Shosholoza
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Shosholoza is a traditional Southern African folk song.
The Zulu word Shosholoza means go forward or make way for the next man, and is also reminiscent of the sound made by the steam train (stimela) described in the song. The song was traditionally sung by all-male work gangs in a call-and-response style. It has been recorded by a variety of artists, including Ladysmith Black Mambazo, PJ Powers and Peter Gabriel, as well as being a standard of most gumboots bands. The song gained further popularity after South Africa won the Rugby World Cup in 1995, and is something of a "second national anthem" in South Africa.
The lyrics differ from recording to recording, as do the transcriptions. Here is one example:
- Shosholoza
- Ku lezontaba
- Stimela siphum' eSouth Africa
- Wen' uyabaleka
- Wen' uyabaleka
- Ku lezontaba
- Stimela siphum' eSouth Africa
A rough translation:
- Move fast
- on those mountains
- train from South Africa.
- You are running away
- on those mountains
- train from South Africa.
The original version of this song has the country name "Rhodesia" instead of "South Africa", since this song was sung by migrant labourers from Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe) travelling on the train down to the mines in the Transvaal.
Shosholoza is also the name of the South African yacht in the America's Cup Challenge in 2007.
