This song inspires an incredible pride in South Africans …
Many of whom remember the track from the opening ceremony at the 2010 FIFA World Cup,
when Vusi ‘The Voice’ Mahlasela performed ”Say Africa” in front of a home crowd that was standing tall, hearts beating in unison with unbridled patriotism.
SAY AFRICA LYRICS (written by Dave Goldblum)
We crossed Zimbabwe’s border, flew over the dry fields of my homeland
Coming into Joburg, the Sandton swimming pools and the Soweto shacks
Airpots and railway stations, stranded with a rucksack and guitar
The languages and the places change, and the sky has different stars
And I may be walking in the streets of a city called Amsterdam / London
But the dust on my boots and the rhythm of my feet and my heart beat
Say Africa
Sticks and stones and UN loans and passport controls
For countries that don’t exist
It’s a big world they have their own problems everyone
But there’s gold in that clenched fist
Chorus
People ask you where you’re from, you say Ibhayi (large township near Port Elizabeth)
You know, where Steve Biko died
But people have been dying there for a long, long time
No books or films for them, I wonder why