Currently Listening To 2023/24

I quite often put some historical context to some of the early songs which probably bores most of you

The song is based on an old Zulu folk song/lullaby/chant and is called Mbube (lion) and the first commercial version of the song was produced in 1939 by Solomon Linda. They say he wrote the song and that is technically correct as prior to that it was just word of mouth. Twenty years later Pete Seeger heard it and wrote an English version of it that he called 'Wimoweh' and it became a big hit around the world.

Actually, it didn't really have much in the way of words before Pete wrote his version as it was just a few repetitive words.

Some music historians say that Solomon actually wrote it but it had been in Zulu song for generations prior to that.

A Zulu chief told me that his great grandmother sang it to him when he was a kid and that she had it sung to her when she was a kid.

This was me with the Chief, and family, over 60 years ago.



As sung more traditionally post 1960's - can be a bit repetitive.