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1. |
Ambush Street
03:28
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Ambush Street ( W.Sony )
I understand we carry the can for the
government man with his head in the sand
We pushed him up the hill
with his fingers in the till
the Sunday morning paper trail
he tried to kill
the toxic spill
but failed
and was nailed
but was he black mailed?
The ministers wife
sits for life in Lamborghini seats and suits
she controls the mining rights
while he controls the the human rights
Tender irregularities
with a mistress
Make the headlines overnight
with a deal for the broadcast rights
Disturbing the peace
Disturbing the police
it’s hard to beat the Jo’burg heat
when knocking down doors in ambush street
we are discreet in Jo’burg heat
when breaking the law in ambush street
Disturbing the peace
Disturbing the police
One morning I walk past the
suburban dog on Highland Road
he looks at me and barks and
reconnects with the electric fence
lights come on in upstairs rooms
I move along and feel as if I
have committed some sort of a crime
a crime - in time - we will all
be victims of crime
----------//----------- Kalahari Surfers
p&c_free_state_music_publishing
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2. |
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Human Wrongs (Chernobyl 25th Anniversary) W.Sony
Radiation is good for you
The soldiers joked
At the roadblock
Chewing on bread
Made from
Ukrainian wheat
Facing the sun
Warm rays
As they pose
For a photograph
She’s another tourist
Fine powdered dust
On the piano
On the children’s toys
In the groundwater
In the stillness of the lake
ch------
To be a human right
Or to be a human wrong
We move into the light
And then we are gone
And the charges against them
will not be withdrawn
Wormwood
they believe
all the green grass was burned
and the trees turned red
in the prophecy
of the fallen star
from the heavens
a great mountain of fire
burns like a lantern
on the rivers and the sea
and the angel says
“woe to the inhabiters of the earth”
To be a human right
Or to be a human wrong
We move into the light
And then we are gone
And the Charges Against them
will not be withdrawn
Her camera comes loose
Falls down the stairs
Where the families had rushed
No time to pack
Orders to leave
and the soldiers never smiled
at the roadblocks wearing gas masks
a third part of the sun
was covered by the clouds
----------//-----------
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3. |
Brother Leader
05:46
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-----------------------------------
BROTHER LEADER ( W.Sony )
----------------------------------
I think I’m going to hang onto power
For 49 years 6 months and 3 hours
Got an army and a desert full of oil
A handful of friends that pretend to be loyal
Fought my brother in a civil war
Sent him away to a distant shore
Like Romulus and Remus
There’s nothing between us
We keep it in the family
They’re pulling me down
Burning bridges through the telephone
Lost support when I searched their homes
Took the TV and the Mercedes Benz
Now they’re marching in the street with their friends
Killed my brother in a civil war
Sent his children to a distant shore
Like Romulus and Remus
There’s nothing between us
We keep it in the family
But they’re pulling me down
------//------
Vocals: Juliana Venter
Zouk & Bass Clarinet: Nic Paton
Drums : Washington Spears
p&c_free_state_music_publishing
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4. |
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The Lost Soul of Dr Basson ( W.Sony )
------------------------------------------
What's going on with Dr Basson
I heard his soul had gone.
Decided to move on.
Left his body.
Like a prisoner, thrown from a plane,
into clouds of cocaine, ecstasy and chemical rain
The condemned soul
wonders through the hallways
knocking on every door
trying to find a way out.
Looking through the files,
playing back the dreams of 1982
Barbara, with wire on her teeth, says she can’t forget him.
He repaired her broken heart as her marriage fell apart.
The soul searching man, suspended from his post,
threw bones in an empty home.
The surgeon Generals friend
The condemned soul wanders through the hallways,
knocking on every door,trying to find a way out
Looking through the files,
playing back the dreams of 1983
----------//----------- Kalahari Surfers
p&c_free_state_music_publishing
____________
notes: Dr Wouter Basson has been one of the most tricky characters to emerge from the Apartheid sewer. A cardiologist and former head of the country's secret chemical and biological warfare project, Project Coast, he has managed to evade prosecution for a wide range of attacks, murders and assassinations against members of anti-apartheid movements. In 1982, Basson is alleged to have arranged the killing of 200 SWAPO prisoners. Basson also conducted innumerable ethically questionable experiments vis-a-vis possible applications of psychedelic drugs as Incapacitants or agents for biological warfare and through a number of front companies was allegedly involved with genetic engineering and the development of chemical and biological pathogens. He faced 67 charges, including drug possession, drug trafficking, fraud, embezzlement, theft, 229 murders and conspiracy to murder. After a 30-month trial was outrageously granted amnesty and continues to practice heart surgery in Cape Town today.
see:
William Finnegan.2001.The Poison-Keeper. New Yorker. https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2001/01/15/the-poison-keeper.
Secrets and Lies: Wouter Basson and South Africa's Chemical and Biological Warfare Programme Gould & Marlene Burger, Struik Publishers, 2002 ISBN 9781868723416
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5. |
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Che Guevara and the Voodoo Boys ( W.Sony )
________________________
they're wearing
a crown of vine leaves
an eagles claw
tail of buffalo makes them invisible
powerful magic
protects them from
snakes and lightning
bullets to water
Che Guevara and the Voodoo Boys
Laurent Kabila for a moment stands poised
Waiting for the River
to take him away
they're wearing Rosary beads and a shower hose
dirty feathers
a mongoose skin
they spit on rocks
to make them explode
eat your heart out then reload
Che Guevara and the Voodoo Boys
Laurent Kabila for a moment stands poised
Waiting for the River
to take him away
______________________________
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6. |
Hostile Takeover
04:27
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Hostile Take Over ( W.Sony )
I’m trapped between the Devil
and the deep blue sea
And Its a long long road to eternity
Heaven can wait behind security gates
I’ll take a short cut through purgatory
It’s getting late
Twenty five past two
In the afternoon
and the heat beats down
So move over
I’m coming through
In my Landrover
You’d better move over
this is a hostile take over
-:-:-
Ten thousand pension funds
have gone down the drain
while I backwash my pool in the pouring rain
My partner’s on a plane
Heading for the Ukraine
He took my wife
And my Kruger gold chain
-:-:-
Twenty five past two
In the afternoon
Its not too late
So move over
I’m coming through
In my Landrover
You’d better move over
this is a hostile take over
look left
look right
hopes fade
fade for finding survivors
So look out I’m coming through
In my Landrover
You’d better move over
this is a hostile take over
----------//-----------
Kalahari Surfers
p&c_free_state_music_publishing
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7. |
Close To Tears
04:12
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Close to Tears ( W.Sony )
__________________________
Crocodile bones ’ n scales ‘n teeth
Dried up river bed
Burn’t sticks ‘n sundried bricks
Yellow eye in a cloudless sky
You can see the heat gauge
moving up into the red
And I’m close to tears
It hasn’t rained for years
Close to tears
Feeling the years since we last lived
here
Last night I dreamt I was drifting
Down a slowly moving river
The banks were built up mountains
Of scrap metal from the war
Children playing in a rusted armoured car
I wake up in a sweat
and you are lying against the wall
Close to tears
I know there are things we need to talk about
Feeling the years since we last lived
Here
Close to tears can’t understand these metaphors
close to tears and the little mouths open wide
to swallow his future ambition
----------//-----------
p&c_free_state_music_publishing
Juliana Venter - backing vocals
Mhlanga Roxx - bass guitar
Die Wors Broers - percussion
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8. |
The Last Tourist
03:41
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The Last Tourist( W.Sony )
------------------------------
Trackers dream
of vehicles
migrating to the south
through swamps and
double bedrooms
overlooking
a river mouth
How to survive
the flood plains
predator becomes prey
viewing hides
the waterholes
armed guards will lead the way
_
Horns clash
Shadow play
comfortably submerged
The last tourist disappears
beneath the dust
Trampled by the herd
Faint signs of their presence
a rumour of a kill
Champagne breakfast pangolin
experience the thrill
Sunset over nothingness
the subtle hues that change
We’ll pick you up at 3 o clock and
Take you to the driving range
_
Horns clash
Shadow play
comfortably submerged
The last tourist disappears
beneath the dust
Trampled by the herd
---//---
Julianna Venter sang backing vocals
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9. |
Wings of a Stingray *
05:29
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Wings of a Stingray (Warrick Sony)
--------------------
wing tips touch the water
flying ducks to the slaughter
bird flu across the lake
across the ocean they hesitate
here's to our feathered friends
who're losing out on dividends
Lets eat in Town
beneath my eiderdown
Foie gras pâté
wings of a stingray
bang your plate for Chairman Mao
keep the sparrows in the air for now
keep them flying till they drop
protect your country and your crop
cough into your gloves
then shake
the outstretched hand
of every delegate
Lets eat in Town
beneath my eiderdown
Foie gras pâté
wings of a stingray
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10. |
Without Slipping
04:00
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11. |
Black Southeaster
02:45
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Black South Easter (Warrick Sony)
Little children playing in the street
Make believe criminals shooting at police
You can feel the morning heat
as it beats down on childhood dreams
Corrugated iron won’t protect them from the storm
Won’t protect them from extended families
When the Black Southeaster blows
everyone who lives here knows
It takes the town by storm
She was a little late for work
Waited half an hour for the train to come
She thinks of families and friends
Left behind to the armies of the north
Corrugated iron won’t protect them from the storm
Won’t protect them from extended families
When the Black Southeaster blows
everyone who lives here knows
It takes the town by storm
Everything we need will be free
Houses food electricity
A land of happiness and sun
Who cares where the money's coming from
Corrugated iron won’t protect you from the storm
Won’t protect you from extended families
When the Black Southeaster blows
everyone who lives here knows
It takes the town by storm
----------//----------- Kalahari Surfers
Vocals: Juliana Venter
Zouk: Nick Paton
___________________________________
p&c_free_state_music_publishing
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12. |
The Curse of the Birds
04:10
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--------------------------
The Curse of the Birds
(words by Nadia Davids for the Baxter production “Cissie”)
------------------------
The wind is black
The sea is grey
The colours gone
The houses sway
The trees grow crooked
The churches sigh
We all march to the beat of goodbye.
This is a place of so many shades
Faces I love
Brown baby haze
Can’t think of when the law was more crazed
But something’s happening
in the legal maze
I didn’t see the yellow machine
I didn’t know that houses could scream
What would you have done?
The lady with the words.
Who could have stopped
the curse of the birds?
One day we’ll speak of you but not today
One day we’ll know your name
What will we say?
One day your voice/ your
coat/ /your shape/your words
Will all be familiar
But for now You’re stranger than fiction
Are you a stranger in fiction?
I didn’t know that houses could scream
I didn’t know that land could weep
What would you have done?
The lady with the words.
Who could have stopped
the curse of the birds?
The steps are gone and the voices are quiet
the earth is loud in the midst of silence
the curse of the birds?
----------//----------- Kalahari Surfers
p&c_free_state_music_publishing
backing vocals: Sarah Jane Mary Hills
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13. |
The Actual Size
04:38
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______________________
Actual Size ( W.Sony )
_____________________
The actual size of the burden of love
Relates to our powers above
The actual size of the shadows we cast
Are only measured in days gone past
Soft light burns morning dew
I see you reflected in the swimming pool
Standing near the lemon tree
Scattering seeds
like years flowing
Tears growing
in the corners of your eyes
its been a shock surprise
we realize
here comes the rain
I want to hold you like superglue
And learn to love you the way you want me to
Protect you from the mountain of debt
By chanting words from ancient Tibet
Morning glory chokes
the Argentinian
exotic tree
Humming birds
suck nectar
through the purple flowers
tiny stamen
Pollination (we are told )
is difficult when days are cold
Slam the gate on interest rates
We’ll grow our own
And replicate
The love we had before
The actual size of ………..
Basket case in tireless haste
I face the queue and automate
In pastures green
in pictures pasted perfectly
on plastic cartons
Motorcades of parent bodies
move across my field of vision
Amber light I take the gap
and dash across the parking lot
To see you sitting with the sun in your hair
_____________________________________
p&c_free_state_music_publishing
backing vocals: Sarah Jane Mary Hills
p&c_free_state_music_publishing
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14. |
Hide the Electricity
05:12
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__________________________
Hide the Electricity( W.Sony )
----------------------------------
I’m standing on top and now I’m below
the world looks the same
the South is too slow
got to pick up the pace
to push things through
we’re working all day
but there’s too much to do
leave me a message and
I’ll get back...I’ll get back to you
Ch : I am the equator
with a world between gears
I’ll hide the electricity
for a thousand years
I have seen your boys
loved their simplicity
keep them from noise
hide the electricity
it’ll burn them up
the race to infinity
we hurtle through space
imagined divinity
we’re spinning together
but we’re worlds apart
some left behind
never get to the start
ch
Ill clear out the ocean
‘n set the fishes free
let calmness descend
for eternity
move the clouds away
let me see your land
everything's gone
its buried in the sand
----------------------
p&c_free_state_music_publishing
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15. |
Carolines Circle
04:08
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Caroline’s Circle ( W.Sony )
_________________________
The circle above her head is
made of painted light
it begins and never ends,
her friends descend then comprehend her
drawings in the sand
she takes a candle in her hand
melts wax into the thread
puts rice upon your head
instead of
Oil of Saint John
We met her on a summers eve
When the nine oaken spindles
Made a revolution from the east
Caroline’s Circle joining hands reaching out to us
She understands
The stones are painted white
And blackened sticks are laid in rows
New fire is made with leaves of maize
and bells are gently rung
The food is placed in tiny boats
and carried to the shore
Hymns are sung to the setting sun
and our troubles float away
With the
Oil of Saint John
We met her on a summers eve
When the nine oaken spindles
Made a revolution from the east
Caroline’s Circle joining hands reaching out to us
She understands
_________________________
p&c_free_state_music_publishing
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16. |
Blue Light Brigade
05:06
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-------------------------------------------
Blue Light Brigade (Festival of Fights) ( W.Sony )
-------------------------------------------
lyric:
Blue light Brigade
not another cavalcade
to knock you off your bike
as they jump a red light
or beat you to the ground
like a dog
to the sound
of the sirens
and the violence
unleashed
when you express your outrage
_______
Found sound:
crowd singing “dubula ibhunu” ( kill the boers / farmers )
leader ANC Youth League singing the same
TV presenter: what are you so nervous of (shoot to kill)
Youth League spokesman: fuck you man (shoot to kill)
say again (shoot to kill)
I said fuck you (shoot to kill)
what are you so nervous of (shoot to kill)
fuck off ok …what is your problem (shoot to kill)
what are you so nervous of (shoot to kill)
I've got no problem I just want to speak with…
aaah fuck you (shoot to kill)
fuck off_____
Blue light Brigade
not another cavalcade
to knock you off your bike
as they jump a red light
or beat you to the ground
like a dog
to the sound
of the sirens
and the violence
unleashed
when you express your outrage
TV presenter: what are you so nervous of (shoot to kill)
Floyd Shivambo- then ANC Youth League spokesman: fuck you man (shoot to kill)
say again (shoot to kill)
I said fuck you (shoot to kill)
what are you so nervous of (shoot to kill)
fuck off ok …what is your problem (shoot to kill)
what are you so nervous of (shoot to kill)
I've got no problem I just want to speak with…
aaah fuck you (shoot to kill)
fuck off
(shoot to kill…killer)
mshini wami (bring me my machine gun) sung by the countries President
dubula ibhunu (kill the farmers ) sung by a crowd
dubula ibhunu (kill the boers/farmers )
the sirens
and the violence
unleashed
when you express your outrage of
the sirens
and the violence
unleashed
when you express your outrage of etc
________________________________
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17. |
The State Banquet
03:12
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18. |
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Black South Easter (Warrick Sony)
Little children playing in the street
Make believe criminals shooting at police
You can feel the morning heat
as it beats down on childhood dreams
Corrugated iron won’t protect them from the storm
Won’t protect them from extended families
When the Black Southeaster blows
everyone who lives here knows
It takes the town by storm
She was a little late for work
Waited half an hour for the train to come
She thinks of families and friends
Left behind to the armies of the north
Corrugated iron won’t protect them from the storm
Won’t protect them from extended families
When the Black Southeaster blows
everyone who lives here knows
It takes the town by storm
Everything we need will be free
Houses food electricity
A land of happiness and sun
Who cares where the money's coming from
Corrugated iron won’t protect you from the storm
Won’t protect you from extended families
When the Black Southeaster blows
everyone who lives here knows
It takes the town by storm
----------//----------- Kalahari Surfers
Vocals: Juliana Venter
Zouk: Nick Paton
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Kalahari Surfers South Africa
Warrick Sony is a South African composer, producer, musician and sound designer.
He is the founder and sole permanent member of the Kalahari Surfers. They made politically radical satirical music in 1980s South Africa.
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