I'm an Indian. However, I've always felt a deep love for Africa, and the values it stands for. I understand that it is one of the cradles of humanity. I also believe that, if united... Africa can eclipse the rest of the world in every sense. God bless you Africa.
I had to laugh where she has to explain, "it isn't a noise, it's my language!" I most definitely add this woman to the list of people I wish I had met at least once. May she be resting, this day, in the Peace that passes all understanding.
i love this lady ...my dad use to know through the fight against apartheid....and we have an LP signed by her....I have asked my dad to have her at my wedding and he promised he would try his best..hahahh...i love miriam and my dad..she was in sarafina and another movie..i thinks she is AMAZING..she has a sad story...long live south african music.
This is great. I'm glad she was allowed back to S.Africa after so many years in excile. We are studying this music in relation to Jazz at Penn State University.
I know what you mean. When I think of "grace under fire" I think of her. Just a dynamic nature packed into such gentleness. You watch her on stage and you'd never think she's a political activist. So admirable!
I regret not knowing more about her before.Until last night, with the obituary in the New York Times' site,she was one of the best memories of my childhood:the PataPata and a toy sold to dance with it(a plastic ball in the extreme of a plastic cord around one ankle like a surfboard is tied to a surfer)You had to make it turn around your ankle while jumping with the other foot.Very funny and made you do a lot of exercise.Maybe I should give it a try again after... 40 years!
Hey Rayner JM. Like you, I am the son of exiles from the days of apartheid...and very proud of it. I grew up listening to Miriam Makeba , Lemmy Special Mabaso and their contemporaries. This is no noise, this is poetry of the soul. To discuss linguistics is to miss the point. She was and is Mama Africa, and she will be missed always. Thank you for this.
While I was in South Africa last year, My friends tried to teach me the words and I had a hard time with some of them. I find it an amazing language and something I might be interested in pursuing if I move back there to stay.
This .. along with "Pata Pata" are 2 of the earliest songs I remember as a child... she was not only a great artist.. but a musical and cultural ambassador... in a turbulent time of cultural intolerance.. R.I.P. .....
@ RaynerJM Thanks for posting. Brings back strong youth memories. Feeling downcast, until MM unexpectedly sounded out of the radio, what joy, strength and hope she radiated!
Thank´s for my mother meet good music. Gracias a mi madre conosco buena musica y esto es algo de lo que ella me mostro tengo 38 años y una gran colección de musica 50 000 cd y Lp´s asi como Ksts, y claro no falta la Piracoteca Nacional, Saludos desde México al mundo entero PRIMERO PAZ Y LUEGO PAS, OK
She explains (and breaks!) language barriers. And the song is pretty, too. I tried the clicking and failed! :-) My sympathy for Mrs Makeba's family, friends and relative
It clearly states that: "All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood." Tsamaya sentle!
She explains it all here...The Nguni languages from southern Africa have click sounds.which have the same status as vowels or consonants. Xhosa (in which this song is sung) has 4 basic clicks. The song mostly uses the bilateral click (written with the letter "q")
It's always refreshing to see how the Blacks have progressed from primitive music. When we met them they were still on the pentatonic scale i.e. only 5 notes in the octave. If they started in the key of C they only had C, D, E, G and A, that was it. Yet in this song I hear overlaid on the primitive constructs a Western-style bridge, a relative second chord, and the notes F and F#. Good.
A gentlewoman, indeed...but when she so calmly explained why the colonizers of her country called this the "Click Song", it spoke VOLUMES! I loved it. I love her.
Well most native English speakers dont see it that way; most English speakers think English is one of the most difficult languages in the worldI cant say I agree with that, but it is a common view among Anglophones, we are proud of our language just like any other language group.
If you speak any of the cousin Bantu language, Kikongo, or Kiluba or know someone from Tanzania who speaks Kigogo from Tanzania, a sister language of Kiswahili (in fact half the languages of Tanzania are its sister languages) many , you would see that the GRAMMAR, STRUCTURE, and for the Tanzania 100 percent AFRICAN languages, almost all the vocabulary is the same...
The only language in the world that contains these clicks. Arabic had four sounds which, to English-speakers, all sound like "D". I can't tell them apart. Japanese doesn't use the "th" sound, and I've heard more than one Japanese person say "sank you!" But these clicks are found NO WHERE else. It is truly fascinating.
I'm an Indian. However, I've always felt a deep love for Africa, and the values it stands for. I understand that it is one of the cradles of humanity. I also believe that, if united... Africa can eclipse the rest of the world in every sense.
God bless you Africa.
I had to laugh where she has to explain, "it isn't a noise, it's my language!"
I most definitely add this woman to the list of people I wish I had met at least once.
May she be resting, this day, in the Peace that passes all understanding.
what a gentle woman! I remember listening to her songs when I was only a little girl. My mom is such a big fan.
i love this lady ...my dad use to know through the fight against apartheid....and we have an LP signed by her....I have asked my dad to have her at my wedding and he promised he would try his best..hahahh...i love miriam and my dad..she was in sarafina and another movie..i thinks she is AMAZING..she has a sad story...long live south african music.
this language is amazing and how they make these clicks without even a hesitate in a sentence is just some thing i find amazing
What a beautiful song in a beautiful language...May Xhosa never be lost!
Her humility and grace will shine forever.
what a lovely language..soo unique.I want to learn it
That was an special woman beyond her time. Thank you Miriam wherever you are for the light you shined over our souls.
This is great. I'm glad she was allowed back to S.Africa after so many years in excile. We are studying this music in relation to Jazz at Penn State University.
I know what you mean. When I think of "grace under fire" I think of her. Just a dynamic nature packed into such gentleness. You watch her on stage and you'd never think she's a political activist. So admirable!
This women is a legend in my country ( South Africa ). I hear people speak like this on a daily basis
This really should be a contender for best song ever!
My grandparents met her when they lived in South Africa many many years ago. She seems (seemed :/ ) like one awesome individual.. Such a song ^_^
wow!! wonderful reminds me of when I was a child in Africa, long live her music and memory! rest in peace mama AFRICA!
Baie dankie ms makeba, not the same without you...
I regret not knowing more about her before.Until last night, with the obituary in the New York Times' site,she was one of the best memories of my childhood:the PataPata and a toy sold to dance with it(a plastic ball in the extreme of a plastic cord around one ankle like a surfboard is tied to a surfer)You had to make it turn around your ankle while jumping with the other foot.Very funny and made you do a lot of exercise.Maybe I should give it a try again after... 40 years!
I remember singing this song in a show in grade 1 back when I lived in South Aftrica. Man...now I'm nostalgic AND homesick.
The world is a much better place for having had Miriam Makeba as part of it. Rest in peace, Mama Africa.
R.I.P. You were a Great woman Myriam
she was just such a beautiful person.
l'etre humain et sa culture merite le respect des autres pour un monde meilleur
merci miriam makeba
great . great great.
R.I.P MARIAM MAKEBA.
Hey Rayner JM. Like you, I am the son of exiles from the days of apartheid...and very proud of it. I grew up listening to Miriam Makeba , Lemmy Special Mabaso and their contemporaries.
This is no noise, this is poetry of the soul. To discuss linguistics is to miss the point.
She was and is Mama Africa, and she will be missed always.
Thank you for this.
I have loved this song since I was little, even though I would break my uqhoqhoqho trying to speak Xhosa!
What a charming woman!
this is so awsome :]
this guy came to my school from south africa and he could speak this language and he sang us this song :]
it was so cool
AMAZING!
While I was in South Africa last year, My friends tried to teach me the words and I had a hard time with some of them. I find it an amazing language and something I might be interested in pursuing if I move back there to stay.
Linda Miriam!....linda....
Wow! Fantastic!
What a sweet person, sweet language, sweet song...
Still missing Mama Africa.
Wonderful!
What a beautiful sweet soul. My feet dance all by themselves when i hear her sing! Blessings to her.
This is a wonderful thing
RIP Miriam!!
Viva Miriam Viva
Aw...this was awesome! ~Mimi~
I have a CD with this song... of 1961... forever good, cute, young. 5 stars
This .. along with "Pata Pata" are 2 of the earliest songs I remember as a child... she was not only a great artist.. but a musical and cultural ambassador... in a turbulent time of cultural intolerance.. R.I.P. .....
I could listen to this song all day. It's so amazing.
good to see and hear her. Miriam Makeba is superb.I love her
A beautiful people!
She certainly has a gift for disarming and reassuring the fearful
Isn't she lovely??
Wonderwoman!
I love the way she stand there, what a personality!
Love her voice and this song to!
Igqirha lendlela nguqongqothwane. Gone are those days. Lala kahle Mama Afrika
love her cheekbones!
@ RaynerJM
Thanks for posting.
Brings back strong youth memories.
Feeling downcast, until MM unexpectedly sounded out of the radio, what joy, strength and hope she radiated!
Miriam Makeba is an amazing person
Thank you, Rayner JM, for uploading this version of the Click Song.
I enjoy the song and especially her explaning her language.
Wonderful !
rip sweet sistah..your music will live onn
COOLEST SONG EVER!!!
love you MAma Africa
fantastic language and music!
Thanx for posting this video, mama afrika we miss you
what a lovely performance!may she rest in peace.condolences to her friends & family.
How true.
Thank´s for my mother meet good music.
Gracias a mi madre conosco buena musica y esto es algo de lo que ella me mostro tengo 38 años y una gran colección de musica 50 000 cd y Lp´s asi como Ksts, y claro no falta la Piracoteca Nacional, Saludos desde México al mundo entero PRIMERO PAZ Y LUEGO PAS, OK
RIP the world of music has lost yet another great personality and singer :(
She explains (and breaks!) language barriers.
And the song is pretty, too. I tried the clicking and failed! :-)
My sympathy for Mrs Makeba's family, friends and relative
Very nice vid, I found it quite entertaining.
I feel homesick
It's beautiful seeing fellow africans being so proud of their culture. R.I.P Mama Afrika! :(
This is a fantastic song! Such a great language that Xhosa. :-)
It clearly states that: "All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood."
Tsamaya sentle!
that sounds so cool!
Hamba kahle mama Africa!
XOOL!
wow
awesome
wow thats has to be one of the coolest languages i ever heard
she's very cool
qué increíble
Baddd sista !!!
She explains it all here...The Nguni languages from southern Africa have click sounds.which have the same status as vowels or consonants. Xhosa (in which this song is sung) has 4 basic clicks. The song mostly uses the bilateral click (written with the letter "q")
Lala kahle Gogo Miriam siyohlala sikukhumbula!
nice
mmm ...hey i just wandered up on this and it sounds real good
YEEEEAH!
wow
It's always refreshing to see how the Blacks have progressed from primitive music. When we met them they were still on the pentatonic scale i.e. only 5 notes in the octave. If they started in the key of C they only had C, D, E, G and A, that was it. Yet in this song I hear overlaid on the primitive constructs a Western-style bridge, a relative second chord, and the notes F and F#. Good.
ther will never be any woman like meriam makeba
!xobile!!!
A gentlewoman, indeed...but when she so calmly explained why the colonizers of her country called this the "Click Song", it spoke VOLUMES! I loved it. I love her.
Her charm, her talent and her humility make her a star. Those who write their bigotted comments say more about themselves than about Makeba.
rip mama
Mioni (2001) quotes her works in his manual of phonetics and I found them absolutely brilliant and interesting
LOL...I have actually heard this language spoken in real life...when I was in South Africa!
now i'm gonna say "MOM! make me some scrambled iqandas !!" she's gonna be like "some WHATs ?? O_o" XD
Well most native English speakers dont see it that way; most English speakers think English is one of the most difficult languages in the worldI cant say I agree with that, but it is a common view among Anglophones, we are proud of our language just like any other language group.
WHAT??? SHE PASSED AWAY just on 9 November and I didn't know that? OMG, this is sad. :(
If you speak any of the cousin Bantu language, Kikongo, or Kiluba or know someone from Tanzania who speaks Kigogo from Tanzania, a sister language of Kiswahili (in fact half the languages of Tanzania are its sister languages) many , you would see that the GRAMMAR, STRUCTURE, and for the Tanzania 100 percent AFRICAN languages, almost all the vocabulary is the same...
Reminds me of Russell Peters saying "My name is !xobile"
The only language in the world that contains these clicks.
Arabic had four sounds which, to English-speakers, all sound like "D". I can't tell them apart.
Japanese doesn't use the "th" sound, and I've heard more than one Japanese person say "sank you!"
But these clicks are found NO WHERE else. It is truly fascinating.
Yebo, amacofu amaXhosa
Ndiathanda isiXhosa
Rip
lala uphumule mama africa.
Nice :) khayav sent me here. He threatened to visit me in my dreams and sing to me if I didn't come watch.
...how?? just her name?? that's awesome!