Homeless Lyrics - Ladysmith Black Mambazo

Song Facts:

• Genre: Isicathamiya, Mbube


• Featured Artists: None


• Lyricists: Joseph Shabalala, Paul Simon


• Composers: Joseph Shabalala, Paul Simon


• Soundtrack: Featured in the soundtrack of "Beautiful Game."

Annotations and Meaning:

"Homeless," by Ladysmith Black Mambazo and Paul Simon, is an awesomely beautiful song that marries traditional Zulu style and some elements of gospel and folk to treat a sore yet oft-neglected issue of homelessness. The lyrics of the song, combined with the excellent harmonies of the group, summed up all the struggles of a man without a home.

In addition, the looping lines "Homeless, homeless, Moonlight sleeping on a midnight lake" take up one full verse. The words are used in a metaphor for the transient, vulnerable state of homelessness. The literal imagery from moonlight on a lake seems to be calm, cold, and unstable, exactly resonating with the thesis of life on the streets.

It is translated from the Zulu words in the song, "emaweni webaba, silale maweni," into "Father's cliffs, we are sleeping by the cliffs," where sleeping is like resting amongst the tough sharp corners that life has. Further, that lyric goes on to epitomize the theme of marginalization in how physical and emotional suffering goes on to be felt by these people.

The line reads, "Strong wind destroy our home, Many dead, tonight it could be you," sending a strong message of how disaster, and even societally, can be so devastating to abruptly make individuals homeless. This, too, allows recall of the state of vulnerability and unpredictability in all, hence underlining the universal risk of ending up in such circumstances.

The interjections "Somebody say ih hih ih hih ih, Somebody sing hello, hello, hello, Somebody cry why, why, why," are the symbols of voiceless homeless voices calling to be recognized, helped, and understood. Afterward, they transform these cries into a representation of the needs of human beings who have to reach out, recognize, and answer to suffering.

Ladysmith Black Mambazo's performance brings a sound to the song that is very sad yet optimistic, parallel to most of those afflicted with the fate of homelessness: reflection on resilience and community. The song raises their voices both to the providence and to one of the global issues as much as it is a plea for compassion and action.