Biko from Peter Gabriel
by Adélaïde Carsin and Charlotte Gillet
Context :
Since
1948 has South Africa apply the policy of racial separation
(appartheid). The social status of the people and their territorial
link depend of the racial status.
The song:
This
song is a protest song by Peter Gabriel and was inclued on his third
album in 1980. It's about Steve Biko, a black South African
anti-apartheid activist.
Lyrics :
September
'77
Port Elizabeth weather fine
It
was business as usual
In
police room 619
Oh
Biko, Biko, because Biko
Oh
Biko, Biko, because Biko
Yihla
Moja, Yihla Moja
-The
man is dead
When
I try to sleep at night
I
can only dream in red
The
outside world is black and white
With
only one colour dead
Oh
Biko, Biko, because Biko
Oh
Biko, Biko, because Biko
Yihla
Moja, Yihla Moja
-The
man is dead
You
can blow out a candle
But
you can't blow out a fire
Once
the flames begin to catch
The
wind will blow it higher
Oh
Biko, Biko, because Biko
Yihla
Moja, Yihla Moja
-The
man is dead
And
the eyes of the world are
watching
now
watching
now
Explanations :
September '77
Port Elizabeth weather fine
It was business as usual
In police room 619
Biko
was arrested by the police in august 1977 and was interrogated in room
619 in Port Elizabeth.
Yihla Moja means "Come spirit" in Xhosa (a south african language).
When I try to sleep at night
I can only dream in red
The outside world is black and white
With only one colour dead
A world only in black a white is a dead world ; the apartheid corresponds to death.
The man is dead
Biko died
in a prison in Pretoria because the policemen had hit him and he was
transferred without medical care.
You can blow out a candle
But you can't blow out a fire
Once the flames begin to catch
The wind will blow it higher
Biko
is dead but the rebellion can't be stopped.
And
the eyes of the world are
watching
now
watching
now
The
world knows him, because he is dead, but if he did not die, nobody
would see the apartheid's problem.
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