa canción ganadora.

Bueno, sólo me queda una sugerencia con la que trabajar: “We are the World”, que fue escrita por Michael Jackson y Lionel Richie. ¡Esta canción fue solicitada por @g2comfort!

Según la página de Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/We_Are_the_World, esta canción fue idea del músico y activista Harry Belafonte (el hombre que cantó canciones como “Day-O (The Banana Boat Song)” y “ Jamaica Farewell” – Le escribí una publicación de homenaje recientemente aquí (https://ecency.com/hive-193816/@jasperdick/bojfpcfx) cuando falleció en 2023).

Harry Belafonte se inspiró en la canción de Band Aid "¿Saben que es Navidad?" que fue lanzado en diciembre de 1984, y decidió organizar otra canción benéfica que se lanzaría a principios de 1985, en la que participaría un gran número de los músicos más famosos del mundo en ese momento, y que sería escrita por Michael Jackson y Lionel Richie.

¡Aquí está el vídeo resultante! ¡Mira cuántos de los artistas reconoces! Harry Belafonte fue lo suficientemente humilde como para simplemente cantar el coro en la última fila, pero los músicos que tenían una o dos líneas solistas incluyen:

• Lionel Richie
• Stevie Wonder
• Bob Dylan
• Bruce Springsteen
• Michael Jackson
• Tina Turner (otra artista que lamentablemente falleció en 2023, a la que le escribí un homenaje aquí: https://ecency.com/hive-193816/@jasperdick/sclypzzx)
• Paul Simón
• Diana Ross
•Cindi Lauper
• Ray Charles
• …etc…

En 1985, la canción logró recaudar más de 80 millones de dólares, lo que, debido a la inflación, hoy valdría más de 200 millones de dólares.

Otro elenco de músicos más modernos versionó la canción “Somos el mundo 25 por Haití” para recaudar ayuda para el terremoto de Haití de 2010. Aquí está esa versión. Quizás si eres joven, puedas reconocer a más de estas estrellas, empezando por un muy joven Justin Bieber, pero también incluyendo a Pink, Adam Levine, Usher, Tony Bennett y Celine Dion.

Entonces, @g2comfort, eres un destinatario muy merecedor del 50 % de lo que gane esta publicación. ¡Déjame probar “We Are The World”!

Letra de “We Are the World” de Michael Jackson y Lionel Richie

Llega un momento en el que prestamos atención a cierta llamada.
Cuando el mundo debe unirse como uno solo
Hay gente muriendo
Oh, cuando llega el momento de echarle una mano a la vida
El mejor regalo de todos

No podemos seguir fingiendo día a día
Que alguien en algún lugar pronto hará un cambio
Todos somos parte de la gran gran familia de Dios.
Y la verdad, ya sabes
El amor es todo lo que necesitamos

Somos el Mundo
Nosotros somos los niños
Somos nosotros los que hacemos un día más brillante.
Así que empecemos a dar
Hay una elección que estamos haciendo
Estamos salvando nuestras propias vidas
Es verdad, haremos un día mejor.
Solo tu y yo

Bueno, envíales tu corazón para que sepan que a alguien le importas.
Y sus vidas serán más fuertes y libres.
Como Dios nos ha mostrado al convertir la piedra en pan
Y por eso todos debemos echar una mano

Somos el Mundo
Nosotros somos los niños
Somos nosotros los que hacemos un día más brillante.
Así que empecemos a dar
Oh, hay una elección que estamos haciendo
Estamos salvando nuestras propias vidas
Es verdad, haremos un día mejor.
Solo tu y yo

Cuando estás deprimido y afuera
Y no parece haber ninguna esperanza en absoluto
Pero si solo crees
No hay manera de que podamos caer
Bien bien bien
Vamos a darnos cuenta, oh, que un cambio sólo puede llegar
Cuando estamos juntos como uno

[Repetir con improvisaciones hasta el final:]
Somos el Mundo
Nosotros somos los niños
Somos nosotros los que hacemos un día más brillante.
Así que empecemos a dar
Hay una elección que estamos haciendo
Estamos salvando nuestras propias vidas
Es verdad, haremos un día mejor.
Solo tu y yo

FUENTE: https://www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/michaeljackson/weretheworldusaforafrica.html

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…

Today, I’d like to introduce you to the story of Johnny Clegg and Juluka, whose music I adore and will be covering quite a lot for AFRITUNES!

In the middle of the Apartheid era in South Africa, when racial segregation was heavily enforced by the government and police, Johnny Clegg was a teenage boy living in Johannesburg. His stepfather had left the country, and he didn’t really have a father figure or good masculine role models.

He took the risk to approach some Zulu migrant workers who were living in the Hostels around Johannesburg, (many of whom would have been miners who could have sung last week’s “Shosholoza” song), and asked them to teach him the traditional Zulu guitar styles of maskandi and kwela, as well as the traditional Zulu styles of war-dancing and stick-fighting.

After a bit of scepticism about what this white boy wanted, his Zulu friends realised that he was serious about wanting to learn about their culture, and was a fantastic musician and dancer, and they accepted Johnny Clegg as an honourary Zulu. He later formed a band (Juluka) with a good friend, Sipho Mchunu, that perfectly blended Western Music with traditional Zulu music. Often the verses would be in English and the choruses in isiZulu.

These songs became a big symbol of the fight against Apartheid – and after Apartheid ended in 1994, they became beloved by everyone in South Africa, black and white. The songs “Impi” by Juluka, and “Great Heart” by his later band Savuka are played at rugby matches to get the crowd all riled up and supporting the Springboks!

For today's video, I share will share a simple Juluka song that seems to follow a traditional Zulu style even more closely, and the lyrics are entirely in isiZulu. It is called "Thula 'Mntanami" which means "Hush Child", because it is supposed to be used as a lullaby! I will leave the full lyrics and translation at the bottom of the post.

Here is the original version:

Here is a wonderful video of Johnny Clegg and Sipho Mchunu coming back together as much older men to play the song again in the back of a mini-bus taxi! Unfortunately Johnny Clegg has since passed away from cancer, but he did do a series of final concerts, and I was lucky enough to attend one at the beautiful Kirstenbosch gardens under the shadow of Table Mountain!

Lyrics for "Thula ‘Mntanami” by Juluka

O thula 'mntanami
(Hush my child)
Umam' uzofika
(Mother will arrive)
Wophathel' amaswidi
(She should be bringing sweets)
Amnandi (repeat)
(They are tasty/sweet)
O thula 'mntanami
(Hush my child)
Umam' uzofika
(Mother will arrive)
Wophathel' amaswidi
(She should be bringing sweets)
Amnandi (repeat)
(They are tasty/sweet)
O thula 'mntanami
(Hush my child)
Umam' uzofika
(Mother will arrive)
Wophathel' amaswidi
(She should be bringing sweets)
Amnandi (repeat)
(They are tasty/sweet)
O thula 'mntanami
(Hush my child)
Umam' uzofika
(Mother will arrive)
Wophathel' amaswidi
(She should be bringing sweets)
Amnandi (repeat)
(They are tasty/sweet)
SOURCE: https://genius.com/Juluka-thula-mtanami-lyrics

Hello everybody on HIVE, and especially the Music Zone Community. My name is Jasper and I'm writing (and singing) to you Cape Town in South Africa! Welcome to Week 3 of the Jamming Zone, a brand-new initiative by @juliopalomo!

In this initiative, we are supposed to be jamming and improvising.

Today, I would like to record the basic chorus structure of my song “God Cries in Thunder”, which is essentially an E-blues, and then try and improvise over that with some riffs based on the pentatonic scale!

On the topic, after I created a tutorial on some acoustic guitar fundamental tips (You can check that here: https://ecency.com/hive-193816/@jasperdick/nuarldjk ), the absolute shredder on electric guitar @sunsethunter was inspired to give a tutorial on the basics of improvisation and guitar solos that you can use to inspire you and get started here on your jamming journey here: (https://ecency.com/hive-193816/@sunsethunter/fwzntdgj#@sunsethunter/sazxgl)!

I think I will be going back to that video to help me think about being more fluid and musical in my improvisation – I usually play alone and never get to practice, but now that I own a loop pedal I should bother to find the time to set it up and create little loops to practise over as I did in this video!

As for the song, God Cries in Thunder, here’s a post where I played the song in full: https://ecency.com/hive-105786/@jasperdick/gdghfbxw

(ESP)

Hola a todos en HIVE, y especialmente a la comunidad Music Zone. ¡Mi nombre es Jasper y te escribo (y canto) en Ciudad del Cabo, Sudáfrica! ¡Bienvenidos a la Semana 3 de Jamming Zone, una nueva iniciativa de @juliopalomo!

En esta iniciativa, se supone que debemos improvisar.

Hoy, me gustaría grabar la estructura básica del coro de mi canción “God Cries in Thunder”, que es esencialmente un E-blues, y luego intentar improvisar sobre eso con algunos riffs basados en la escala pentatónica.

Sobre el tema, después de crear un tutorial sobre algunos consejos fundamentales de la guitarra acústica (puedes consultarlo aquí: https://ecency.com/hive-193816/@jasperdick/nuarldjk), se inspiró en Absolute Shredder en guitarra eléctrica @sunsethunter. para dar un tutorial sobre los conceptos básicos de la improvisación y los solos de guitarra que puedes usar para inspirarte y comenzar tu viaje de improvisación aquí: (https://ecency.com/hive-193816/@sunsethunter/fwzntdgj#@sunsethunter/ sazxgl)!

Creo que volveré a ese vídeo para ayudarme a pensar en ser más fluido y musical en mi improvisación. Normalmente toco solo y nunca llego a practicar, pero ahora que tengo un pedal de loop debería molestarme en encontrar tiempo para ¡Configúralo y crea pequeños bucles para practicar como lo hice en este video!

En cuanto a la canción, God Cries in Thunder, aquí hay una publicación donde la reproduje completa: https://ecency.com/hive-105786/@jasperdick/gdghfbxw