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Johnny Clegg and Savuka — Scatterlings of Africa
Album: Third World Child
Avg rating:
6.3

Your rating:
Total ratings: 1107









Released: 1987
Length: 3:40
Plays (last 30 days): 0
Copper sun sinking low
Scatterlings and fugitives
Hooded eyes and weary brows
Seek refuge in the night

They are the scatterlings of Africa
Each uprooted one
On the road to Phelamanga
Beneath the copper sun
And I love the scatterlings of Africa
Each and every one
In their hearts a burning hunger
Beneath the copper sun

Broken wall, bicycle wheel
African sun forging steel, singing
Magic machine cannot match
Human being human being
African idea
African idea
--make the future clear
--make the future clear

They are the scatterlings of Africa
Each uprooted one
On the road to Phelamanga
Beneath the copper sun
And for the scatterlings of Africa
The journey has begun
Future find their hungry eyes
Beneath the copper sun

Ancient bones from Olduvai
Echoes of the very first cry
"Who made me, here and why? --
Beneath this copper sun."
My very first beginnings
Beneath the copper sky
Lie deeply buried
In the dust of Olduvai

And we are scatterlings of Africa
Both you and I
We are on the road to Phelamanga
Beneath a copper sky
And we are scatterlings of Africa
On a journey to the stars
Far below we leave forever
Dreams of what we were
Hawu beke Mama-ye! Mama-ye!
In the beginning
Beneath the copper sky
Ancient bones
In the dust of Olduvai
Who made us, here, and why
Remember!
Comments (190)add comment
First seen on TOGWT back in the 80's and loved  from there on in. So sad I missed this guy play live. 
YUM BO HUMM!
That's the first time I've heard the word 'scatterling'. We're all African scatterlings if you go back into early human prehistory.
December 2016 I led a group of students from the US for a 4 week adventure to South Africa. Students were training for vet school so much of our time was spent with wildlife rehab centers and anti-poaching groups.

Our trip finished with a Johnny Clegg concert on New Year's Eve in an outdoor amphitheater.  The night was perfect. The music was perfect. The students were in tears afterwards. It was nearly impossible to get them on the bus to the airport the next day for our flight home. They all fell in love with South Africa and Johnny's brilliant concert was a dream finisher. 
Great song, but I prefer the Juluka version.
From the Rain Man soundtrack! Very nice.
One of my most favourite songs
 TerryS wrote:

First saw him on morning-TV in a Palm Desert motel. Of course.

Went right out and bought this CD, though this wasn't one of my favorite tracks. I hear he was performing in Vancouver last weekend.


Palm Desert...the oasis of sorta-middle-classdom jammed next to the bastions of $$$'s in Palm Springs, Indian Wells and the like.  Just funny to see the words 'Palm Desert' and 'motel' in the same sentence.  Made me consider where there was a motel left there 10 years ago.  You sure you weren't in Indio?
RIP Johnny
Le Zoulou Blanc! 
 justinnield wrote:
As a scatterling of Africa myself, this song will always move me. 
 
Absolutely
I'm dancing on my chair^).
I saw in first in 78 or 79 in a small cafe in Yeoville which was technically illegal as Sipho wasn't allowed to perform in a white people only place. I also saw his farewell concert before he passed. What a wonderful human he was!
I like Johnny Clegg a lot, nice music, but I like him more than his music really merits. 
He sure had his heart in the right place. Watch the video of this song, with Johnny's left side painted black, his friend's (Dudu Ndlovu?) right side painted white, and the two of them dancing Zulu-style in unison, in South Africa in the 1980's during apartheid and HARD repression. 
Respect. A lot of.
The sound, the cover, man those were different times
May not be exceptional but I dig it well enough!
I had the cassette. Played it out in my parent's Volvo in the 80s. Sorry to see Johnny Clegg died in 2019. Thanks, RP for keeping his voice ringing. 


hschlossberg wrote:
Surely there must be much, much better Johnny Clegg than this!  This is terrible.
 
Suppose you might try Asimbonanga, I Call Your Name,  Impi, Dela etc, but most fans probably do not put this down as Clegg terrible.  Certainly he covered a lot of ground and was important in South Africa for a reason.


Surely there must be much, much better Johnny Clegg than this!  This is terrible.
YUM BO HUM
RIP Johnny Clegg, true son of Africa.
 wgsu_1978 wrote:
Johnny Clegg at Georgetown Univ in Washington in the early 90s was one of the best shows I've ever seen. Never expected to hear him much on RP ("too pop"), so this is a very nice surprise. An outstanding and important musician who's underappreciated on the US side of the pond.
 
I'll concur with that since I've NEVER heard of him!  I waited to rate until after the song ended, it's OK, maybe I'll like it more next time, I'll go with a 7 for now; Long Live RP and all the acts I've never heard of and should!
I was honored to see him in concert for New Year's Eve in Cape Town in 2016. You would have never guessed he just finished the battle of his time, overcoming cancer and returning to the stage for the first time since. I will never forget the energy of this show, and do not ever expect to ever see another concert with the energy and love at this show. I would love to hear more Johnny Clegg on RP.

 
Grayson wrote:
Was great to hear a Johnny Clegg song on RP! Can't say I recall ever having done so, although no doubt I simply missed them. I was very keen on Juluka, back in their day. Still am, for that matter. And while I try not to dwell on mistakes and missed ops of yore, swear I kick myself to this day, at least once a week, that for some reason one of my brothers and I, who share a deep and abiding love of Juluka and that may have been about it, decided not to go see Johnny Clegg and Savuka during the '96 Olympic games in Atlanta one night, as we were so burnt out from partying down every day and night during the games, I suppose. We heard the next day that they brought the house, practically the city with it too, down when the South African soccer/football team joined them on stage for singing and mucho of their signature synchronized dancing. Maddening!
 

More Johnny Clegg please. So happy I got to see him - with Zulu dancers - in Capetown in 2002.  He was at the University of Capetown, and it was sold out. We got there and said we were from California - they found us seats! Not that we sat much in them, mind you...
As a scatterling of Africa myself, this song will always move me. 
Was great to hear a Johnny Clegg song on RP! Can't say I recall ever having done so, although no doubt I simply missed them. I was very keen on Juluka, back in their day. Still am, for that matter. And while I try not to dwell on mistakes and missed ops of yore, swear I kick myself to this day, at least once a week, that for some reason one of my brothers and I, who share a deep and abiding love of Juluka and that may have been about it, decided not to go see Johnny Clegg and Savuka during the '96 Olympic games in Atlanta one night, as we were so burnt out from partying down every day and night during the games, I suppose. We heard the next day that they brought the house, practically the city with it too, down when the South African soccer/football team joined them on stage for singing and mucho of their signature synchronized dancing. Maddening!
Wow, that is interesting.  I saw a little clip with Merrill Garbus from Tuneyards doing "whats in my bag" at a record store.  Interestingly, she picked up a "Johnny Clegg & Savuka" album and commented how that had influenced her.  So there you go!  This song was played back in the day on WXRT in Chicago quite regularly.
 TerryS wrote:
In South Africa he is regarded as a tad too 'white' and does mainly big business gigs for VIPs I was told, by a black African who said Johnny was at his best 25 years ago. I don't get it, but he was born in Bacup Yorkshire.

Quote from a French newspaper: At the height of the band's success in 1988, Michael Jackson had to cancel his show in Lyon, France, as he attracted a smaller audience than Johnny Clegg and Savuka. A newspaper headline in France read "white man singing black music, out sells black man singing white music"
 
now that is FUNNY
 drtracey wrote:

You should hear the original version, not the 80s synth asimbonanga , much better
 
Agreed, saw Johnny perform this live and the energy was palpable......it's missing from this recording.
Dated...
 adpucci wrote:

a tad too white? he IS white...
 
Read the Wikipedia entry on Johnny Clegg. who was sometimes called Le Zoulou Blanc ("The White Zulu"), then pontificate.
Johnny Clegg at Georgetown Univ in Washington in the early 90s was one of the best shows I've ever seen. Never expected to hear him much on RP ("too pop"), so this is a very nice surprise. An outstanding and important musician who's underappreciated on the US side of the pond.
Before dismissing the song, you want to contextualize it, including a bit about the history of Clegg, Jaluka, and Savuka. Kinda like how you wouldn't judge Paul Simon just on the basis of just Me and Julio - the catalog is much bigger than that.
The Juluka version of this is much better. I'd give that one a 9.
Is this "Africa, the musical"? African music in a Euro disco style. Not my cup of tea.
Haven't heard this in a while.  I must put it in my iTunes playlist.  Very nice.
{#Cowboy}
 siskinbob wrote:
While this is quite nice it hasn't the power of Joan Baez & The Soweto Gospel ChoirAsimbonanga which preceded it. Don't understand the low rating spread for either song.

 
You should hear the original version, not the 80s synth asimbonanga , much better
While this is quite nice it hasn't the power of Joan Baez & The Soweto Gospel ChoirAsimbonanga which preceded it. Don't understand the low rating spread for either song.
Pass the dutchie on the left hand side...
{#Clap}
I caught this band on tour in NH must have been summer 1990 or '91. I didn't know who they were, but was blown away. They had this Zulu dance with clubs they did mid-show which was brilliant.

Can't say why they didn't remain a global force in music. 
 TerryS wrote:
In South Africa he is regarded as a tad too 'white' and does mainly big business gigs for VIPs I was told, by a black African who said Johnny was at his best 25 years ago. I don't get it, but he was born in Bacup Yorkshire.

Quote from a French newspaper: At the height of the band's success in 1988, Michael Jackson had to cancel his show in Lyon, France, as he attracted a smaller audience than Johnny Clegg and Savuka. A newspaper headline in France read "white man singing black music, out sells black man singing white music"
 
a tad too white? he IS white...
not the best Johnny Clegg song by a long shot...
In South Africa he is regarded as a tad too 'white' and does mainly big business gigs for VIPs I was told, by a black African who said Johnny was at his best 25 years ago. I don't get it, but he was born in Bacup Yorkshire.

Quote from a French newspaper: At the height of the band's success in 1988, Michael Jackson had to cancel his show in Lyon, France, as he attracted a smaller audience than Johnny Clegg and Savuka. A newspaper headline in France read "white man singing black music, out sells black man singing white music"
 TerryS wrote:
First saw him on morning-TV in  a PalmDesert motel. Of course.

Went right out and bought this CD, though this wasn't one of my favorite tracks. I hear he was performing in Vancouver last weekend.
 
I know that place well.

The question is, where is the original version of this song?
First saw him on morning-TV in a Palm Desert motel. Of course.

Went right out and bought this CD, though this wasn't one of my favorite tracks. I hear he was performing in Vancouver last weekend.
 Geed wrote:
My son takes lessons from the drummer, Derek Debeer (right). Cool to hear the song here.


 

Cool.  Derek helped with a school project for my kids' elementary school about 5 years ago (they performed and recorded Disney songs - each class a different song - and put a CD together).  Derek did just about everything from playing the accompanying music to recording to production to choir direction.  It was a great experience and one my kids still remember fondly.  Derek was great with the kids and they loved his animation, energy and were in awe of his talents.
If Spinal Tap were a movie about "world music," this song would be on the sound track.
 westslope wrote:

South Africa is in the news these days as a country maintaining a dialogue with Ghaddafi.

 
Not anymore.
Haven't heard this for ages - love it!
My son takes lessons from the drummer, Derek Debeer (right). Cool to hear the song here.


 fitzworld wrote:
I'm sorry but this was a cheese ball song when it first came out in 1988 and that hasn't changed. Please don't play it again. Please!!!!

 
Go suck a cheese ball. Bill plays what he wants.  I'm sure you can find a Brittney song elsewhere.  Yeah, I'm in a bad mood - deal with it!

I've always felt this was a great, foot-tapping song.
More Johnny Klegg and Savuka!  I just love the positivity of the music, and oh, such a vast wilderness to explore! {#Daisy}
 ubuntourist wrote:
I had the good fortune to see Johnny Clegg and Jaluka perform in a 600-seat college auditorium.  Hands-down the best concert I've ever had the privilege to see / hear: Part theater, part dance, part anthropology lecture and all music. {#Notworthy}
 
 

4sure! Attended a Jaluka Concert- 1981- Mabopane. Great memories..
Nice to hear this!!
A few weeks ago I visited South-Africa and our guide loved this song so much we heard it every day {#Bananajam}
 westslope wrote:

South Africa is in the news these days as a country maintaining a dialogue with Ghaddafi.


 
No shortage of contoversy in these parts... It's almost like they who should be obeyed meet weekly to decide who the're gonna piss off for the week/month/year. Somewhat embarrassing I'd say. But SA is not alone in this respect, we'd just dared to hope for more.

I'm sorry but this was a cheese ball song when it first came out in 1988 and that hasn't changed. Please don't play it again. Please!!!!

I had the good fortune to see Johnny Clegg and Jaluka perform in a 600-seat college auditorium.  Hands-down the best concert I've ever had the privilege to see / hear: Part theater, part dance, part anthropology lecture and all music. {#Notworthy}
 
 Businessgypsy wrote:
Phone rings, it's my CPA. "You got those files I need?". I make furtive searching noises, and glance up at the RP Playlist. "Um, there are scatterlings of it on my desk right now, I'll probably have it complete by three". Thanks for the new (to me) word!
 {#Lol}  Thank you - your comment just delighted me. Scatterlings.  I always think of dandelion spores, borne on the wind to land where they will and grow where they can...  My favorite song by Clegg is still  "Take My Heart Away," but I really love all his music. He takes me to another place, far away from the here and now, and I can dream there...


Actually, the more I listen to this Johnny Clegg remake I wonder why he did it in the first place, it is really horrible - the original had strength and integrity -

South Africa is in the news these days as a country maintaining a dialogue with Ghaddafi.


The original was so much better, less production, this is like very weak tea compared to the vitality of Juluka - Play the original instead of this, please....
 cosmiclint wrote:

Ich bein ein African?
 

Ich bin ein Fish.

We all came from the underwater world, just before the African era...
It sounds well posted in the "Rain man" Movie.
 Shimmer wrote:
Not a great song, but the title is certainly accurate: We are all from Africa originally.
 
Ich bein ein African?


 NancyHM wrote:
had this on Jaluka album 80's/90/s? - the same? sounds almost exactly same
 

Not quite the same. The Juluka version is a bit more lively. 8 for that one, 7 for this one. "Scatterlings" was one of the first bits of African music to achieve worldwide acclaim.
Sounds like the theme music of a bad 80's sitcom...
Needs more vuvuzela.
They have many more good songs B&R, please try some more!
Phone rings, it's my CPA. "You got those files I need?". I make furtive searching noises, and glance up at the RP Playlist. "Um, there are scatterlings of it on my desk right now, I'll probably have it complete by three". Thanks for the new (to me) word!
I really feel for musical artists that recorded the majority of their work in the 80's. The production from that time was so dated (e.g. gated reverb drums). It makes the timeless music from that decade even more remarkable.
 
A slightly more sophisticated Toto.

Not a great song, but the title is certainly accurate: We are all from Africa originally.
I was compelled to log in and give this song a rating of 1
I haven't heard Johnny Clegg in years.  As I remember the whole album was pretty good.

A nice inclusion on the morning's playlist.  Thanks Bill and Rebecca.

Those synths sound very '80s. 
This song is especially relevant today as our thoughts go out to our brethren in Haiti.  We're pulling for you all...
...not so much. Givin' it a 2.

"warsaw 1943" is the best song on this CD and is a very good song. the rest of it (including this song is mediocre).
This is much more interesting music, regardless of who covers it, than Paul Simon's overrated Graceland.
No. No. No. This is so wrong.
 KurtfromLaQuinta wrote:
I know. Sometimes I just don't get it. {#Wall}
 
True, it's puzzling. {#Stupid}
I agree that the Juluka version of this tune is better.

Suvuka had its moments, though - check out These Days and The Crossing from Heat Dust and Dreams.

The Crossing is a musical depiction of how the Zulus deal with death.  When I saw them do it live I was reduced to tears.
The chorus—sounds like they're singing "Young Bo Han"—is not in the available lyrics for this song.  Is the Chorus from another song?  And if so, what it it?
Agreed all Juluka recordings are much better than Savuka, Juluka's Scatterlings is great
 phineas wrote:

Too bad — it's definitely a better version.

 
I know. Sometimes I just don't get it. {#Wall}
Really good song from a great, highly eclectic soundtrack (Rainman)
westslope wrote:
Good for you Kurt_from_La_Qui.



Saw Clegg & Juluka at a mixed University of Durban concert in 1981 near the end of two years of north to south travel.



The white kids and African kids mostly hung in their groups but smiled and nodded to each other in a friendly fashion.









I sweated more at their gig than at any other, before or since, I actually nearly lost consciousness! Great fun!

Juluka is generally far superior to Savuka, without most of the annoying 80's keyboards, and with a far more authentic vibe, songs in Zulu, yet very suited to non-African tastes too. Savuka had some great tunes too, but tended towards some of the cheesier aspects of production. Early Juluka - dynamite!
KurtfromLaQuinta wrote:
Well it didn't make it.


Too bad — it's definitely a better version.

KurtfromLaQuinta wrote:
I've got the original one on the LRC now. Juluka w/ Johnny Clegg. It's sitting at 24/1 on the votes. Let's hope it replaces this lesser version.
Well it didn't make it.
Juluka
Alpine wrote:
Is this from that movie the Black Orchid?
rain man
Agreed and just as bad thewiseking wrote:
sounds like a Mentos commercial
Good for you Kurt_from_La_Qui. Saw Clegg & Juluka at a mixed University of Durban concert in 1981 near the end of two years of north to south travel. The white kids and African kids mostly hung in their groups but smiled and nodded to each other in a friendly fashion.
sounds like a Mentos commercial
YUUUMMM BOOO HAAA!!! I was so young...
Kurt_from_La_Qui wrote:
right on! a request i made months ago. what a great song! one of many great songs you never hear anymore. thanks alot bill! and to you also dog breath! i wish i was smart enough to upload songs, i've got a ton of music i'm sure would fit in here at paradise. i'll figure it out one day. then bill will be sorry that i did!
Ha! Ha! I wrote this back in 2001. My prophecy came true!
I've got the original one on the LRC now. Juluka w/ Johnny Clegg. It's sitting at 24/1 on the votes. Let's hope it replaces this lesser version.
Great to hear this again after so many years.
Is this the bastard love-child of Paul Simon and Blue Swede?
Big fan of J. Clegg and Savuka. Excellent live. It\'s odd to say this, but he was better pre-Mandela release. So much of his music was about fighting apartheid that it was as if he was adrift after that.
one of my buddies gave me this album when it came out and \"dared me not to be happy\" while it was playing.
Not heard this in ages - great tune :)
I love Johnny Clegg! Was lucky enough to see him in concert a few times...what energy! A real genuine enthusiasm and passion for the music and for what he was singing about. Many of his songs have some pretty deep messages. And you can dance to 'em! Cool!
Okay, okay, I know, it probably is a bit lame, but, for whatever reason, I like it. I think because I find it soothing. Again, no reason for that, but I do.
I like this, but does anybody else hear the lite little guitar/synth work from "Jesse's Girl"?
aceface wrote:
This is actually not from Cruel, Crazy, Beautiful World as shown. It is from the first Savuka album, Third World Child and can also be found on In My African Dreams .
A much belated 'thank you.' Saw your post which directed me to the correct album. There is value to RP discussions!
Is this from that movie the Black Orchid?
It's been at least 10 years since I last heard Johnny Clegg. Maybe it's time to buy a CD or two!
Yea, the Spirit is the Journey for sure! Love Clegg'n'Savuka's work, well, play, well, music! ............... ...............................
moodler wrote:
So good to hear Johnny Clegg here - he and his two bands are old favorites of mine from the 1980s. Great positive infectious singing-along-with-the-african-refrains-in-the-car bouncy music. Now my young kids are getting into it. "Scatterlings of Africa" is the one of the most mainstream ones ... if you're interested in really interesting African/pop blending then listen to a song like "The Spirit is the Journey".
I totally agree. I have many of Johnny Clegg's albums - starting with this one. I love his work. Funny that it comes from a white man! But cool too. I think that music-lovers around the world are a group more concerned with the music than the color of a person's skin.
cattgirl813 wrote:
It was, yes. Along with a scary remake of "Iko Iko" and a sublime remake of "Stardust" performed by Aaron Neville. That song was the only reason to own the soundtrack, IMHO. This was just filler.
On the Rain Man soundtrack, because it was the mid 80s story? I hope so. Otherwise, I wouldnt get it, there was nothing African about that movie. I dont think any main characters had African roots either. Not that that's required, but it helps for cohesion in a story, or was this before soundtracks tried to actually match the story being told in the film?
NutsyUK wrote:
Only paul simons music is timeless and this is well... Not!
I was thinking the same thing. I'm having a high school flashback, even as we speak.
Holy cow... I never realized there actually is an 'l' in there. I always thought he was just pronouncing it weird.
So good to hear Johnny Clegg here - he and his two bands are old favorites of mine from the 1980s. Great positive infectious singing-along-with-the-african-refrains-in-the-car bouncy music. Now my young kids are getting into it. "Scatterlings of Africa" is the one of the most mainstream ones ... if you're interested in really interesting African/pop blending then listen to a song like "The Spirit is the Journey".
Sequoyah, I've got the Soweto String Quartet version of Weeping. I'd like to hear the Bright Blue version, but even more I'd like to hear National Madness which I lost when somebody stole my CD collection.
Farquwaar wrote:
Wow....Johnny Clegg!!! I remember this at around the time of Paul Simons Graceland...African soumds were all the rage!!! Oh how the times have changed
Only paul simons music is timeless and this is well... Not!