"My Black President" , Song by Brenda Fassie, (1989)

A song banned in South Africa when it was released in 1989, My Black

President was a tiing!oint song, offered as it was a year before
Mandela"s e#it fro$ %ail in 199&' (t)s a thrilling song, filled with the sound
of black South Africa* a har$onious choral grou, s$ooth as chro$e,
hu$$ing through the song while +assie sings, i$agining the $o$ent that
,elson Mandela is released'
(n 1989, +assie released a song to an i$risoned ,elson Mandela called
-Black President-' .he song was banned fro$ the airwa/es during
aartheid, but in 1990 she was able to erfor$ it for Mandela hi$self at
his inauguration cere$ony'
"We can also relate these articles to the notion of Myths and Heroes. Indeed Rosa Parks and ML King are
considered as heroes to many people: Before the i!il Rights Mo!ement" #hen #hites #ere tho$ght to %e
%etter than all other races" they decided it #as time for change."
&his co$ld e!en %e linked to the "idea of progress" as
a1 Pick a rotest song to write about'
b1 2ead through the lyrics for the song 3students" will need to do their own internet search to find
these1 and listen to the song 3students should find a recording of the song on 4outube1'
c1 (dentify what the issue the song is rotesting against is 3they should start fro$ the basic
categories $entioned in the re/ious task1'
d1 Annotate a lyric sheet by circling key 5uotes and identifying techni5ues used'
e1 ,oting down descritions of the sound and feel of the $usic in the song'
6ow .o Set 7ut A Protest Song Analysis
Introduction:
8 9ist the title of the song
8 .he band:artist who erfor$ it
8 .he year it was written
8 resent the historical conte#t : background infor$ation
8 .he issue the song is about and its oint of /iew
8 .he style of the song
First body aragra!:
8 .he body aragrah should look at the first /erse 3or the first two /erses of the song1'
8 .his body aragrah should begin by gi/ing an o/er/iew of what the first /erse 3or
/erses1 of the song is about and how the $usical tone of the song suorts this'
"e#t body aragra!:
8 .his should look at the chorus ! what is the key $essage of the words and how does the
song)s style change 3or not change1 to re!inforce this'
Final body aragra!:
8 6ow does the song finish; <hat are the key words or feeling fro$ the $usic that we are
left to think about;
6ow can you account for the fact that this song was bannedin South Africa when it was first
released in 1989 ;
=#lain to what e#tent the song could be related to > notions * of Places a,f for$s of ower: idea of
reogress: Myths and 6eroes
Brenda Fassie
Black
President
Lyrics
.he year 19?>
.he eole"s resident
<as taken away by security $en
All dressed in a unifor$
.he brutality, brutality
7h no, $y, $y black resident
6i$ and his co$rades
<ere sentenced to isolation
+or $any ainful years
+or $any ainful years
Many ainful years
7f hard labor
.hey broke rocks
But the sirit was ne/er broken
,e/er broken
7h no, $y, $y black resident
6$$ $aa, h$$ $aa, h$$ $a $a$a
6$$ $aa, h$$ $aa, h$$ $a $a$a
6$$ $aa, h$$ $aa, h$$ $a Madiba
6$$ $aa, h$$ $aa, h$$ $a Madiba
Ahh uye$!ye$
.hey broke rocks
But the sirit was ne/er broken
,e/er broken
7h $y black resident
,ow in 199&
.he eole"s resident
@a$e out fro$ %ail
2aised u his hand and said
-Ai/a, /i/a, $y eole-
6e walked the long road
Back, back to freedo$
Back to freedo$
+reedo$ for $y black resident
9et us re%oice for our resident
9et us sing for our resident
9et us ray for our resident
9et us sing, let us dance
+or Madiba, Madiba"s freedo$
<e thank 4ou 9ord,
+or listening to our rayers
7h, $y resident
( will die for $y resident
( will sing for $y resident
( will stand and say
Ai/a, /i/a, /i/a, /i/a, /i/a, /i/a $y resident