Yekunwa (Cover)

This is a cover of Oliver Mtukudzi's Yekunwa from the RUDAVIRO album. The poetry of this legendary artist will never seize to amaze me. The song’s lyrics generally translate to, “melon, give me water to drink... quench my thirst so I may survive, seeing as it hasn’t rained this year. Heaven, may rain come down. How are my little ones supposed to survive if it doesn’t rain? How is my livestock supposed to live if it doesn’t rain? If someone caused a curse on us by working on a sacred day, they must confess so that the rains may fall”. This song may sound like it’s about asking for rain in a time of drought... and it is! For me, though, since the very first time I heard it... it’s been a cry of a man pleading for a break. He has worked hard and has been faithful with the gifts and ‘mandate’ he has been given... but that big break just won’t come. He cries, “may You just open that door that will make it rain”. Many of us might feel like they’ve been singing this song ever since COVID hit. It’s been a drought of sorts... and we plead with the heavens to just restore the world as we knew it before. Well, let’s hang on a little longer and keep doing the right things. It looks like it’s not going to be too long till “the rains start to fall again”. Oliver Mtukudzi, Thomas Mapfumo, James Chimombe, Jah Prayzah, Leonard Zhakata, Harare, Zimbabwe, Bulawayo