Soweto ’76 - ’06

We're at auntie Jane's house
When the first shots were fired
Tandi heard her call her name
She'd gone out playing
There's about to be a riot
This is Orlando West it's June '76
There's guns in the streets again
They got Peterson
That's how you sentenced to live in Soweto
Streets that burn, a bullet flies
A mood that turns, a schoolkid dies
This is part of daily life in Soweto
The bloodshed on these dusty roads
Carried by the wind that blows
Through the Ghetto

The Ghetto, Ghetto of Soweto

This is auntie Nancy's house
She's about to do Karabo's laundry now
He nearly missed the train this time
She found his papers lying
Down on the ground '84 in Diepkloof
Somebody saw him there
They got him in chains taking his name
And then took him to John-Voster-Square
He's in the street, with no ID
That's against the law
Now he's behind the bars
And they treat it like it never was
In Soweto the bloodshed on the dusty roads
Carried by the wind that blows
Through the Ghetto

It should have been a joyous day
They gathered at auntie Eve's
The daughter had a child that night
The first glimps of light
The baby's positive
This is Muroka, Pimville, Dube
Ain't no one safe no more
From Apartheid days, now caught up with AIDS
You fight from the day you're born
In Soweto from Diamond Mines to TBC
From violent to HIV
This is every second pregnancy in Soweto
The bloodshed on these dusty roads
So many stories stay unhold in the Ghetto