Warren wanted a Beach Boys thing for this one, and Carl Wilson and Billy Hinsche came in, with Carl arranging the vocal parts. The other harmony vocalists (credited as the "Gentlemen Boys") were Jackson Browne, J.D. Souther, Zevon's longtime backers Waddy Wachtel and Jorge Calderon, and Linda Rondstadt/Stone Poneys guitarist Kenny Edwards.
Long ago there was a sound in the night
Kwela man, singing under the street light
A cheap guitar, he gave his sorrow a smile
And he sowed his songs in the alley ways mile upon mile
Ye hum ho la lo Kwela man
Ye hum ho la la Kwela, Kwela
Ye hum ho la lo Kwela man
You gave it your life
Ye hum ho la lo Kwela man
Ye hum ho la la Kwela, Kwela
Ye hum ho la lo Kwela man
You gave it your life
Living low with the Pennywhistle, tea-chest base gang
I followed him home and he danced as he sang
But now he's gone, not even the slightest traces
Of a Kwela song and the street is full of empty spaces
Ye hum ho la lo Kwela man
Ye hum ho la la Kwela, Kwela
Ye hum ho la lo Kwela man
You gave it your life
Ye hum ho la lo Kwela man
Ye hum ho la la Kwela, Kwela
Ye hum ho la lo Kwela man
You gave it your life
Nobody knows, did he survive the winding road?
Did he find a song that took him back to the heartland?
Here I stand, lost in the memory
Of a Kwela man, singing in the long gone twilight
When I followed you home Kwela man
You filled my soul, Kwela, Kwela
When you sang your song Kwela man
You gave it your life
Ye hum ho la lo Kwela man
Ye hum ho la la Kwela, Kwela
Ye hum ho la lo Kwela man
You gave it your life
Ye hum ho la lo Kwela man
Ye hum ho la la Kwela, Kwela
Ye hum ho la lo Kwela man
You gave it your life
Ye hum ho la lo Kwela man
Ye hum ho la la Kwela, Kwela
Ye hum ho la lo Kwela man
You gave it your life
Ye hum ho la lo Kwela man
Ye hum ho la la Kwela, Kwela
Ye hum ho la lo Kwela man
You gave it your life
Ye hum ho la lo Kwela man
Ye hum ho la la Kwela, Kwela
Ye hum ho la lo Kwela man
Kwela man, singing under the street light
A cheap guitar, he gave his sorrow a smile
And he sowed his songs in the alley ways mile upon mile
Ye hum ho la lo Kwela man
Ye hum ho la la Kwela, Kwela
Ye hum ho la lo Kwela man
You gave it your life
Ye hum ho la lo Kwela man
Ye hum ho la la Kwela, Kwela
Ye hum ho la lo Kwela man
You gave it your life
Living low with the Pennywhistle, tea-chest base gang
I followed him home and he danced as he sang
But now he's gone, not even the slightest traces
Of a Kwela song and the street is full of empty spaces
Ye hum ho la lo Kwela man
Ye hum ho la la Kwela, Kwela
Ye hum ho la lo Kwela man
You gave it your life
Ye hum ho la lo Kwela man
Ye hum ho la la Kwela, Kwela
Ye hum ho la lo Kwela man
You gave it your life
Nobody knows, did he survive the winding road?
Did he find a song that took him back to the heartland?
Here I stand, lost in the memory
Of a Kwela man, singing in the long gone twilight
When I followed you home Kwela man
You filled my soul, Kwela, Kwela
When you sang your song Kwela man
You gave it your life
Ye hum ho la lo Kwela man
Ye hum ho la la Kwela, Kwela
Ye hum ho la lo Kwela man
You gave it your life
Ye hum ho la lo Kwela man
Ye hum ho la la Kwela, Kwela
Ye hum ho la lo Kwela man
You gave it your life
Ye hum ho la lo Kwela man
Ye hum ho la la Kwela, Kwela
Ye hum ho la lo Kwela man
You gave it your life
Ye hum ho la lo Kwela man
Ye hum ho la la Kwela, Kwela
Ye hum ho la lo Kwela man
You gave it your life
Ye hum ho la lo Kwela man
Ye hum ho la la Kwela, Kwela
Ye hum ho la lo Kwela man
Lyrics submitted by SongMeanings
Kwela Man Lyrics as written by Jonathan Paul Clegg
Lyrics © RHYTHM SAFARI PTY LTD, Downtown Music Publishing
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
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Spirit Within
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The Spy
Doors, The
Doors, The
Like a lot of the other comments are saying, I think this mainly about voyeurism. If the song was about his girlfriend, then why would he use the word spy. If you are a spy it means you shouldn't be caught, that is kind of the whole point, and if you are a voyeur, the whole point of the pleasure you get from it, is the fact that the other people don't know you are watching them. See a bit of a connection there?
Grand Theft Auto
Insane Ian
Insane Ian
The way this song speaks to me🥺🥺when I sing it I feel like I relate
Battle Royale
Word Alive, The
Word Alive, The
This song is def a twin to "Unfair" (a song she has been quoted as saying is about falling in love with someone who is already in a relationship) so it is presumably about the same person. Given the references to buying an apartment and not being able to see her love interest "after tonight," it's most likely that she's moving away and she'll "wait a day to break the bad news" (i.e. notifying him that she's leaving once she's already gone).
And, of course, the fact that she sees in him a fellow "idealist" and "dreamer" (terms commonly given to people with the INFP personality on the Myers–Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI)) portends that she'll always be left wondering if they would've been perfect together.
Bron-Y-Aur Stomp
Led Zeppelin
Led Zeppelin
This is about bronies. They communicate by stomping.