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Background Information
The song we shall be listening to originated in the gold mines on the Witwatersrand and can be classified as a work song.
While the men were working, they sang songs. Working songs helped the workers to forget the boredom of their jobs. For example, they would, while using their pick-axes, sing songs to the rhythm of their action. The rhythm of these songs and the working action form a unit.
STEP 1
Listen to the recording of Shosholoza and imitate the picking action to the rhythm of the music. (Pick with the pick-axe on the first beat).
The words are as follows:
Shosholoza
Ku lezontaba
(You wander around in those mountains)
Stimela si qhamuka e South Africa
(The train is from South Africa)
Wen u ya baleka
Ku lezontaba
(You accelerate in those mountains)
Stimela si qhamuka e South Africa
(The train is from South Africa)
Pay attention to the repetition of the melody and the words!
STEP 2
This song is also an example of the characteristics of the traditional music from Africa. What follows are examples of characteristics of most of the traditional music from Africa.
While listening to the music, make a tick to show which characteristics are present in the song.
| A group of people participate. |
| Only men participate. |
| The singing is often unaccompanied. |
| Call-and-response: solo and group alternate. |
| Sung for a specific occasion : e.g. wedding or worshipping. |
| Is usually accompanied by dance , movement and/or clapping of hands. |
| The music was carried over by word of mouth and no one knows exactly who created it. The words have changed through the years: some of the words were forgotten and people often added their own. |
| The rhythm of the music is often determined by the natural speech rhythm (e.g. the trend to stretch the last syllable of a word leads to the authentic rhythm patterns of Africa). |
| The same melodic pattern is repeated often. |
| The same rhythmical pattern is repeated often. |
| The same words are repeated often. |
STEP 3
Listen to Ladysmith Black Mambazo’s interpretation of the song. Here are the words:
VERSE 1
Shosholoza
Work, work, working in the sun
We will work as one
Shosholoza
Work, work, working in the rain
‘Til there’s sun again
VERSE 2
Shosholoza
Work, work, working in the sun
We will work as one
Shosholoza
Work, work, working in the rain
‘Til there’s sun again
This interpretation was sung for the Springbok rugby team. Why do you think it is a good sport song?
H omework: Find out which other artists also recorded this melody.
Now write your own verse. Bear in mind the repetition.
STEP 1
Background information
Spirituals originated in America. Years ago (before 1865) during the period of slavery, Africans were imported from the West African coast to work as slaves on the plantations. While the slaves worked, they sang work songs that were based on traditional folk music from Africa. These songs were sung to express their personal feelings and to encourage one another.
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