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Showing posts with label African Children's Choir. Show all posts
Showing posts with label African Children's Choir. Show all posts

Saturday, April 13, 2013

R Kelly's Song - The WorId's Greatest (Videos & Lyrics)

Edited by Azizi Powell

This is Part II of a two part post on inspirational songs by R&B artist R Kelly.

This post presents information about & song lyrics of R Kelly's hit song "The World's Greatest". This post also includes a video of R Kelly singing "The World's Greatest" and a video of a children's choir from Tanzania, East Africa singing that song.

Click this link for Part I of that series: http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2013/04/i-believe-i-can-fly-videos-lyrics.html R Kelly's Song - I Believe I Can Fly (Videos & Lyrics)

The content of this post is presented for inspirational, entertainment, and aesthetic purposes.

All copyrights remain with their owners.

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE SONG "THE WORLD'S GREATEST"
From http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_World's_Greatest_(song)
"The World's Greatest" is a song written and recorded by R&B singer R. Kelly. The song was originally featured on the soundtrack to the film Ali...

The song reached number 31 on the Billboard R&B chart.[3] Its music video, which portrayed Kelly as a boxer,[4] was in heavy rotation on channels like MTV and BET. In the UK, it peaked at number four.
-snip-
Heavyweight world champion boxer Muhammad Ali was known for chanting "I am the greatest." A link to a pancccojams post that showcases two Muhammad Ali raps is found in the Related Links section below.

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LYRICS: THE WORLD'S GREATEST
(R Kelly)

Yeah,Uhh...
Uhh...
Yeah..
It's the worlds greatest, Yo,
It's the worlds greatest, Come on,
Worlds Greatest, Ever

I am a mountain
I am a tall tree
Oh, I am a swift wind
Sweepin' the country
I am a river
Down in the valley
Oh, I am a vision
And I can see clearly
If anybody asks u who I am
Just stand up tall look 'em in the face and say

[Chorus]
I'm that star up in the sky
I'm that mountain peak up high
Hey, I made it
I'm the worlds greatest
And I'm that little bit of hope
When my backs against the ropes
I can feel it mmm
I'm the worlds greatest

I am a giant
I am an eagle
I am a lion
Down in the jungle
I am a marchin' band
I am the people
I am a helpin' hand
And I am a hero
If anybody asks u who I am
Just stand up tall look 'em in the face and say

[Chorus]
I'm that star up in the sky
I'm that mountain peak up high
I made it
I'm the worlds greatest
And I'm that little bit of hope
When my backs against the ropes
I can feel it
I'm the worlds greatest

In the ring of life I'll reign love
(I will reign)
And the world will notice a king
(Oh Yeah)
When all is darkest, I'll shine a light
(Shine a light)
And use a success you'll find in me
(Me)

I'm that star up in the sky
I'm that mountain peak up high
Hey, I made it
I'm the world's greatest
And I'm that little bit of hope
When my back's against the ropes
I can feel it
I'm the world's greatest

I'm that star up in the sky
I'm that mountain peak up high
Hey, I made it
I'm the world's greatest
And I'm that little bit of hope
When my back's against the ropes
I can feel it
I'm the world's greatest

I'm that star up in the sky
I'm that mountain peak up high
Hey, I made it
I'm the world's greatest
And I'm that little bit of hope
When my back's against the ropes
I can feel it
I'm the world's greatest

[*]
It's the greatest
Can you feel it
It's the greatest
Can you feel it

[Repeat * while:]
I saw the light
At the end of a tunnel
Believe in the pot of gold
At the end of the rainbow
And faith was right there
To pull me through, yeah
Used to be locked doors
Now I can just walk on through
Hey, uh, hey, hey, hey
It's the greatest
I'm that star up in the sky

I'm that star up in the sky
I'm that mountain peak up high
Hey, I made it
I'm the world's greatest
And I'm that little bit of hope
When my back's against the ropes
I can feel it
I'm the world's greatest
-snip-
Lyrics from http://www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/rkelly/theworldsgreatest.html

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FEATURED VIDEOS

Example #1: R. Kelly - The World's Greatest



RKellyVEVO, Uploaded on Oct 24, 2009

Music video by R. Kelly performing The World's Greatest. (C) 2001 Zomba Recording LLC

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Example #2: Tanzanian Primary Students Performing R. Kelly's "World's Greatest"



ervgotti27,Published on Sep 3, 2012

These kids put their own twist on an R. Kelly classic to perform at their primary school's upcoming graduation.

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RELATED LINK
http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2012/10/two-muhammad-ali-raps-this-is-legend-of.html "Two Muhammad Ali Raps (This Is The Legend Of Cassius Clay & Float Like A Butterfly)"

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENT AND THANKS
Thanks to R Kelly for composing and performing this inspirational song. Thanks to the other featured vocalists and thanks to the producers of these videos and to their publishers on YouTube.

Thanks for visiting pancocojams.

Visitor comments are welcome.

Monday, December 17, 2012

Ugandan Song "Sifuni Mungu" (Information, Videos, & Lyrics)

Edited by Azizi Powell

This post presents information about, videos of, and lyrics for the Christian song "O Sifuni Mungu".

The content of this post is presented for historical, religious, and aesthetic purposes.

All copyrights remain with their owners.

OVERVIEW OF THE SONG "O SIFUNI MUNGU"
"O Sifuni Mungu" is a Christian song with KiSwahili & English lyrics and an uptempo African style tune. "O Sifuni Mungu's" lyrics & music were composed in the mid 1980s by Asukulu 'Yunu Mukalay, David Maddux, Marty McCall, and Mmunga Mwenebulongo Mulongoy, and the song was arranged by Roger Emerson.

"O Sifuni Mungu" is an adaptation of the hymn "All Creatures Of Our God And King" which was composed in the 13th century by St. Francis of Assisi.

One of the composers of "O Sifuni Mungu", Marty McCall is a member of the American Christian accapella trio "First Call" and in the mid 1980s* that White American group was the first to record "O Sifuni Mungu."

The Uganda, East Africa group "African Children's Choir" recorded "O Sifuni Mungu" in the 1980s* and in so doing, greatly popularized that song.

"O Sifuni Mungu" is widely performed by school choral groups and other choral groups in the United States and elsewhere in the world.

The song "O Sifuni Mungu" is often given the English title "All Creatures Of Our God And King". However, the English translation of the KiSwahili words "O Sifuni Mungu" is actually "Praise the Lord".

*I've not been able to identify the exact year that First Call recorded "O Sifuni Mungu". I also don't know the exact year that The African Children's Choir first recorded their very popular version of "O Sifuni Mungu". I'd appreciate any information that readers of this post might have about those dates.

VIDEOS OF O SIFUNI MUNGU
Example #1: Sifuni Mungu (video version) - First Call



interpreter2006,Uploaded on Mar 9, 2007

In 1992 First Call released a pair of videos on vocal styles. One of those videos contained this jazzed-up version of "O Sifuni Mungu." It's simply amazing!
-snip-
From http://kevin_haynes.tripod.com/first_call_page.html
"The group First Call was originally formed in the mid-1980's. It consisted then of Marty McCall, Bonnie Keen, and Melodie (or Mel) Tunney. The three members had done a lot of BGV (background vocals) for Contemporary Christian artists, most notably Sandi Patti. They decided to market themselves as a ready-made vocal group for projects."...
-snip-
Here are two comments from this video's viewer comment thread:
jchard6, 2010
"as a native swahili speaker i find most groups that sing this just slaughter the pronunciation, but these guys are great! awesome job!"

interpreter2006, 2010
"Thanks for commenting! The man you see in the video co-wrote this song with a friend of his who spoke Swahili. I imagine that friend coached these three so that they could pronounce it all correctly! :)"
-snip-
Click http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PFgyF25iyF4 for a sound file with lyrics of First Call's original version of "O Sifuni Mungu".

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Example #2: Teach me to Dance (O'sifuni mungu)



ColtonTheCat, Uploaded on Oct 11, 2009

Watch the Choir in action, singing O'sifuni mungu in front of 2200 people at the Orpheum in Vancouver BC, Canada...
-snip-
The "African Children's Choir" was formed by Ray Barnett in Uganda in 1984. "Teach Me To Dance" is the title of the African Children's Choir's latest Cd & DVD.
From http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/African_Children's_Choir

"The African Children's Choir is a large choir made up of children ages 7 to 12 from several African nations. Since its inception, the choir has included children from Uganda, Kenya, Rwanda, South Africa, Nigeria, and Ghana. Many of the children have lost one or both parents to AIDS and other poverty-related diseases, and all of them are victims of extreme poverty."
-snip-
Click http://www.singers.com/group/African-Childrens-Choir/ for more information about the African Children's Choir and for a Cd list of that group's recordings.

Click http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wpsijxAjQRE for a sound file of the African Children's Choir's first recording of "O Sifuni Mungu".

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LYRICS: O SIFUNI MUNGU
(words and music: Marty McCall, David Maddux, Mmunga Mwenebulongo, and Asukulu 'Yunu Mukalay, an adaptation of "All Creatures Of Our God And King" by St. Francis Assisi)

Viumbe vyote vya mungu wetu
Na mfalme wetu
Viumbe vyote vya mungu wetu
Na mfalme wetu
Pazeni sauti ili nasi mwimbe
Pazeni sauti ili nasi mwimbe
Watu wote
Viumbe vyote
Awaye yote
Sifu mungu
Watu wote
Viumbe vyote
Awaye yote
Sifu mungu
All creatures of our God and King (O sifuni mungu)
Lift up your voice and with us sing (O sifuni mungu)
Thou burning sun with golden beam (imbeni, imbeni)
Thou silver moon with softer gleam (pazeni, sauti, imbeni)
Viumbe vyote vya mungu wetu
Na mfalme wetu
Viumbe vyote vya mungu wetu
Na mfalme wetu
Pazeni sauti ili nasi mwimbe
Pazeni sauti ili nasi mwimbe
All men (Watu wote)
All creatures (Viumbe vyote)
Everybody (Awaye yote)
Praise the Lord (Sifu mungu)
All men (Watu wote)
All creatures (Viumbe vyote)
Everybody (Awaye yote)
Praise the Lord (Sifu mungu)
Thou rushing wind that art so strong (O sifuni mungu)
Ye clouds that sail in heaven along (O sifuni mungu)
Thou rising morn in praise rejoice (imbeni, imbeni)
Ye lights of evening find a voice (Pazeni sauti imbeni)
Viumbe vyote vya mungu wetu
Na mfalme wetu
Viumbe vyote vya mungu wetu
Na mfalme wetu
Pazeni sauti ili nasi mwimbe
Pazeni sauti ili nasi mwimbe
All men (watu wote)
All creatures (viumbe vyote)
Everybody (awaye yote)
Praise the Lord (sifu mungu)
All men (watu wote)
All creatures (viumbe vyote)
Everybody (awaye yote)
Praise the Lord (sifu mungu)
Thou flowing water pure and clear (hm,hm,hm,hm)
Make music for thy Lord to hear! (hm,hm,hm,hm)
Thou fire, so masterful and bright (imbeni!)
That givest man both warmth and light (imbeni)
Viumbe vyote vya mungu wetu
Viumbe vyote vya mungu wetu
Pazeni sauti
Pazeni sauti
Tusifu mungu
Let all things their Creator bless (O sifuni mungu)
And worship Him in humbleness (O sifuni mungu)
Oh praise the Father, praise the Son (imbeni, imbeni)
And praise the Spirit, three in one (pazeni sauti imbeni)
Viumbe vyote vya mungu wetu
Na mfalme wetu
Viumbe vyote vya mungu wetu
Na mfalme wetu
Pazeni sauti ili nasi mwimbe
Pazeni sauti ili nasi mwimbe
All men (watu wote)
All creatures (viumbe vyote)
Everybody (awaye yote)
Praise the Lord (sifu mungu)
All men (watu wote)
All creatures (viumbe vyote)
Everybody (awaye yote)
Praise the Lord (sifu mungu)
O sifuni mungu (imbeni)
O sifuni mungu (imbeni)
O sifuni mungu (imbeni)
Tusifu mungu
O sifuni mungu (imbeni)
O sifuni mungu (imbeni)
O sifuni mungu (imbeni)
Tusifu mungu,
Tusifu mungu,
Tusifu mungu,
Pazeni sauti na wote imbeni
O sifuni mungu!

From http://lyricstranslate.com/en/forum/o-sifuni-mungu posted by Guest, 02/06/2009

RELATED LINKS
Click http://www.cyberhymnal.org/htm/a/c/acoogak.htm for information about and lyrics of the song ""All Creatures Of Our God And King".

Click http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kc6QkhChlEg for a sound file of the song "All Creatures Of Our God And King."

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT AND THANKS
Thanks to the composers & performers of both of these religious songs. Thanks also to all those who I quoted in this post.

Also, thank you for visiting pancocojams.

Viewer comments are welcome.