Weeping
This is an anti-apartheid protect song written by Dan Heymann in the mid-1980s in response to President Botha’s State of Emergency declared in 1985 which resulted in mass killings of unarmed protestors. It controversially incorporated “N’kosi Sikelel’ iAfrica”, the anthem of the African National Congress which was banned at the time.
Dan says the following about the lyrics: “I’ve been asked many times about the symbolism in the Weeping lyrics, so maybe I should say something here. The man referred to in the Weeping lyrics is the late P. W. Botha, one of the last white leaders of South Africa before the end of the Apartheid regime; The demon he could never face (in the Weeping lyrics) refers to the aspirations of the oppressed majority, while the Weeping lyrics also refer to the neighbors, literally the journalists from other countries who were monitoring the situation in South Africa.”
Weeping SSA arranged by Alexander l'Estrange You Tube
Weeping original recording by Dan Heymann and Bright Blue You Tube