“Shozaloza African Voices”

Bukelwa Velem, Babongile Manga, Miranda Tini, Lusindiso Dubula and Lindile Kula Jr

and Jazz Band:

Albert Combrink (Piano & Musical Director), Darryl Andrews (Bass), Alvyn Dyers (Guitar), Ivan Bell (Drums).


Live Amateur footage from the Oudelibertas Amphitheater Show, Stellenbosch, South Africa, February 2014

To book the Musicians, please contact albertcombrink@gmail.com

Read more about the original show here.

See photos from the shows here.

Members of “Shozaloza African Voices” have taken part in Cape Town Opera productions as soloists and chorus members. Their experience with Jazz influenced works such as Scott Joplin’s Treemonisha, Jerome Kern’s Showboat, Kurt Weil’s Lost in the Stars and Gershwin’s Porgy and Bess make them ideal interpreters of this work from the South African cultural heritage.

Download a Free Pdf of the Sheet Music of the song “SHOZALOZA”:

Shosholoza__SATB_ACappella

More about the song “SHOZALOZA”

Although the original author of the song is unknown, “Shosholoza” is a traditional miner’s song, originally sung by groups of men from the Ndebele ethnic group that travelled by steam train from their homes in Zimbabwe to work in South Africa’s diamond and gold mines. The Ndebele live predominantly in Zimbabwe (formerly, Rhodesia) near its border with South Africa, and they can also be found in the northern border of South Africa. The song mixes Ndebele and Zulu words and is Zimbabwean in origin even though the two ethnic groups are very similar.

Some people argue that the song describes the journey to the mines in South Africa, while others say it describes the return to Zimbabwe. It is also sometimes sung “stimela si phume Rhodesia”. It is accepted that  Zulu workers later took up the song to generate rhythm during group tasks and to alleviate boredom and stress. The song was sung by working miners in time with the rhythm of swinging their axes to dig. It was usually sung under hardship in call and response style (one man singing a solo line and the rest of the group responding by copying him). It was also sung by prisoners in call and response style using alto, soprano part divided by row. Former South African President Nelson Mandela describes how he sang Shosholoza as he worked during his imprisonment on Robben Island. He describes it as “a song that compares the apartheid struggle to the motion of an oncoming train” and goes on to explain that “the singing made the work lighter”.

In contemporary times, it is used in varied contexts in South Africa to show solidarity in sporting events and other national events to relay the message that the players are not alone and are part of a team.

 

Meaning

The song was usually sung to express the hardship of working in the mines. It expresses heartache over the hard work performed in the mines. The word Shosholoza or “chocholoza!” means go forward or make way for the next man, in Ndebele. It is used as a term of encouragement and hope for the workers as a sign of solidarity. The sound “sho sho” uses onomatopoeia and reminiscent of the sound made by the steam train (stimela). Stimela is the Zulu word for steam train.”Kulezo ntaba!” means (At those far away mountains), “Stimela Siphume eZimbabwe” (the train come from Zimbabwe), “Wen´ uya baleka” (Because you’re running away/hurrying). In contemporary times, its meaning is to show support for any struggle.

Lyrics

Lyrics Shosholoza

Shosholoza, shosholoza (Moving fast, moving strong)
Ku lezontaba (Through those mountains)
Stimela sphuma eSouth Africa (Train from South Africa)
Wenu yabaleka (You are leaving)
Wenu yabaleka (You are leaving)
Ku lezontaba (Through those mountains)
Stimela siphum’ eSouth Africa (Train from South Africa) 

The lyrics of the song vary, as do the transcriptions. In the older traditional styles, the words translate to “train from Rhodesia”.

Shosholoza
Kulezo ntaba
Stimela siphume South Africa
Kulezo ntaba
Stimela siphume South Africa
Wen’ uyabaleka
Kulezo ntaba
Stimela siphume South Africa

A rough translation:

Go forward
Go forward
from those mountains
on this train from South Africa
Go forward
Go forward
You are running away
You are running away
from those mountainson this train from Zimbabwe

One slightly sanitised version made popular at sporting events, goes like this:

English Translation of “Shoshaloza”:
Work, work, working in the sun
We will work as one
Shosholoza
Work, work, working in the rain
Till there’s sun again
Shosholoza
Push, push pushing on and on
There’s much to be done
Shosholoza
Push, push, pushing in the sun
We will push as one.
” Shosholoza is now a traditional staple in South Africa, and is celebrated by many cultures within the Rainbow Nation. When writing to a close friend in Cape Town about his thoughts on Shosholoza, and the significance of it to him as a young adult, he said,It fills me with a lot of pride in South Africa and in my lifetime has helped me to connect with my own sense of what it is to be from here. I remember my first experiences of it being during the 1995 world cup and that it was something black and white people sang together. Unity.-Edward O’Reilly, age 24. Firelight Foundation