Shoooooosholoza...

Jess writes:

In the spirit of the upcoming World Cup games and to do my part for “Ayoba” (the South African “spirit” of hosting the World Cup), I wanted to include the most common sporting events song in the country, “Shosholoza”. This is a Zulu song with, not surprisingly, a rather sad history…

The song was first sung by miners during the gold and diamond rush in South Africa, when mostly whites (Afrikaaners and British) were put in charge of running the mines and mostly blacks (native Africans) were used for labor. In order to cover such a large area of minerals, however, those in charge of the South African mines began sending trains to the northern bordering countries (Mozambique, Zimbabwe, et all) in order to import their needed workers. “Shosholoza” became a worker’s song, much the way field songs of the Southern American slaves were born.

Nevertheless, nowadays the song is a truly proud tune, signifying the endurance of the black spirit. Thus, it is commonly sung to support the endurance of the many South African sports teams, specifically running and soccer. I wanted to include the song in our blog because it has played such a large role in our training (we sing this with staff) and our community integration (this song seems to unite even the most unlikely candidates – i.e., brand new volunteers – with our host families and friends). However, to truly appreciate the song, I highly suggest searching the tune on YouTube – the melody is really unbelievably beautiful:

Shosholoza (Go on now)
Shosholoza kulezantaba (Go now to the mountains)
Stimela sphum eSouth Africa (Here comes the train from S.A.)
Wen’uyabaleka (Run away now)
Wen’uyabaleka kulezantaba (Run away to the mountains)
Stimela sphum eSouth Africa (Here comes the train from S.A.)

Before I forget… I remember humming this song one of our first nights in South Africa, at the training college, and wondering where I got the tune from (I’m sure it was sung by the LCFs and other staff on one of our first meetings). But this song has since been one of my favorites here; its sound is addictive and the way in which it is sung, especially by the South Africans, somehow seems to embody something –
I’m not quite sure what it is – that I really appreciate about this place and these people.

I’m sorry that everyone can’t hear it the way we have heard it, in its spontaneous and resounding character, but at least I can share it somehow. I hope you enjoy it as we have!