South African National Anthem ruined again! Oh the embarresment ...

On Tuesday the national rugby team for the coming World Cup was announced on live television.
The national anthem was sung by Ard Matthews from the local rock band Just Jinger.
The poor singer was so nervous that he bungled the first verse, apologized for his mistake, and then started again, but it was pretty much downhill from there.
He apologized sincerely, and his apology was accepted by the head of the rugby team.
Nevertheless, social networking sites and the media were abuzz about the mishap, with attitudes ranging from outrage to forgiveness.

I think it wasn't that bad, and he never should have apologized.
The rugby team next to him looked like the Sergeant Pepper album cover, with their suits and shaggy hair, and then they had the cartoonish mascot dressed like a Springbok on the same stage as the singer!
It was pretty surreal before the first unfortunate note was sung.
It's not the first time our anthem was ruined, and it brought back bad memories of a Rastafarian who butchered the song in France, also before a rugby match.
Our anthem is a mixture between "Nkosi Sikelel' iAfrika" (God bless Africa) and the old anthem, "The call of South Africa".
Each verse is in a different language, ranging from isiXhosa to isiSotho, and Afrikaans and English.
The mixture of languages was meant to be a symbol of reconciliation after the end of apartheid in 1994.
A lot of South Africans find it is impossible to learn and sing.

Anyway, here is the fascinating performance:



Was it really that bad?
Why does this only happen to us?
Can't they just get a choir to sing it, with a mixture of people who know the different languages?

Here is the first time Nkosi Sikelel' iAfrika was destroyed by Ras Dumisani in 2009.
The singer was an expat South African, and his rasta outfit were the only people they could find in France to sing it.
Unlike the Just Jinger frontman, Dumisani was unapologetic, and maintained that he had done a good job.
Rugby fans claimed that his performance undermined the team, and sabotaged the match.
I wonder whether a bad version of an anthem can really be used as an excuse to lose a match?

In hindsight it was pretty hilarious.
Especially since Dumisani proudly repeated his performance on SA radio after the event.

I suppose it must be one of those moments where one just hopes to become invisible.
Not to be unpatriotic, but I would challenge anyone to try and sing these lyrics:
sarocks.co.za...

Nkosi sikelel’ iAfrika God bless Africa
Maluphakanyisw’ uphondo lwayo, May her glory be lifted high
Yizwa imithandazo yethu, Hear our petitions
Nkosi sikelela, thina lusapho lwayo. God bless us, Your children

Morena boloka setjhaba sa heso, God we ask You to protect our nation
O fedise dintwa le matshwenyeho, Intervene and end all conflicts
O se boloke, O se boloke setjhaba sa heso, Protect us, protect our nation
Setjhaba sa South Afrika – South Afrika. Nation of South Africa, South Africa

Uit die blou van onse hemel, Ringing out from our blue heavens,
Uit die diepte van ons see, From the depths of our sea,
Oor ons ewige gebergtes, Over everlasting mountains,
Waar die kranse antwoord gee, Where the echoing cliffs resound,

Sounds the call to come together,
And united we shall stand,
Let us live and strive for freedom,
In South Africa our land.

edit on 25-8-2011 by halfoldman because: (no reason given)

edit on 25-8-2011 by halfoldman because: (no reason given)

This is what it should ideally sound like:


en.wikipedia.org...

I think it's only fair to show Ard Matthews and Just Jinger in better form.
Here is their song Father & Father:


I think they are very talented and do SA proud, and it was just a bad choice for the occasion.
Oh the shame ...
I think it would be difficult to get any singer to really volunteer to sing the anthem, but it's always interesting to see the serious and unimpressed faces of the rugby players.
Somebody should really do something to come up with a more workable anthem.
Some commentators have suggested that it's a bad omen, and according to African tradition Ard should sacrifice a bull to appease the ancestors.
That's probably taking things a bit too far.

I just saw on the news that the drama about the incident continues, despite the fact that Matthews has extended further apologies.
The South African Rugby Union is now about to be dragged before parliament to explain how this could happen. Like everything in SA the issue now has racial undertones, since rugby is a traditionally white sport and the ANC has insisted that the racial quotas of the players should reflect the racial percentages of the country. However they don't yet have enough black players who can compete at that level to enforce this at once.
When Dumisani destroyed the anthem the issue was simply funny, but now parliament is not amused.
This is just getting ridiculous now.
The guy made a mistake for goodness sake.
www.iol.co.za...

Most astoundingly Ras Dumsani has said that Matthews can't sing.
I mean talk about people in glass houses throwing stones!
What a windbag.
www.iol.co.za...

I wonder more who designed those uniforms, and why nobody stood up for the anthem (except for the mascot in his antelope costume).