Words Dave Charles
For as long as I can remember I have been a collector words, particularly the words of songs – the lyrics. I have an enormous repertoire of lyrics in my head, some partial but most are complete.
As an alumnus of the Anglican private school system, I find that certain hymns that I couldn’t understand as a child, now bring a sense of comfort when I lie awake in the darkness, consumed by a sense of panic that my time here is running out. But most of the repertoire in my head is a vast collection of secular stories from the past six and a half decades, told by countless voices in songs that have shaped my perception of the world.
Some of the voices are more familiar than others. I often hear the voice of my grandfather, now long gone, singing songs that I in turn sang for my children and now, my three-year-old grandson, Kai.
Kai and I have a weekend routine – pancakes! I have become rather good at whipping up a batch when he is due for a visit, and we make them together.
Last week when he ran into my arms for a hug, I heard another voice. It was the voice of my friend Johnny singing a song that he wrote for his son, Jesse, many years ago.
It's a cruel, crazy, beautiful worldEvery time you wake up, I hope it's under a blue sky
I met Johnny Clegg at Wits University in 1977. I was completely lost after a year in the army and the country was burning. He and Sipho Mchunu, a garden worker in Houghton, had a duo that I heard perform at a show in the Great Hall and I was captivated. We became friends and when his musical career took off, I had graduated into the broadcast media world, so I was able to help in a small way to spread the love.
Those were difficult times politically and socially and as Johnny’s star rose, the Security Branch made it very difficult for his music to reach the South African audience. But I played his music on Radio 5 – the big national music station - and was suspended on several occasions for playing tracks about social injustice that were “restricted” for airplay.
As a specialist television producer, I was responsible for a TV show called Sundowner, the biggest live magazine show on SABC TV1 back then. It was on Sundowner that I was able to debut the music video of Cruel Crazy Beautiful World to over six million people who were watching the show that night.
Johnny became a force to be reckoned with on the local and international music scene and we stayed in touch. Over the years we reconnected a few times, older, heavier, more lines on the face – but always a twinkle in the eye. Our final meeting was in Ballito shortly before his death and the last goodbye was profound.
In retrospect, it’s easy to understand how much we took for granted. We were young and strong, and the world was full of possibility. But all those tomorrows have too soon become yesterdays and that face looking back at me in the mirror looks more like my grandfather every day.
I think of him often when I am making pancakes for Kai – and I think of Johnny and so many others...and I hope that one day, Kai remembers how much I loved him.
When I feel your small body close to mineI feel weak and strong at the same timeSo few years to give you wings to flyShow you the stars to guide your ship by
It's a cruel, crazy, beautiful worldOne day when you wake up, I will have to say goodbyeSay goodbyeIt's your world so live in itGoodbye, it's your world so live in it
Comments