Kwela Man Lyrics - Johnny Clegg & Savuka

Long ago there was a sound in the night 

Kwela man, singing under the street light 

A cheap guitar, he gave his sorrow a smile 

And he sowed his songs in the alley ways mile upon mile 

Ye hum ho la lo Kwela man 

Ye hum ho la la Kwela, Kwela 

Ye hum ho la lo Kwela man 

You gave it your life 

Ye hum ho la lo Kwela man 

Ye hum ho la la Kwela, Kwela 

Ye hum ho la lo Kwela man 

You gave it your life 

Living low with the Pennywhistle, tea-chest base gang 

I followed him home and he danced as he sang 

But now he's gone, not even the slightest traces 

Of a Kwela song and the street is full of empty spaces 

Ye hum ho la lo Kwela man 

Ye hum ho la la Kwela, Kwela 

Ye hum ho la lo Kwela man 

You gave it your life 

Ye hum ho la lo Kwela man 

Ye hum ho la la Kwela, Kwela 

Ye hum ho la lo Kwela man 

You gave it your life 

Nobody knows, did he survive the winding road? 

Did he find a song that took him back to the heartland? 

Here I stand, lost in the memory 

Of a Kwela man, singing in the long gone twilight 

When I followed you home Kwela man 

You filled my soul, Kwela, Kwela 

When you sang your song Kwela man 

You gave it your life 

Ye hum ho la lo Kwela man 

Ye hum ho la la Kwela, Kwela 

Ye hum ho la lo Kwela man 

You gave it your life 

Ye hum ho la lo Kwela man 

Ye hum ho la la Kwela, Kwela 

Ye hum ho la lo Kwela man 

You gave it your life 

Ye hum ho la lo Kwela man 

Ye hum ho la la Kwela, Kwela 

Ye hum ho la lo Kwela man 

You gave it your life 

Ye hum ho la lo Kwela man 

Ye hum ho la la Kwela, Kwela 

Ye hum ho la lo Kwela man 

You gave it your life 

Ye hum ho la lo Kwela man 

Ye hum ho la la Kwela, Kwela 

Ye hum ho la lo Kwela man