I can't forget you my little Mushanga
I keep a place in my heart for you
The days of waiting they keep getting longer
And not a thing I can do
I was a poet, a magazine writer
Sent to report on political views
It was by chance through a lens that I met you
A Capetown girl with no shoes
You were runnin' down the road
I was going your way
I stopped and turned around to lent you my hand
You smiled though you were suffering
I didn't understand, then
You broke into my heart
I saw your eyes and then I knew
You broke into my heart
Like the wind and rain that followed you
You broke into my heart
Had the Lord above forgotten you?
You broke in from the start
And all my tears belong to you
Mushanga, oh, Mushanga, oh
I sat and watched as she danced by the fires
Through ancient songs did the tale unfold
They sang of diamonds that came from their mountains
The loss of lives mining white man's gold
I had to leave and go back to Manhattan
Where all my stories are bought and sold
I know the city would surely be saddened
If what I knew could be told
You were runnin' down the road
I was going your way
I stopped and turned around to lent you my hand
You smiled though you were suffering
I didn't understand, then
You broke into my heart
I saw your eyes and then I knew
You broke into my heart
Like the wind and rain that followed you
You broke into my heart
Had the Lord above forgotten you?
You broke in from the start
And all my tears belong to you
Mushanga, oh, Mushanga, oh
[Instrumental break]
It's been so long since I last heard your laughter
So many letters and still no news
I hope you find all the things that you're after
You know my heart is with you
You were runnin' down the road
I was going your way
I stopped and turned around to lent you my hand
You smiled though you were suffering
I didn't understand, then
You broke into my heart
I saw your eyes and then I knew
You broke into my heart
Like the wind and rain that followed you
You broke into my heart
Had the Lord above forgotten you?
You broke into my heart
I saw your eyes and then I knew
You broke in from the start
And all my tears belong to you
Mushanga, oh, Mushanga, oh [repeat 3x]
I keep a place in my heart for you
The days of waiting they keep getting longer
And not a thing I can do
I was a poet, a magazine writer
Sent to report on political views
It was by chance through a lens that I met you
A Capetown girl with no shoes
I was going your way
I stopped and turned around to lent you my hand
You smiled though you were suffering
I didn't understand, then
I saw your eyes and then I knew
You broke into my heart
Like the wind and rain that followed you
You broke into my heart
Had the Lord above forgotten you?
You broke in from the start
And all my tears belong to you
Through ancient songs did the tale unfold
They sang of diamonds that came from their mountains
The loss of lives mining white man's gold
Where all my stories are bought and sold
I know the city would surely be saddened
If what I knew could be told
I was going your way
I stopped and turned around to lent you my hand
You smiled though you were suffering
I didn't understand, then
I saw your eyes and then I knew
You broke into my heart
Like the wind and rain that followed you
You broke into my heart
Had the Lord above forgotten you?
You broke in from the start
And all my tears belong to you
So many letters and still no news
I hope you find all the things that you're after
You know my heart is with you
I was going your way
I stopped and turned around to lent you my hand
You smiled though you were suffering
I didn't understand, then
I saw your eyes and then I knew
You broke into my heart
Like the wind and rain that followed you
You broke into my heart
Had the Lord above forgotten you?
You broke into my heart
I saw your eyes and then I knew
And all my tears belong to you
Add your song meanings, interpretations, facts, memories & more to the community.
The song sounded a bit like Africa, the story in the lyrics seemed like a movie. Mushanga represents the abuse of industrial nations against the innocence of the third world.
The only thing I found regarding the meaning of Mushanga is "Mu shanga," of Swahili, meaning "In the nations." Not sure that's what it means, but it could be close. Maybe it's an affectionate, colloquial term of the region? "Africa" does talk about the artist's visit to Africa and how he fell in love with the country. Maybe "Mushanga" is about a person who introduced him to the country, or perhaps the country itself.