From Hugh Tracey’s field notes:
Se Bana wa Lela - "Don't Cry Baby"
(Tswana/Tlharo - recorded in 1959)
Self delectative song with one stringed Nokokwane bow.
"Don't cry baby!
The water parui have dried up
My father and mother died and I had no-one to advise me.
"My Uncle gave me a brown cow
Which, if it rains, will give me a pailful (of milk)
Don’t boast of your lover. Boast of your husband.
One doesn't boast of a thief."
The instrument is played by both men and women. When asked when they play these songs, the answer was: "Any time---when we feel lonely."
Sampled by Desert Sound Colony on 'Beating Heart - South Africa' -
lnk.to/BH-SASo
With kind permission from the International Library of African Music, Beating Heart works with artists to sample and remix Hugh Tracey's incredible archive. Proceeds from the South Africa album support gender equality in South Africa through the Women’s Legal Centre, as well as helping to teach music production skills to kids at Grahamstown’s Access Music Project.
More info at
www.beatingheartproject.com