Thina Sizwe

Lyrics

[Verse 1] Father was a freedom fighter born in the Eastern Cape Grew up in a place where nobody escapes So it's safe to assume That he probably thought he was doomed They slept six-to-a-room And their possessions were few My father's mother became a domestic worker Up early Monday morning treated like a servant Her husband was an imbongi, had a way with words but He passed unexpectedly before the world had heard 'em So my father left school, had to become a worker At a Mercedes Benz factory, and for his service His employer sent him home with the minimum wage He shared it with the family so dinner was made Started growing his political awareness Detained at 17 cause he was fearless Put in apartheid solitary confinement Sometimes I think what he would think 'bout in the silence Despite defiance, somehow he made it back to school Got his matric then heard he got a scholarship late one afternoon He made it to Wits But he, stayed a nuisance For the apartheid state As a radical student leader He met my mother, she was part of the resistance Love is rebellion, they rebelled against the system But their relationship was as fragile as porcelain You know what they say about them Xhosa men They had a son as a new nation was born You should have seen their hope when their new nation was dawning That's why my name means 'the nation has grown' Sizwesandile make this nation your own [Bridge] Sizwe My parents called me Sizwe They said we pray someday that you will grow up to be someone to believe in Sizwe My parents called me Sizwe They said we pray someday that you will grow up to be someone to believe in Lead the people Thina Sizwe [Chorus] Sizwe, Thina Sizwe, Thina Sizwe, Sizwe, Thina Sizwe [Verse 2] Mother was a freedom fighter came here from the UK On a teaching trip but instantly decided to stay 'Cause there was something bout the beauty of this land Something you have to be here to understand She was the warden of Wits' first mixed-race residence Led anti-apartheid meetings with the residents She would take the ferry to see friends on Robben Island Sometimes I think of what she'd think of on the ride there Wasn't always easy to put food on the table A single mother of two sons in a country so unstable But It was her childrens' future that she was fighting for Put her fist in the air in '94 Then she told us that: we're praying for your future We pray they save you from the pain and the confusion They say someday that we may see a revolution We're gonna see a revolution Woah [Chorus]