Shosholoza

Shosholoza is a traditional Southern African folk song. The song was traditionally sung by all-male work gangs in a call and response style.

The song has been recorded by a variety of artists, including Ladysmith Black Mambazo, PJ Powers, The Glue and Peter Gabriel, as well as being a standard of most gumboots bands. The song gained further popularity after South Africa won the 1995 Rugby World Cup, and is a favourite at sport events in South Africa.

The Zulu word "Shosholoza" means "go forward" or "make way for the next man", and is also reminiscent of the sound made by the steam train (stimela) described in the song. The song has also given its name to Team Shosholoza, the first African challenger for the America's Cup, and to Shosholoza Meyl, the long-distance passenger train service operating in South Africa.

The lyrics of the song vary, as do the transcriptions. Here is one example:

:Shosholoza:Ku lezontaba:Stimela siphum' eSouth Africa :Wen' uyabaleka:Wen' uyabaleka:Ku lezontaba:Stimela siphum' eSouth Africa

A rough translation:

:Move fast:on those mountains:train from South Africa.:You are running away:on those mountains:train from South Africa.

The original version has the country name Rhodesia instead of South Africa, since this song was sung by migrant labourers from Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe) travelling on the train down to the mines in the Transvaal.