Update: Rest In Piece Ray Phiri
There's this song. It's kind of old. I used to hear it as a child and not think much of it. But now I've grown and I love this song so much. I decided to look for the lyrics on the internet today, and couldn't find them anywhere. (Probably because its a South African song; and also because it was released more than 20 years ago, I think). Whenever I listened to the song now I could hear and understand most of the words, but was still interested in filling in the pieces of what sounded like a story within the lyrics. So I decided to listen carefully to every word and try writing out the lyrics myself. Even though parts of what I came up with are surely inaccurate, I was able to understand the song a bit more now that I was reading out what (I believe) was being sung. If my dad or uncles are reading this, feel free to correct the lyrics if you hear them differently. Here’s what I came up with:
Stimela - ‘Siyaya Phambili’
I woke up screaming one winter night, It must have been a terrible dream/ As soon as I, I turned on the light, I realized what it could’ve been/
It must have been a ghost, Aph’ amadlhozi?/ Or it be my imagination running away with me/ A silent voice at the back of my mind:/
"Do you know what you’re doing? Do you know why you’re doing it?"/
"Do you understand everything about it but hunger, hunger? Suffer, suffer?"/
"Desperation gives you more room for doubt"/
Siyaya, siyaya phambili, (More room for doubt)/
For me and my family, there’s only one way to go/ The road could be tough and muddy, Heaven knows we are going/
We need to help ourselves bring peace to the world, Heaven only knows we are going/
(Oh siyaya), Siyaya, siyaya phambili/
Siyaya, siyaya phambili, (The only way to go)/
Siyaya, siyaya phambili, (We need peace, harmony)/
Siyaya, siyaya phambili, (Siyaya)/ Siyaya, siyaya phambili/
"Do you know what you’re doing? Do you know why you’re doing it?"/
"Do you understand everything about it but hunger, hunger? Suffer, suffer?"/
"Hunger, hunger? Suffer, suffer?"/
"Desperation gives you more room for doubt"/
Siyaya, siyaya phambili, (I said, I woke up screaming one winter night)/
It must have been a terrible dream, As soon as I, I turned on the light/
I realized what it could’ve been, A silent voice at the back of my mind/
Siyaya, siyaya phambili, (A silent voice at the back of my mind)/
"Do you know what you’re doing? Do you know why you’re doing it?"/
"Do you understand everything about it but hunger, hunger? Suffer, suffer?"/
"Hunger, hunger? Suffer, suffer?"/
"Desperation gives you more room for doubt"/
Siyaya, siyaya phambili, (Oh siyaya)/
Siyaya, siyaya phambili, (Siyaya, siyaya phambili)
_________________________________________
What I got from the above lyrics is that this song is driven by two opposite themes: the first being ‘fear’. This theme represents the depressive insecurities of a person who is in fear of failing himself and his people. This becomes evident in the beginning of the song when this depression spills into his dreams, turning them into haunting nightmares. This is a person who is haunted by the possibility of not amounting to anything significant because all he and his people know is suffering, pain, and hunger. This same protagonist of the story literally screams in agony and fear (as if he had seen a ghost); only to have a “silent voice at the back of his mind” (his conscience maybe?) remind him to be strong, and to carry on with his journey. The destination of this journey could be interpreted as peace, harmony and/or financial wealth. This is evident from the line ‘For me and my family’. The protagonist signifies that he has a responsibility to work hard to provide for his loved ones; or at least motivate his family members to help in changing the conditions of the community. Because of the era that this song was released in, it could be easy to assume that the writer(s)was inspired by the harsh conditions of poverty-stricken South Africa. I imagine that this song was released somewhere between the late ’80s and early ’90s. This “pain”, “hunger” and “suffering” is likely the immediate, permanent results of apartheid.
Which brings me to the alternative theme of the song: ‘hope’. The song is called Siyaya Phambili, which when translated simply means ‘we are moving forward’. After listening to the words that he heard ringing in his head after his nightmarish ordeal at the beginning of the story, the protagonist is now hopeful that there will be a better day. He has broke free from the fearful, depressive mindstate that woke him up screaming in the middle of the night in the first place. This change of mood in the song is espescially prevalent when the storyteller shows signs ofconfidence and belief by stating that “The road could be tough and muddy, Heaven knows we are going/ We need to help ourselves bring peace to the world”.Its as if he is reassuring himself that this journey may bring pain and suffering along the way for him and his family. The voice in his head asked “Do you understand everything about it but hunger, hunger? Suffer, suffer?”, which I interpreted as his conscience asking him if he had forgotten about the ‘hardships’ and ‘suffering’ that come with such a journey.
Ofcourse this is my interpretation of the lyrics and so it might differ to whoever else’s version of what the story actually means.
I guess we all relate to the story above one way or another. The actual music of the song is what I was interested in initially, but only now that I’ve actually paid attention to what is being said do I respect the lyrical aspect of it too. What a masterpiece.
Salute to Stimela, and the many other South African musical heroes of past-time like Sankomota, Blondie Makhene, Brenda Fassie, Miriam Makeba, etc.; who mastered the art of conveying poignant messages that helped our country through the toughest of times.
P.S: We need a website that has lyrics to all South African songs; both old and new.
