173:, or street slang. "Meadowlands" was superficially sunny and upbeat, including the line "We're moving night and day to go to Meadowlands / We love Meadowlands." This led the South African government to mistakenly believe that the song supported the relocation program. This interpretation was the result of the government relying on a literal translation of the lyrics. The government was so pleased with the song that Vilakezi was praised by a bureaucrat for the song, and reportedly, had a housing application approved. However, the lyrics were intended to be ironic. The residents of Sophiatown understood this interpretation, and sang the song as their possessions were removed from the township by government trucks. Thus the song has been referred to as a notable example of using ambiguous meaning to convey anti-government sentiment in a covert manner. Vershbow describes the lyrics of the song, such as "We will move all night and day / To go stay in Meadowlands / You'll hear the white people saying / Let's go to Meadowlands", as expressing the emotional devastation of the forced move. Scholar Gwen Ansell stated that it was "as rich in nuance as a traditional fable".
151:. The song was performed outside South Africa by several artists during the apartheid era, helping "expose the injustices suffered by oppressed racial groups", according to commentator Michaela Vershbow. In 2007, it was included in the collection "Essential South African Jazz".
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in 1954. These laws forcibly relocated millions of South
Africans into townships in racially segregated areas. This relocation was part of a plan to separate the black population of South Africa into tiny, impoverished
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was destroyed during the implementation of this plan in 1955, and its 60,000 inhabitants forcibly moved. Many of them were sent to a settlement known as
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on the piano. As with many other protest songs of this period, "Meadowlands" was made popular both within and outside South Africa by
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111:. Sophiatown had been a cultural centre, particularly for African jazz music, prior to the relocation.
522:"The Beat that Beat Apartheid: The Role of Music in the Resistance against Apartheid in South Africa"
139:. Several other songs, including Makeba's "Sophiatown is Gone", and "Bye Bye Sophiatown" by the
86:. Black South Africans were forced to live in poverty stricken townships, and were denied basic
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This article is about the South
African song. For the Russian Song known as "Meadowlands", see
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233:"The Sounds of Resistance: The Role of Music in South Africa's Anti-Apartheid Movement"
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held all political power during this time, and implemented the system of
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Benedict, Cathy; Schmidt, Patrick; Spruce, Gary; Woodford, Paul (2015).
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Soweto Blues: Jazz, Popular Music, and
Politics in South Africa
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Sounding the Cape: Music, Identity and
Politics in South Africa
43:. The song was popularised by a number of musicians, including
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The forced move away from the
Sophiatown township inspired
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The Oxford
Handbook of Social Justice in Music Education
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The lyrics of the song were written in three languages;
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471:The World of South African Music: A Reader
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195:. Oxford University Press.
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155:Lyrics and interpretation
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31:song composed in 1956 by
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559:Anti-apartheid songs
103:. The settlement of
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505:. A&C Black.
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109:Meadowlands
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553:Categories
539:24 October
535:(8): 17–39
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177:References
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105:Sophiatown
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59:Background
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145:Cape Town
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27:" is an
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