Having a title that translates as ‘The darkness is coming to get you’ is probably not the best way to advertise a song. I mean who wants to be taken by darkness. But when you add Valiant Swart to the promotional package, you have to say, ‘well we should at least give it a try because Valiant is a class act.’ Furthermore, the track is off the ‘Deur Die Donker Vallei’, an album about which the great Koos Kombuis once said that it was the greatest Afrikaans album ever made.
So put aside your fears. All this talk of darkness coming to get you and going through dark valleys with a guy whose surname translates as black is not something to be afraid of. Despite all this darkness, ‘Die Donker Kom Jou Haal’ is blues and blues of the highest order. From the very first guitar note you are sucked into a desolate landscape with vast blue skies, wide open desert spaces and a dizzying sense of being very alive. Albert Frost’s laid back guitar swirls with Schalk Joubert’s bass in a dust devil created by Simon ‘Agent’ Orange’s Hammond organ. It is atmospheric music that is there to comfort while Valiant’s voice tells of nightmares and darkness. It has a sense of being lost is a hell-ish place, yet strangely being at ease with this because the music keeps you safe.
There is space in this song, there is comfort, there is darkness, there is bittersweetness. It is scary yet life-affirming. It is a song that touches the core of your soul and makes you wonder how beauty can be almost painful. You want to immerse yourself in it and never come out. It is arguably the best Afrikaans blues song every recorded (although Valiant’s ‘Die Mystic Boer’ does give it a good run for its money).
Where to find it: Deur Die Donker Vallei – Valiant Swart (2002), Rhythm Records, SWART004
A thousand miles is a long way. To put this in perspective, Johannesburg is about 785 miles from Cape Town. To go a thousand miles you’re talking about a trip from Polokwane to Cape Town. By Air that is about a 2 and a half hour flight (if you can get a direct one). By car it would be (depending on how you drive) about 16 hours travel (without stops). However, if you have this song as company for you on the road, then the journey would not be that bad.
This is a song of longing for a loved one who is far away and was probably written by Valiant when he was touring and missing his baby. It is possible that he was performing in Polokwane and wishing he was “by my baby in my Khaya in die Kaap”. The melancholy that he feels being alone on the road transmutes into this song of aching blues.
But it is not all despair as he find solace in singing “songs van die sterre en die maan” and he admits “dan vergeet ek so bietjie van jou”. Now a woman waiting for her man back home may not like to hear that she is forgotten, so Valiant goes on to tell her what happens after singing the songs which have made him feel a bit better – “Maar dan gaan ek af/en gaan uit in die strate/en ek mis jou”. It would take a hard woman not to be moved by this.
‘Duisand Myl Blues’ find Valiant in a melancholic mood, singing to a muted, strummed guitar. His voice conveys his longing for his baby and lyrically, these are words straight from the heart. They will strike a chord with anyone who has every missed their loved one.
Where to find it:
Deur Die Donker Vallei – Valiant Swart (2002), Rhythm Records, SWART004
In 2002, after having given us 3 albums (‘Dorpstraat Revisited’, ‘Die Mystic Boer’ and ‘Kopskoot’) a live album (‘Voetstoets’) and an EP (‘Roekeloos’) all of high quality music, one could have been forgiven for thinking that perhaps Valiant Swart was due a dud one. But instead he gave us arguably his best album…ever in ‘Deur Die Donker Vallei’. It is an album chock full of great tunes and they don’t come much better than ‘Gange Van Bablylon’. But what are the gange van Bablyon?
Perhaps a quick Biblical lesson is necessary here. In Old Testament times, the Jewish nation was forced into exile in Babylon, one of the major powers of the day. So the song is about being transported back in time to be exiled in an ancient city, right? Well no, not really. Babylon is said to be derived from the Hebrew word for ‘confusion’, so it may be about being a bit deurmekaar. Maybe. A closer look at the lyrics suggests that it could be about the upheaval and violence in the country post the collapse of apartheid.
Whatever the subject matter, it’s safe to say that the song is a smooth blues ride. There’s a steady rhythm courtesy of Vernon Swart on drums and Schalk Joubert on bass, which is supplemented by one of the finest blues guitarists south of the Limpopo – Albert Frost. Valiant himself, apart from singing, plays guitars and adds a harmonica to the bridges between verses. The whole package is firmed out by Simon ‘Agent’ Orange’s Hammond organ. This song is a bit like the ring in Lord of The Rings. It is like a strange, beautiful thing to keep you company through those confused times, something polished, beautiful and powerful to accompany one on your journey. And something that strangely gives you a reason to keep going. This song is precious.
Where to find it:
Deur Die Donker Vallei – Valiant Swart (2002), Rhythm Records, SWART004
Lyrics:
Dis die winter van die jakkels
Die somer van die slang
Wat ‘n sluwe seisoen
Onder ‘n hartseer son
Die sout van die aarde
Dwarrel en draai
In die gange van Babylon
Brabbel almal in brabbel taal
En niemad wil luister nie
En niemand verstaan
Pandemonium in die gange van Babylon
Dit rammel in die vlei
Dit huil by die bobbejaankrans
Dit dreun met die laning langs
Oor die plein kom dit aangedans
En niemand skenk aandag daaraan
Want daar’s niemand wat verstaan
Wat gaan aan vanaand in die gange van Baylon
In die bosse van Babel
Rank die kinders van Kaan
Tussen die dorings
In die hangende tuin
En die water van verwarring
Syfer deur die mure
In die gange van Babylon
Slaan die laaste ure
En daar’s niemand wat verstaan
Hoekom alles vergaan
Langsamerhand
In die gange van Babylon
Valiant Swart is known for his rock and blues music, but every now and then he slips into a gentle mood and creates beautiful ballads. Sonvanger is one of his most popular of these. A haunting cello (courtesy of Jaco Viljoen) underpins Valiant’s delicate, almost whispered vocals that caress the heartbreaking lyrics. You are drawn into the song that speaks of loss and sadness.
Valiant is backed by Tonia Selley, Anika and Liela Groenewald who bring a poignant feminine feel to things that makes it even more gentle.
If you ever get a chance to see him perform this song live, it is well worth it. Just be prepared to have the hairs on the back of your neck bristle and a wave of goosebumps to pass over you. Listening to it live or the recorded version, you will also find yourself insisting on that second of silence after the music has faded away to readjust yourself to the real world and to try and comprehend the beauty of what you have just heard. It is almost like one has to have some time to mourn the passing of the song. But cheer up, you can always press play and soak in the emotions all over again and again.
Where to find it:
Maanhare – Valiant Swart (2002), SWART 006
Lyrics:
Kyk of jy vir my die son kan vang
daar’s ‘n kamer in die huis
waar ons die son kan hang
dis donker by die venster
in die middel van die dag
onthou jy hoe helder
die kamer kon lag
kyk of jy vir my die son kan bring
daar’s ‘n leidjie in die gange
wat die son kan sing
want dis stil in die hoeke
hierdie koue seisoen
kan jy sien wat die wind en die reen
aan my doen
sonvanger
ek vra jou mooi
laat hom weer vir my kom skyn
sonvanger
laat my verstaan
hoe ‘n somer sommerso
in die niet kan verdwyn
en laat hom skyn
kyk of jy vir my die son kan kry
daar’s ‘n huisie in my hart
waar die son kan bly
kyk of jy vir my die son kan steel
daar’s ‘n plekkie in die tuin
waar die son kan speel
bring ‘n bietjie lig
vir die draaie op my pad
en ‘n handjie vol strale
vir die donker in my hart
sonvanger
ek vra jou mooi
laat hom weer vir my kom skyn
sonvanger
laat my verstaan
hoe ‘n somer sommerso
in die niet kan verdwyn
en laat hom skyn
Die Mystic Boer – Valiant Swart (Dis ’n Groot Avontuur)
Die Mystic Boer by Valiant Swart
I can’t help but think of The Doors’ ‘Riders On The Storm’ when I hear this song. Not that ‘Die Mystic Boer’ is a rip off of Jim Morrison’s classic, it’s just that it has a similar texture to it, and, on certain versions where Simon ‘Agent’ Orange is given free rein on the keyboards, the rich organ sound certainly owes something to Ray Manzarek. The fact that the cover of ‘Die Mystic Boer’ album features a man on a horse with a guitar furthers a ‘Riders’ ambiance.
Valiant hung out with the legendary Koos Kombuis (whom he met during his military service) but was not really part of the Voëlvry movement that brought Afrikaans rock music to the nation. However, in 1996, he released the album ‘Die Mystic Boer’, and became the leading light of the next phase of Afrikaans Rock music. The title track of the album quickly established itself as not only an important Afrikaans blues song but also an important South African song. The lyrics are poetical, the music mystical and bluesy and the song is magical.
It is worth checking out some of the recorded live versions of the song such as that on the cassette only release ‘Voetstoets‘ and the ‘Tassenberg All Stars’ (the first one) album.
Where to find it:
Die Mystic Boer (1997) Wildebeest Records, SWART001
Boland Punk 1988 -2001 (2001) Rhythm Records, SWART005
Voetstoets (1998) Wildebeest Records, SWART004 (Live version
on cassette only)
Tassenberg All Stars (2000) Rhythm Records, RR/001
op ‘n vaal vlakte
het ons hom die eerste keer gewaar
hy’t snaaks gedans en weggeraak
in ‘n waas van walms en wind
daar was klowe in die verte
en die son was nog jonk
en grys voëls het ons dopgehou
toe ons onder die oggend vir mekaar geknik het
ons gaan hom jag
die newels het gewink
die dag het geruik na nuwe bloed
en gebreek
veertig dae en veertig nagte
soek ons die mystic boer
maar soos die perde van middernag-gedagtes
bly hy op sy hoede en loer
oor sy skouer
ons loop deur die leegte
met ons oë vasgepen op ‘n stofwolk
waar sy voete die aarde ontstig het
met passies vol punk en plesierigheid
die môrestond het ons blinkgesmeer met vars hoop
op geluk en wysheid en vreugde
en vure vol verskeidenheid
en lig
na die berge, na die klowe, na die spelonke
dwarrel die gees
terwyl ons, die jagters, hom bestorm
met nette en tralies
en tyd
veertig dae en veertig nagte
soek ons die mystic boer
maar soos die perde van middernag-gedagtes
bly hy op sy hoede en loer
oor sy skouer
die grense van ons mission
was slegs die wind en weer
die bliksems en donders wat bangpraat
en reën bring om stof te kanselleer
hoe groter die drang na ontmoeting
met die koning van die nuwe asem
hoe woester die tog
en hoe stiller
daar was ‘n skaduwee om merker te speel
en ‘n uptempo rouklaag die magnet
en visioene van nuwe dinge
was oral
veertig dae en veertig nagte
soek ons die mystic boer
maar soos die perde van middernag-gedagtes
bly hy op sy hoede en loer
oor sy skouer
skielik was daar niks
behalwe ‘n vaal vlakte en die son
was ons alleen met water en jeans
die danser was weg
teen middernag was die maan treurig en mooi
en die grond het gesmaak na sout
en toe die nuwe oggend opstaan uit die berg
het grys voëls ons dopgehou
so as jy hom sien, en jy wil hom soek
doen dit gerus
want dis ‘n groot avontuur
alhoewel jy eindig
waar jy begin het
veertig dae en veertig nagte
soek ons die mystic boer
maar soos die perde van middernag-gedagtes
bly hy op sy hoede en loer
oor sy skouer met ‘n vreemde grynslag
en dans in die nánag met die maan
oor sy skouer met ‘n oog wat uitdaag
kom nader, kom vra my my naam
1001 South African Songs You Must Hear Before You Go Deaf 