Hamba Notsokolo – Dorothy Masuka

Hamba Notsokolo – Dorothy Masuka

I am a little confused about this song as when I put the title into Google translate, it tells me that Dorothy Masuka is telling us to walk with the dragon. Now I am no expert on Zulu culture, but I can’t ever recall dragons playing a big part, so I thought that maybe Google was being flowery with their translation. But then I listened more closely to Dorothy’s clear vocals and she appeared to be singing ‘Hamba Nontsokolo’ and what a difference that extra ‘n’ makes as Google now tells me that it means ‘Walk With Crisis’. In the context of apartheid South Africa this makes much more sense.

The one thing though, that I will never understand, but can only sit back and admire, is the spirit of those who were oppressed by apartheid. They made such wonderful and upbeat music while enduring so much. ‘Hamba Nontsokolo’ is another example of this. Unfortunately I can’t understand the words of the song and have been unable to find a translation but, had I not had Google to translate the title, I would have thought this was a song about going to a party (I did understand the word ‘hamba’) or being off to see a lover. It’s a simple, yet upbeat song which seems to speak of the joys of life which, if you don’t understand the words, has one nodding along with a smile on one’s face in blissful ignorance of the message contained therein.

I have always found this juxtaposition of the upbeat music and lyrics about struggling difficult to understand. However, I came across a review of one of Dorthy’s albums and it had this line in it: ‘her warm elegance soothed generations of South Africans’. And it was the word ‘soothed’ in that review that caught my eye. This song, despite reminding the listener of the troubles they are going through, certainly has a sound that soothes. So even if, like me, you don’t understand the words but are going through a crisis, you can listen to the song and be soothed. Hamba Nontsokolo, but do so with the knowledge that there are people like Dorothy out there who can sooth a troubled spirit.

Where to find it:
Hamba Notsokolo And Other Original Hits From The 50’s – Dorothy Masuka (1993), Gallo, CDZAC60

Video:

Ghana – Dorothy Masuka

Ghana – Dorothy Masuka

More Great Moments In Vinyl History

Andy Kershaw is a British DJ who specialises in ‘world’ music. In 1987 he put together a compilation album of interesting tracks he had found along his way. This compilation was called ‘Great Moments In Vinyl History’. It took him 17 years to come up with a follow up collection called ‘More Great Moments In Vinyl History’ and included in this collection is the track ‘Ghana’ by Dorothy Masuka. According to the sleeve notes, very little is known about this recording. A listener to Andy’s show found an old single which seemed like a test pressing at a Camden Market. Dorothy herself, when interviewed by Kershaw, had very little memory of recording the song.

However, this joyous celebration of the Wind of Change blowing through Africa, was fortunately unearthed and we can proudly rank it amongst the great South African songs (with a little poetic licence. Dorothy was from Zimbabwe, did most of her growing up in South Africa, but then spent a large part of the apartheid years wondering around Africa, and she thinks ‘Ghana’ may have been recorded in Zambia).

The song itself has a nice high life guitar and Dorothy’s strong vocals floating over a catchy tune. The lyrics are all about her wanting to go to the various African countries that had obtained independence and meet the leaders who had won that freedom. Dating the song is a little difficult as the sleeve notes of ‘More Great Moments…’ point out. The reference to all the Winds Of Change leaders would lead one to guess that the song would have been recorded in the early 60’s, but Dorothy expresses a wish to see Patrice Lumumba in Zaire. Lumumba died in 1961, but the Congo was not called Zaire until 1971. It may just be that people referred to the Congo as Zaire in a similar way that South Africa was sometimes referred to as Azania during the struggles.

Where to find it:
More Great Moments In Vinyl History– Various (2004), Wrasse Records – WRASS 122

Video: