Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers - Let's Call The Whole Thing Off

Lyrics

Things have come to a pretty pass,
Our romance is growing flat,
For you like this and the other
While I go for this and that.
Goodness knows what the end will be;
Oh, I don't know where I'm at...
It looks as if we two will never be one,
Something must be done.

You say eether and I say eyether,
You say neether and I say nyther;
Eether, eyether, neether, nyther,
Let's call the whole thing off!

You like potato and I like potahto,
You like tomato and I like tomahto;
Potato, potahto, tomato, tomahto!
Let's call the whole thing off!
But oh! If we call the whole thing off,
Then we must part.
And oh! If we ever part,
Then that might break my heart!
So, if you like pajamas and I like pajahmas,
I'll wear pajamas and give up pajahmas.
For we know we need each other,
So we better call the calling off off.
Let's call the whole thing off!

You say laughter and I say lawfter,
You say after and I say awfter;
Laughter, lawfter, after, awfter,
Let's call the whole thing off!
You like vanilla and I like vanella,
You, sa's'parilla and I sa's'parella;
Vanilla, vanella, Choc'late, strawb'ry!
Let's call the whole thing off!
But oh! If we call the whole thing off,
Then we must part.
And oh! If we ever part,
Then that might break my heart!
So, if you go for oysters and I go for ersters
I'll order oysters and cancel the ersters.
For we know we need each other,
So we better call the calling off off!
Let's call the whole thing off!

"Let's Call the Whole Thing Off" is a song written by George Gershwin and Ira Gershwin for the 1937 film Shall We Dance, where it was introduced by Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers as part of a celebrated dance duet on roller skates. The song is most famous for its “You like to-may-toes /təˈmeɪtoʊz/ and I like to-mah-toes /təˈmɑːtoʊz/” and other verses comparing their different regional dialects.

The differences in pronunciation are not simply regional, however, but serve more specifically to identify class differences. At the time, typical American pronunciations were considered less "refined" by the upper-class, and there was a specific emphasis on the "broader" a sound.[3] This class distinction with respect to pronunciation has been retained in caricatures, especially in the theater, where the longer a pronunciation is most strongly associated with the word "darling."

The song was ranked No. 34 on AFI's 100 Years...100 Songs.[5]

Notable recordings[

Billie Holiday – Lady Day: The Complete Billie Holiday on Columbia 1933–1944 (1937)

Sam Cooke – Tribute to the Lady (1959)

Ella Fitzgerald – on Ella Fitzgerald Sings the George and Ira Gershwin Songbook (1959),[6] on the 1983 Pablo release Nice Work If You Can Get It, and in a 1957 duet with Louis Armstrong on Ella and Louis Again.

Fred Astaire with Johnny Green & His Orchestra (1937)[7]

Brian Wilson – Brian Wilson Reimagines Gershwin (2010)

Uri Caine – Rhapsody in Blue (2013)

The song has been re-used in filmmaking and television production, most notably in When Harry Met Sally... – where it is performed by Harry Connick, Jr. – and The Simpsons. It was featured in the 2012 Broadway Musical Nice Work If You Can Get It.

 Ella Fitzgerald ( version) - Let's Call The Whole Thing Off  Lyrics 

Things have come to a pretty pass
Our romance is growing flat,
For you like this and the other
While I go for this and that,

Goodness knows what the end will be
Oh I don't know where I'm at
It looks as if we two will never be one
Something must be done:

You say either and I say either,
You say neither and I say neither
Either, either Neither, neither
Let's call the whole thing off.

You like potato and I like potahto
You like tomato and I like tomahto
Potato, potahto, Tomato, tomahto.
Let's call the whole thing off

But oh, if we call the whole thing off
Then we must part
And oh, if we ever part, then that might break my heart

So if you like pyjamas and I like pyjahmas,
I'll wear pyjamas and give up pyajahmas
For we know we need each other so we
Better call the whole thing off
Let's call the whole thing off.

You say laughter and I say larfter
You say after and I say arfter
Laughter, larfter after arfter
Let's call the whole thing off,

You like vanilla and I like vanella
You saspiralla, and I saspirella
Vanilla vanella chocolate strawberry
Let's call the whole thing off

• 
• 

But oh if we call the whole thing of then we must part
And oh, if we ever part, then that might break my heart

So if you go for oysters and I go for ersters
I'll order oysters and cancel the ersters
For we know we need each other so we
Better call the calling off off,
Let's call the whole thing off.

I say father, and you say pater,
I saw mother and you say mater
Pater, mater Uncle, auntie let's call the whole thing off.

I like bananas and you like banahnahs
I say Havana and I get Havahnah
Bananas, banahnahs Havana, Havahnah
Go your way, I'll go mine

So if I go for scallops and you go for lobsters,
So all right no contest we'll order lobseter
For we know we need each other so we
Better call the calling off off,
Let's call the whole thing off.

The Beatles - Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds

Picture yourself in a boat on a river
With tangerine trees and marmalade skies
Somebody calls you, you answer quite slowly
A girl with kaleidoscope eyes

Cellophane flowers of yellow and green
Towering over your head
Look for the girl with the sun in her eyes
And she's gone

Lucy in the sky with diamonds
Lucy in the sky with diamonds
Lucy in the sky with diamonds
Ah

Follow her down to a bridge by a fountain
Where rocking horse people eat marshmallow pies
Everyone smiles as you drift past the flowers
That grow so incredibly high

Newspaper taxis appear on the shore
Waiting to take you away
Climb in the back with your head in the clouds
And you're gone

Lucy in the sky with diamonds
Lucy in the sky with diamonds
Lucy in the sky with diamonds
Ah

Picture yourself on a train in a station
With plasticine porters with looking glass ties
Suddenly someone is there at the turnstile
The girl with the kaleidoscope eyes

Lucy in the sky with diamonds
Lucy in the sky with diamonds
Lucy in the sky with diamonds
Ah
Lucy in the sky with diamonds
Lucy in the sky with diamonds
Lucy in the sky with diamonds
Ah
Lucy in the sky with diamonds
Lucy in the sky with diamonds
Lucy in the sky with diamonds

1. The "Lucy" who inspired this song was Lucy O'Donnell (later Lucy Vodden), who was a classmate of John's son Julian Lennon when he was enrolled at the private Heath House School, in Weybridge, Surrey. It was in a 1975 interview that Lennon said, "Julian came in one day with a picture about a school friend of his named Lucy. He had sketched in some stars in the sky and called it Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds."
2. The identity of the real Lucy was confirmed by Julian in 2009 when she died of complications from Lupus. Lennon re-connected with her after she appeared on a BBC broadcast where she stated: "I remember Julian and I both doing pictures on a double-sided easel, throwing paint at each other, much to the horror of the classroom attendant… Julian had painted a picture and on that particular day his father turned up with the chauffeur to pick him up from school."
3. Confusion over who was the real Lucy was fueled by a June 15, 2005 Daily Mailarticle that claimed the "Lucy" was Lucy Richardson, who grew up to become a successful movie art director on films such as 2000's Chocolat and 2004's The Life And Death Of Peter Sellers. Richardson died in June 2005 at the age of 47 of breast cancer.
4. Many people thought this was about drugs, since the letters "LSD" are prominent in the title, and John Lennon, who wrote it, was known to drop acid. In 1971 Lennon told Rolling Stone that he swore that he had no idea that the song's initials spelt L.S.D. He added: "I didn't even see it on the label. I didn't look at the initials. I don't look - I mean I never play things backwards. I listened to it as I made it. It's like there will be things on this one, if you fiddle about with it. I don't know what they are. Every time after that though I would look at the titles to see what it said, and usually they never said anything."
5. Lennon affirmed this on the Dick Cavett Show, telling the host, "My son came home with a drawing of a strange-looking woman flying around. He said, 'It's Lucy in the sky with diamonds.' I thought, 'That's beautiful.' I immediately wrote the song about it."
6. It's not just fans that didn't believe him: Paul McCartney said it was "pretty obvious" that this song was inspired by LSD.
7. In our interview with Donovan, who was good friends with John Lennon and joined The Beatles on their 1968 retreat to India, he made the point that Lennon often thought in terms of artwork, and like Donovan did on this song "Wear Your Love Like Heaven," Lennon painted images in his head that became the lyrics for this song. "When we put the painter's brush down and we picked up the guitar, a lot of the songwriters started 'painting' songs," he said. "You'd just have to think of John's 'Picture yourself on a boat on a river' - you're actually in a movie or you're in a painting. 'Tangerine trees and marmalade skies' - he's painting.
8. The images Lennon used in the song were inspired by the imagery in the book Alice In Wonderland.
9. George Harrison played a tambura on this track. It's an Indian instrument similar to a sitar that makes a droning noise. He had been studying with Indian musician Ravi Shankar, who is the father of Norah Jones.
10. This was banned by the BBC (British Broadcasting Company) for what they thought were drug references.
11. Elton John released a cover version of this song in 1974 that hit #1 in the US the first week of 1975. Elton is the only artist to top the tally with a Beatles cover, although Peter & Gordon took "A World Without Love," which was written by Lennon and McCartney, to #1 in 1964.
12. John Lennon sang and played guitar on Elton's "Lucy in the Sky With Diamonds," but reportedly forgot some of the chords and needed Davey Johnston, Elton John's guitarist, to help him out. Lennon made a surprise appearance in Elton's Thanksgiving concert in New York and performed three songs, which proved to be his last public performance.
13. Actor William Shatner, who played Captain Kirk on Star Trek, covered this in his dramatic, spoken-word style. In at least one poll, this version was voted the worst Beatles cover of all time.
14. In 1974, Johanson and Gray named the 3 million-year-old Australopithecus fossil skeleton they discovered (the oldest ever found) Lucy, after this song because it was playing on the radio when Johanson and his team were celebrating the discovery back at camp. >>
15. Lennon said "The girl with kaleidoscope eyes" turned out to be Yoko.
16. During the media controversy over this song in June of 1967, Paul McCartney admitted to a reporter that the band did experiment with LSD. >>
17. In 2004, McCartney addressed the issue of drugs in an interview with the Daily Mirror newspaper: "'Day Tripper,' that's one about acid. 'Lucy In The Sky,' that's pretty obvious. There are others that make subtle hints about drugs, but it's easy to overestimate the influence of drugs on The Beatles' music. Just about everyone was doing drugs in one form or another, and we were no different, but the writing was too important for us to mess it up by getting off our heads all the time."
18. A group called John Fred and his Playboy Band had a #1 hit in 1968 with "Judy In Disguise (with Glasses)," a song that is a parody of "Lucy in the Sky With Diamonds."
19. In the Anthology one of the Beatles referred to being on LSD as like seeing through a kaleidoscope. Although Lennon denied this is about drugs, it does refer to "The girl with kaleidoscope eyes." >>
20. *This song is very distinctive musically: It's in three different keys and uses two different beats. >>
21. *Lennon admitted to British journalist Ray Connolly in an interview around the time of the break-up of the Beatles that he didn't think he sang this song very well. "I was so nervous I couldn't sing," he said, "but I like the lyrics."
22. *In 2004 the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics announced the discovery of the universe's largest known diamond, white dwarf star BPM 37093. Astronomers gave the star the catchier name of "Lucy" from this song.
23. *The Flaming Lips covered this as part of their track-for-track tribute to the Sgt. Pepper album, With a Little Help from My Fwends. Their version of this song features Miley Cyrus. Frontman Wayne Coyne told NME: "On my birthday, Miley Cyrus tweeted me 'Happy Birthday.' I texted back 'Let's do something together.' So we swapped numbers and soon found ourselves in the same studio. I've been around people in the same position to her and they are not fun. She's badass, and she does things with enthusiasm and love."

2.4 billion ( 2,365,618,247) views on YouTube.... Enrique Iglesias - Bailando (Español) ft. Descemer Bueno, Gente De Zona

Enrique Iglesias - Bailando Lyrics

Yo te miro, se me corta la respiración

Cuando tú me miras se me sube el corazón (me palpita lento el corazón)

Y en silencio tu mirada dice mil palabras

La noche en la que te suplico que no salga el sol3

(Bailando, bailando, bailando, bailando)

Tu cuerpo y el mío llenando el vacío

Subiendo y bajando (subiendo y bajando)

(Bailando, bailando, bailando, bailando)

Ese fuego por dentro me está enloqueciendo

Me va saturando2

Con tu física y tu química, también tu anatomía

La cerveza y el tequila y tu boca con la mía

Ya no puedo más (ya no puedo más) Ya no puedo más (ya no puedo mas)

Con esta melodía, tu color, tu fantasía

Con tu filosofía mi cabeza está vacía

Y ya no puedo más (ya no puedo más)

Ya no puedo más (ya no puedo más)

Related

Yo quiero estar contigo, vivir contigo

Bailar contigo, tener contigo

Una noche loca (una noche loca)

Ay, besar tu boca (y besar tu boca)

Yo quiero estar contigo, vivir contigo

Bailar contigo, tener contigo una noche loca

Con tremenda loca (Ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh)

Tú me miras y me llevas a otra dimensión (estoy en otra dimensión)

Tus latidos aceleran a mi corazón

(Tus latidos aceleran a mi corazón)

Que ironía del destino no poder tocarte

Abrazarte y sentir la magia de tu olor

(Bailando, bailando, bailando, bailando)

Tu cuerpo y el mío llenando el vacío

Subiendo y bajando (subiendo y bajando)

(Bailando, bailando, bailando, bailando)

Ese fuego por dentro me está enloqueciendo

Me va saturando

Con tu física y tu química, también tu anatomía

La cerveza y el tequila y tu boca con la mía

Ya no puedo más (ya no puedo más)

Ya no puedo más (ya no puedo más)

Con esta melodía, tu color, tu fantasía

Con tu filosofía mi cabeza está vacía

Y ya no puedo más (ya no puedo más)

Ya no puedo más (ya no puedo más)

Yo quiero estar contigo, vivir contigo

Bailar contigo, tener contigo

Una noche loca (una noche loca)

Ay besar tu boca (y besar tu boca)

Yo quiero estar contigo, vivir contigo

Bailar contigo, tener contigo una noche loca

Con tremenda loca

(Ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh

Ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh

Ooh bailando amor

Bailando amor, es que se me va el dolor

"Bailando" (English: "Dancing") is a song by Spanish singer Enrique Iglesias for his tenth studio album Sex and Love (2014). The original Spanish version features the Cuban artists Descemer Bueno and Gente de Zona. The song was written by all of the artists, while production was handled by Carlos Paucar. It was released by Universal Republic Records as the sixth single from the record.

In 2013 the song was already finished by Descemer Bueno and Gente de Zona without Iglesias' vocals. They released a music videoand their own version became part of several compilation albums but did not experience a single release..

As of 24 August 2014, there are three other versions of the song that have been released to the music market besides the original Spanish version. The Spanglish version features Jamaican singer Sean Paul. Iglesias also released two Portuguese versions of the song: one version of the song in Portuguese destined for Brazilian market with additional vocals by Brazilian singer Luan Santana,and the other Portuguese version destined for the Portuguese market featured the additional vocals of the Portuguese singer Mickael Carreira.

The original Spanish version of "Bailando" served as the theme song of the soap opera Reina de Corazones which aired on Telemundo. According to the IFPI, Bailando was the tenth best-selling song of 2014 with 8 million units (sales plus track-equivalent streams) worldwide.


Background

In an interview Iglesias gave to Univision Musica, backstage at the Premios lo Nuestro he told the reporter that when Bueno presented the song to him, he initially did not like it and did not want to record it. But after recording he loved the song. He termed it as one of his favorites from the album.

Controversy

The Peruvian singer and composer Sergio Pelo D'ambrosio Robles reported that the theme "Bailando" (signed by the Cuban Descemer Bueno) by Enrique Iglesias, copied the intro and the chorus of his song "Lejos de ti". A few months later, however, the Peruvian singer decided to withdraw the complaint because experts indicated that there was no plagiarism in the lyrics nor in the chorus.

Music video

Accompanying music videos for both, the Spanish and the Spanglish versions of "Bailando" were filmed in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. The video for Spanish version was premiered through Univision on 10 April 2014 and was premiered worldwide on 11 April 2014 through Iglesias' official Vevo account for the Spanglish version through Vevo on 13 June 2014, next the Brazil Portuguese version with Brazilian singer Luan Santana through Vevo on 7 July 2014, and the Portugal Portuguese version with Portugal singer Mickael Carreira on 22 August 2014 through Iglesias' official Vevo account too.

The music video is directed by Cuban producer Alejandro Perez, under Enrique Iglesias' longtime collaborators creative director Yasha Malekzad & executive producer Kasra Pezeshki. The music video was produced by Artist Preserve, London.The featured dancers are from Havana's Ballet Lizt Alfonso. The lead female dancer in the video is Ana Karla Suarez. The video production in the Dominican Republic was produced by Aquiles Jimenez. The Spanish version of the video has been viewed over 2.3 billion timeswhile the English version of the video has received 240 million views as of September 2017. It is his most viewed video on YouTube, surpassing his 2010 hit "I Like It". The Spanish version of the video is the ninth most viewed video on YouTube. "Bailando" became the first Spanish-language music video to have been viewed over a billion times.[

Synopsis

The video starts black and white in a living room, with Bueno singing parts of "Bailando" while Iglesias and Gente de Zona are having fun in the background, before starting to sing along with Bueno. As the song starts, Iglesias, Bueno and Gente de Zona walk the streets of a city, surrounded by working people and kids who juggle soccer balls. They are then seen performing the song in a tunnel, running through a street market and a troop of flamenco dancers showing off their moves. Shortly after, Iglesias is seen to be seduced by a sexy brunette (Ana Karla Suarez) showing her best dance moves. The video ends with Enrique and Co. running back after they hear police sirens approaching them.

Critical reception

Billboard described the video as spectacular and mentioned that "a young Cuban flamenco troupe swirling in red dresses meet up with street dancers with some mad soccer skills in one of the best choreographed encounters since the Sharks met the Jets." Huffington Post also mentioned that the video has a little football and a sensual dance.

Live performances

Iglesias first performed the Spanish version of "Bailando" on Today in New York City.[26] in a set that included "I'm a Freak", and "Heart Attack". He would go on to perform the song on that year's Nuestra Belleza Latina, Billboard Latin Music Awards and included in a medley with El Perdedor at the Premios Juventud.

Iglesias' first televised performance of the English version at Macy's 4 July Fireworks Spectacular and went on to perform the song at America's Got Talent, Good Morning America in set that included Hero and I'm a Freak. He would also perform the song on So You Think You Can Dance and Fashion Rocks and performed the song as a medley with I'm a Freak at the MTV Europe Music Awards and finally at Pitbull's New Year's Revolution.

The Rolling Stones & Bruce Springsteen - Tumbling Dice (Proshot)

"Tumbling Dice"


Women think I'm tasty, but they're always tryin' to waste me
And make me burn the candle right down,
But baby, baby, I don't need no jewels in my crown.
'Cause all you women is low down gamblers,
Cheatin' like I don't know how,
But baby, baby, there's fever in the funk house now.
This low down bitchin' got my poor feet a itchin',
You know you know the duece is still wild.
Baby, I can't stay, you got to roll me
And call me the tumblin' dice.
Always in a hurry, I never stop to worry,
Don't you see the time flashin' by.
Honey, got no money,
I'm all sixes and sevens and nines.
Say now, baby, I'm the rank outsider,
You can be my partner in crime.
But baby, I can't stay,
You got to roll me and call me the tumblin',
Roll me and call me the tumblin' dice.
Oh, my, my, my, I'm the lone crap shooter,
Playin' the field ev'ry night.
Baby, can't stay,
You got to roll me and call me the tumblin' (dice),
Roll me and call me the tumblin' (Got to roll me.) dice.
Got to roll me. Got to roll me.

Some Fast Facts

This was originally titled "Good Time Woman," with different lyrics. Mick Jagger told the story of the song to The Sun newspaper May 21, 2010: "It started out with a great riff from Keith and we had it down as a completed song called Good Time Women. That take is one of the bonus tracks on the new Exile package; it was quite fast and sounded great but I wasn't happy with the lyrics Later, I got the title in my head, 'call me the tumbling dice' so I had the theme for it. I didn't know anything about dice playing but I knew lots of jargon used by dice players. I'd heard gamblers in casinos shouting it out.I asked my housekeeper if she played dice. She did and she told me these terms. That was the inspiration."

The Stones recorded this in the musty basement of the Villa Nellcote, a place Keith Richards rented in France so the band could avoid paying taxes in England. They would sleep all day and record at night with whoever showed up. For this track, Mick Jagger and Keith Richards played guitar, and Mick Taylor, ordinarily lead guitarist, played bass.Jagger played guitar on this, something he rarely did.

This was the only track from Exile to chart in the Top 20 of the singles chart. Jagger told The Sun: "It's obviously the most accessible and commercial song on the record. After 'Tumbling Dice,' I remember there wasn't really a follow-up single. People said, 'So, what are you going to release now then?'"Jagger: "It's like a good guitar-hook tune. It's a bit like Honky Tonk Women in a way, in the way it's set up. But it was done for Exile. It's got a lot more background vocals on it. A very messy mix. But that was the fashion in those days. 

This features Bobby Keys on sax and Jim Price on trumpet. They showed up in France to help with the album, and played with The Stones through the early '70s. Keith Richards and Bobby Keys were born on the same day: December 18, 1943. 

Background vocalists include Vanetta Fields and Clydie King.

Linda Ronstadt covered this in 1977. Ronstadt's career during the 1970s was based largely on her successful covers of other artists' songs. 

Exile on Main St. was a double album, and the victim of poor sales and harsh criticism when it was released. Over the years, it has become more appreciated and is considered some of The Stones' best work.

Andy Johns, who engineered the Exile sessions, told Goldmine in 2010: "Obviously it was going to be great but it was a big struggle. Eventually we get a take. Hooray! I thought, 'Let's kick this up a notch and double track Charlie.' 'Oh, we've never done that before.' 'Well, it doesn't mean we can't do it now.' So we double-tracked Charlie but he couldn't play the ending. For some reason he got a mental block about the ending. So Jimmy Miller plays from the breakdown on out that was very easy to punch in. It was a little bit different than some of the others. That song we did more takes than anything else."

Mull of Kintyre by Wings ( Paul McCartney and Denny Laine)

After an intensive training with experts from the BAOR (British Army of the Rhine) the German bagpipe band was founded in 1977. The band's public appearances help to make the Scottish bagpipes more popular in Germany.

"Mull of Kintyre" is a song by the British-American rock band Wings written by Paul McCartney and Denny Laine. The song was written in tribute to the picturesque Kintyre peninsula in Scotland and its headland, the Mull of Kintyre, where McCartney has owned High Park Farm since 1966. The song was Wings' biggest hit in Britain where it became the 1977 Christmas number one, and was the first single to sell over two million copies nationwide.

Lyrics:
Oh mist rolling in from the sea,
My desire is always to be here
Oh mull of kintyre
Far have I traveled and much have I seen
Dark distant mountains with valleys of green.
Past painted deserts the sunsets on fire
As he carries me home to the mull of kintyre.

Mull of kintyre
Oh mist rolling in from the sea,
My desire is always to be here
Oh mull of kintyre

Sweep through the heather like deer in the glen
Carry me back to the days I knew then.
Nights when we sang like a heavenly choir
Of the life and the time of the mull of kintyre.

Mull of kintyre
Oh mist rolling in from the sea,
My desire is always to be here
Oh mull of kintyre

Smiles in the sunshine
And tears in the rain
Still take me back to where my memories remain
Flickering embers growing higher and higher
As they carry me back to the mull of kintyre

Mull of kintyre
Oh mist rolling in from the sea,
My desire is always to be here
Oh mull of kintyre

Mull of kintyre
Oh mist rolling in from the sea,
My desire is always to be here
Oh mull of kintyre

Asimbonanga (Mandela) - Johnny Clegg & Savuka

[Chorus X2]
Asimbonanga
Asimbonang' u Mandela thina
Laph'ekhona
Laph'ehleli khona

[Verse 1]
Oh the sea is cold and the sky is grey
Look across the Island into the Bay
We are all islands till comes the day
We cross the burning water

[Chorus X2]
Asimbonanga
Asimbonang' u Mandela thina
Laph'ekhona
Laph'ehleli khona

[Verse 2]
A seagull wings across the sea
Broken silence is what I dream
Who has the words to close the distance
Between you and me

[Chorus X2]
Asimbonanga
Asimbonang' u Mandela thina
Laph'ekhona
Laph'ehleli khona

Asimbonanga

"Asimbonanga"
Song by Savuka
from the album Third World Child
Language	Zulu, English.
Released	1987
Format	CD, cassette
Genre	Afro-pop, Worldbeat, South African traditional.
Length	4:51
Label	Capitol
Songwriter(s)	Johnny Clegg
Producer(s)	Hilton Rosentha

Nelson Mandela, one of the anti-apartheid activists to whom "Asimbonanga" was dedicated.

"Asimbonanga", also known as "Asimbonanga (Mandela)", is an anti-apartheid song by the South African racially integrated band Savuka, from their 1987 album Third World Child. It alluded to Nelson Mandela, imprisoned on Robben Island at the time of song's release, and other anti-apartheid activists. It was well received, becoming popular within the movement against apartheid, and was covered by several artists including Joan Baez and the Soweto Gospel Choir.

Background, lyrics, and composition

The Afrikaner National Party (NP) was elected to power in South Africa in 1948, and remained in control of the government for the next 46 years. The white minority held all political power during this time, and implemented the system of apartheid. Savuka was formed in 1985 by many of the members of the band Juluka, often credited with being the first racially-integrated band in South Africa, though frontman Johnny Clegg has stated that that was not the case. Savuka was also a mixed-race band, containing three black South Africans and three whites. Savuka, which means "awakening" in Zulu, played music that drew on Zulu traditions as well as on Celtic music and rock music, became popular with both black and white South Africans

Black South African leader Nelson Mandela was imprisoned on Robben Island in 1962. "Asimbonanga" was written while he was still in prison, and its lyrics alluded to his absence from society, as well as mentioning other anti-apartheid activists by name, including Steve Biko (who was also the subject of the 1980 Peter Gabriel’s song “Biko”), Victoria Mxenge and Neil Aggett. The song, described as "elegiac", included choruses sung in Zulu and verses sung in English.The title of the song translates approximately to "We can't see him" or "We have not seen him", and refers to the "need South Africans had for their persecuted icon." "Asimbonanga" has been described part of a trend that emerged within South African music after the 1976 Soweto uprising, of combining politically conscious lyrics with jive and dance rhythms. This style has been variously called "township jive", "township soul", and "bubblegum."

Release, reception and performances

The song was the second track on Savuka's album Third World Child, released in 1987. Johnny Clegg was credited as the composer for the song, as with the rest of the album. The song was a best-seller in France, reaching No. 1 on the singles chart. "Asimbonanga" became among the most popular anti-apartheid songs,and was adopted as an anthem by the United Democratic Front (South Africa). It has been described as among "three of the most incredible songs" written by Clegg.The music magazine The Crisis called it a "beautiful chant to Nelson Mandela",while scholar David Coplan called it a "haunting tribute".^[12] The explicit dedication of the song to Mandela, Biko, and others led to the band experiencing trouble with the police; their concerts were raided, and they were arrested repeatedly. Clegg's interest in Zulu traditional music and his work with Zulu musician Sipho Mchunu had previously gotten him into trouble with the apartheid government. Asimbonanga was among several of his songs that were banned in South Africa.

The song has been covered by a number of artists, including Joan Baez, who included it on her recording Recently. Though Baez sang in her customary vocal style, the track included backing vocals drawn from traditional South African music, arranged by Ciaphus Semenya. The track brought Baez a nomination for a Grammy Award. Another notable cover was by the Soweto Gospel Choir, who performed it as a flash mob in 2013. At the Nelson Mandela 90th Birthday Tribute concert in London in 2008, Clegg, Baez, and the Soweto Gospel Choir performed the song together.

At a 1999 performance by Clegg, Mandela himself joined the band on stage for their performance of "Asimbonanga", and danced while the song was played. After the song ended, Mandela stated "It is music and dancing that makes me at peace with the world," and asked the band to play it again. The track was included on the collection Sounds from Soweto, which contained music from ten different artists.