Soweto Gospel Choir, July 24, 2018
-snip-
Statistics for this video as of March 1, 2021at 6:15 PM ET
Total number of views - 1,400,494
Total number of likes - 12K
Total number of dislikes - 259
Total number of comments -579
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Edited by Azizi Powell
This pancocojams post showcases the official YouTube video "Umbombela" by South Africa's "Soweto Gospel CHoir"..
This post presents information about Soweto Gospel Choir and information about "Umbombela". The lyrics and English translations for this song are also included in this post along with some other commetns from this video's discussion thread.
This content is presented for cultural, inspirational, and aesthetic purposes.
All copyrights remain with their owner.
Thanks to Soweto Gospel Choir for their music. Thanks to the producer of this video and all those who are associated with this video. Thanks to all those who are quoted in this post. Thanks also to the publisher of this video on YouTube.
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INFORMATION ABOUT THIS SOWETO GOSPEL CHOIR AND THEIR PERFORMANCE OF "UMBOMBELA"
Excerpt #1:
From https://blackgrooves.org/soweto-gospel-choir-freedom/
"Title: Freedom
Artist: Soweto Gospel Choir
Label: Shanachie
Formats: CD, Digital
Release Date: September 14, 2018
Described as “meticulous and unstoppable… spirited and secular” by the New York Times, the Soweto Gospel Choir is back with their sixth Shanachie Entertainment album, Freedom. Fittingly, this collection of freedom songs from the Grammy Award and Emmy winning group marks the 100th anniversary of Nelson Mandela’s birth, a figure who signified love, peace, and strength and who has been an inspiration to the choir.
Freedom is a collection of twelve songs sung in six of South Africa’s eleven official languages in addition to English. The album’s first single, “Umbombela” meaning “train song,” addresses the hardships of Black apartheid-era South Africans who were forced to travel long distances as migrant workers."....
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Excerpt #2
From https://worldlisteningpost.com/2019/06/03/soweto-gospel-choir-freedom/
"The Power of Song
The 2018 centennial of Nelson Mandela’s birth delivered an outpouring of tributes and memorial initiatives in the form of education and anti-poverty projects, dialogues, celebrations, exhibitions, films, books, concerts, and an album appropriately titled Freedom. Few major world figures have as extensive a soundtrack attached to their biography as Mandela, from homages written during his imprisonment, to the songs he and fellow inmates sang to keep their spirits up, to the anthems that energized the anti-apartheid movement. The story of the man who became South Africa’s first president elected through universal suffrage has long attracted his country’s leading artists—including Hugh Masekela and Johnny Clegg—and the Soweto Gospel Choir is the ideal ensemble to initiate the second century of his legacy; the group has earned countless honors and also performed on several occasions for Mandela himself. Freedom, the choir’s sixth album, features the broad, lush harmonies that are the foundation of the group’s success. The album’s 12 tracks—a liberation saga performed in Xhosa, Zulu, Sotho and English—evoke struggle, memory and faith. Umbombela (The Train Song) echoes the notorious restrictions that forced black South Africans to travel long distances as migrant workers"...
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LYRICS - UMBOMBELA (Zulu lyrics with English translation)
UMbombela, uMbombela, wenyuku umbombela (The train, the
train, there goes the train)×3
Wenyuku umbombela (There goes the train)
Wenyuka ekuseni (It goes in the morning)
Wenyuka umbombela (There goes the goes)
We baba yangishiya (oh father its leaving me behind)
Shuku shuku ×2 (*its the sound of a train*)
Yangishiya (Its leaving me behind)
Wenyuka wenyuka (It goes it goes)
Wenyuka umbombela (The train goes)
Webaba yangishiya (oh father its leaving me behind)
Musa ukungishiya, mbombela (Don't leave me behind train)
repeat
We baba iyangishiya (oh father its leaving me behind)
-posted in this video's discussion thread by Tholakele Zwane, 2019
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SELECTED COMMENTS FROM THIS VIDEO'S DISCUSSION THREAD
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c-HqO-EojS4&ab_channel=SowetoGospelChoir
Numbers assigned for referencing purposes only.
1. Eddo Nics, 2018
"Someone can translate pls just little bit God bless Soweto
choir"
**
Reply
2. Kgopotso Mothokoa, 2019
"Mbombela is a train, and as such this song is part of an
important body of South African art that is concerned with the challenges and
circumstances of travel. This preoccupation speaks to the difficulties faced by
migrant workers forced to travel long distances to meet the economic and
political demands made by colonial and apartheid era administrations. It speaks
of cross-border trains taking people into exile, and it recognises the pain of
lovers and families left behind.
“Wenyuka umbombela (Here passes Mbombela) Wenyuka ekuseni
(Passes in the morning) Webaba uyandishiya (Leaving me behind)”.
**
Reply
3. Sibusiso Ndimande, 2019
**
Reply
4. Moments To remember, 2019
"This talks about the migrant workers who were coming from
Mozambique, North and south Nyasaland (Rhodesia, Zambia Malawi) Mozambique. Building up this
country. We are one we owe it to all to them, enough respect to their great grand
children who are now coming here for a better life"
**
Reply
5. Princely-Roy Dikuba, 2020
"Thanks for the translation. Sadness and beauty all wrapped
up in one powerful song.As
usual, Soweto Gospel
Choir delivers a touching rendition...AMANDLA!"
**
Reply
6. Officer TNation, 2020
"That explains the Train actions in the dance"
**
7. Anorld Mlotshwa, 2019
"Wenyuka umbombela”speaks about the train that goes early in
morning separating one from their parents.The songwriter bemoans the calamity
of being left alone while the father is gone with the train.Remember in our
African culture a father was a symbol of protection of the family.The train used to be the mode of transport for
the migrant workers in the pre colonial
South Africa.The song writer expresses deep concern of being left behind by the
train somehow making him/her vulnerable to life challenges.This is a highly
metaphorical song typical of an original African genre which speaks and
communicates greater messages faced by Africans during the colonial era...This
piece of art can be cross referenced to the “Shosholoza”song which was
originally sang by the Matebeleland migrant workers( now called Zimbabwe) on
their way to South Africa to work in the mines...The tone of the song is very
befitting the message being conveyed as it expresses deep sadness caused by the
train taking people to exile.One
can easily think that
this is a religious song but it’s not.This was deliberately done to make sure
that the seriousness of the message being communicated reaches the
listenership..."
**
Reply
8. Willem Nangolo, 2019
"I almost dropped a tear after reading this, but then I
remembered that I'm an African young man, we don't cry. Love from Namibia. Many
Oshiwambo speaking families can relate to this me"
**
Reply
9. Moi Me, 2020
"Thank you for this explanation. So touching! I'm quite a
lover of South African music 'coz their songs often convey messages of a deep,
painful history."
**
10. Nkafu Fonkem, 2019
"Song was originally mama Miriam Makeba. (First version i
heard more than ten years ago)Used to listen to her album back in the day from
cameroon 🇨🇲 . I thought it was gospel. Its now
i have read comments and understood the music. Great remastered by Soweto
Gospel Angels. #MbombelaTheMorningTrain"
-snip-
Here's a link to a YouTube sound file of the 1966 recording of Miriam Makeba and Harry Belafonte singing "The Train Song": https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TXAcMI1ROeI&ab_channel=Kaijinhikari
**
11. Norma McGillis, 2019
"OMG!! When the
soloist started singing, I thought I was listening to Miriam again! Absolutely beautiful!"
**
12. Louise Deiving, 2019
"Can I just ask in wich language they are singing? So
beautiful!"
**
Reply
13. silas ndivhuho Serakalala, 2019
"zulu from south africa"
**
Reply
14. Louise Deiving, 2019
"Thanks!"
**
15. Docta Matano, 2019
"I like this song too much. Thanks a lot for the translators. Listening this song, I see myself far away back home. Can you imagine the distance between my RDCongo to Canada? I miss a lot, oh my God!"
**
16. gugas sakandeya, 2020
"Para os da lingua portuguesa e amantes do soweto gospel fiz a questão de investigar o significado da letra.A musica diz o seguinte: Wenyuka umbombela ”fala sobre o trem que sai de manhã cedo separando um dos pais. O compositor lamenta a calamidade de ser deixado sozinho enquanto o pai sai com o trem. Lembre-se de nossa cultura africana que um pai era um símbolo de proteção da O trem costumava ser o meio de transporte para os trabalhadores migrantes na África do Sul pré-colonial. O compositor expressa profunda preocupação de ser deixado para trás pelo trem de alguma forma tornando-o vulnerável aos desafios da vida. música típica de um gênero africano original que fala e comunica maiores mensagens enfrentadas pelos africanos durante a era colonial ... Esta obra de arte pode ser cruzada com a música “Shosholoza”, originalmente cantada pelos trabalhadores migrantes Matebeleland (agora chamado Zimbábue ) a caminho da África do Sul para trabalhar nas minas ... O tom da música é muito adequado à mensagem que está sendo transmitida, pois expressa profunda tristeza causada pelo trem que fala É fácil pensar que se trata de uma música religiosa, mas não é. Isso foi feito deliberadamente para garantir que a seriedade da mensagem que está sendo transmitida chegue ao ouvinte ...
Que mensagem!!
-snip-
Google translate from Portuguese to English:
"For those of the Portuguese language and lovers of gospel soweto, I made a point of investigating the meaning of the lyrics. The composer regrets the calamity of being left alone while his father leaves with the train. Remember our African culture that a father was a symbol of protection from The train used to be the means of transport for migrant workers in pre-colonial South Africa. The composer expresses a deep concern to be left behind by the train in some way making him vulnerable to life's challenges. music typical of an original African genre that speaks and communicates the greatest messages faced by Africans during the colonial era ... This work of art can be crossed with the song “Shosholoza”, originally sung by migrant workers Matebeleland (now called Zimbabwe) on the way from South Africa to work in the mines ... The tone of the song is very suitable for the message being conveyed, as it expresses deep sadness caused by the speaking train It is easy to think that it is religious music, but it is not. This was done deliberately to ensure that the seriousness of the message being conveyed reaches the listener ...
What message!!"
**
17. Mayibongwe Nyathi, 2020
"missing home today and umbombela has been stuck in my head.
take me home stimela. Thank you Soweto Gospel."
-snip-
"stimela" = coal train; "Stimela" is the title of a hit 1974 song by South African musician/singer Hugh Masekela.
**
18. Artists Gallery Media, 2020
"I love to hear such a song like this it's really emotional to me, I'm even running of tears. I love South African singers, they are costume are so beautiful and so colourful I love their traditional way."
**
19. ALFEUS-ALFY LUKOLO, 2021
"Music heals and gives hope,it uplifts the human sprit 🙏...i
just can't get enough of this song.shout out to uncle Charles of Eagles FM
Namibia🇳🇦 for introducing me to this amazing
song on the 30th January 2021 on his
radio show🙏"
****
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