Almost two years ago the FIFA World Cup was held in South Africa. the official song for the World Cup was “Waka Waka” by Shakira. the title “Waka Waka” means “this time for Africa”. she is a perfect example of how artists incorporate elements of African Music into their own. she wrote the song in English and also in Spanish (Waka Waka (Esto es Ãfrica). to honor the hosts of the FIFA Football World Cup, Shakira worked with an apparently very popular South African group, Freshly Ground. the roots of the song are in a dialect called Cameroonian, which is very prevalently spoken in South Africa. the chorus of the song is borrowed from a huge 1986 hit called “Zangaléwa” by amakossa group called Golden Sounds.
The original song has these lyrics:
Zaminamina oh ohWaka waka eh ehZaminamina zangalewaAnawam ah ah
youtube.com/watch?v=-f5Jv2II7Xo
Golden Sounds was made up of members of the Presidential Guard. In their videos and concerts they would wear funny costumes and make up, including pillows to accentuate their butts and bellies, which was apparently a stab at the army general “fat cats” who collaborated with the white colonialists to enrich themselves. the argument goes that “Za engalomwa” in the Fang language means “Who sent you?” and this is the refrain of a Cameroonian soldier to his fellow troops. the term Zangaléwa has also come from an expression in Ewondo: “Loé wa za anga?“ translated as “Who called you?” since Cameroon is multilingual and not all the soldiers could speak Ewondo, it is likely that over time the term wa za anga Loé became the Zangaléwa that we know today in a form of pidgin language corruption. I found it really interesting when I read about this in an article I found about the original song because I had my best friend (who is from South Africa) translate the lyrics of “Waka Waka” for me and when I saw that she translated it to “Come, Come, who asked you to come” I thought that maybe she made a mistake but it turns out that those are what the lyrics actually mean. It seems as though South Africa is saying that they don’t want the world cup there but by the end of the song they are saying that they asked everybody to come because it is Africa.
Shakira did an amazing job at incorporating South African elements into her music. Not only did she tie in a lot of African rythems but she recorded and wrote the song with a South African group. Another thing that I found interesting is that the media says that the South African group Freshly Ground is very popular in South Africa and almost everybody listens to them. When I asked my friend from Cape Town (South Africa) about them she informed me that she had never heard of them until the World Cup. she said that “Africans listen to African music. White citizens listen to American and European music.” This definitely shows the separation between race in the country which can reflect on the political issues of Southern African we discussed in class.
The song was officially chosen as the anthem of FIFA World Cup 2010. Shakira stated that “I am honored that ‘Waka Waka (This Time for Africa)’ was chosen to be part of the excitement and the legacy of the 2010 FIFA World Cup. the FIFA World Cup is a miracle of global excitement, connecting every country, race, religion and condition around a single passion. It represents an event that has the power to unite and integrate, and that is what this song is about.” Shakira continued, “African music is so inspiring and is poised to take its place on the global pop culture stage. I was proud to be able to work with one of South Africa’s most acclaimed groups, Freshly Ground.In response to working with Shakira, Zolani Mahola of Freshly Ground said that “We are thrilled to have collaborated with Shakira on ‘Waka Waka (This Time for Africa), especially as we feel that the song captures the spirit and energy of the African World Cup. We are certain the song will inspire people around the world to celebrate the gathering of nations at the place where it all started. here in Africa!”One final thought deals with the song lyrics translated from Cameroon to English. It is humorous to me because my friend always says “eh” after every question she asks and constantly says “come, come”. these lyrics are repeated throughout the entire chorus which shows first hand that Shakira did her research on common South African dialect when writing the song.
English version for Allie
Come, come (This is Africa)
youtube.com/watch?v=pRpeEdMmmQ0
The moment has arrived, the walls fallit’s going to start, the one fair gamethe kick doesn’t hurt, fear doesn’t existdust yourself off, stand up and get back in the ringAnd the pressure is feltYour people wait for youNow lets go for allAnd luck is with youCome, come, who asked you to come‘cause this is AfricaCome, come eh, ehDo it, do it, eh, ehCome, Come, who asked you to come‘cause this is AfricaListen to your God and you wont be aloneYou came here to shine and have it allThis hour is approaching, this is the momentYou’re going to win every battle, I feel itYou must start at zeroTo touch the skyNow lets go for allAnd lets all go for themCome, come, who asked you to come‘cause this is AfricaCome, come, eh, ehDo it, do it, eh, ehCome, come, who asked you to comeI did, yeah!Teams are back to defend their countryFrom a to ZThey eliminate the other teams to defend their countryFrom East to WestAs they say:Come, come, eh, ehCome, come, eh, ehAll countries must come back‘cause this is Africa!(Come, come, me, yeah)Come, come, eh, ehDo it, do it, eh, ehCome, come, who asked you to come‘cause this is AfricaWaiting eh, ehWaiting, eh, ehCome, come, who asked you to comeI did, yea‘cause this is Africa‘cause this is AfricaWorks CitedDe Grandhomme, Stacey. “”Waka Waka”" Interview. Farmville, VA. 14 Feb. 2012. Transcript.
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