Third World Child
Savuka's first Album, from
1987
Track listing:
1. Are you ready?
2. Asimbonanga
3. Giyani (Some listings misspell this track as Giyana)
4. Scatterlings of Africa
5. Great Heart
6. Missing
7. Ring on her finger
8. Third World Child
9. Berlin Wall
10. Don't Walk Away
Eco says: Some early U.S. copies of Third World Child lack Scatterlings of Africa (probably due to its being on the Rain Man soundtrack). In its place is something called Gumba Gumba Jive.
The bulk of the lyrics to Third world child have been removed for copyright reasons, but the english parts are quite intelligible. The verse sung by the women is as follows:
Wo! Ilanga lobunzima
Nalo liyashona
Ukuthini asazi
Wo! Ilanga lobunzima
Nalo liyashona
Mus' ukukhala
Mntanami
Wo! Ilanga lobunzima
Nalo liyashona
Ukuthini asazi
(Oh! We don't know when this sun of hardship will set. Don't cry, my child.)
The more I listen to
Johnny Clegg's
music, with
Juluka and with
Savuka, I realise that his music is openly
didactic underneath the strong images and compelling melodies.
This song caries a strong feel of folky, traditional mbaqanga riffs merging into a hard-rocking chant after the Zulu bridging verse. It is debatable where culture ends and politics begins. But anyway I was a teenager, and it gave me an excuse to rock out and think that I was opposing the the system at the same time. To me this is one of the most relevant of Clegg's lovesongs to Africa, as it is so defiantly modern. It dwells almost entirely in the present and future, not in the past.