Long ago there was a sound in the night Kwela man, singing under the street light A cheap guitar, he gave his sorrow a smile And he sowed his songs in the alley ways mile upon mile Ye hum ho la lo Kwela man Ye hum ho la la Kwela, Kwela Ye hum ho la lo Kwela man You gave it your life Ye hum ho la lo Kwela man Ye hum ho la la Kwela, Kwela Ye hum ho la lo Kwela man You gave it your life Living low with the Pennywhistle, tea-chest base gang I followed him home and he danced as he sang But now he's gone, not even the slightest traces Of a Kwela song and the street is full of empty spaces Ye hum ho la lo Kwela man Ye hum ho la la Kwela, Kwela Ye hum ho la lo Kwela man You gave it your life Ye hum ho la lo Kwela man Ye hum ho la la Kwela, Kwela Ye hum ho la lo Kwela man You gave it your life Nobody knows, did he survive the winding road? Did he find a song that took him back to the heartland? Here I stand, lost in the memory Of a Kwela man, singing in the long gone twilight When I followed you home Kwela man You filled my soul, Kwela, Kwela When you sang your song Kwela man You gave it your life Ye hum ho la lo Kwela man Ye hum ho la la Kwela, Kwela Ye hum ho la lo Kwela man You gave it your life Ye hum ho la lo Kwela man Ye hum ho la la Kwela, Kwela Ye hum ho la lo Kwela man You gave it your life Ye hum ho la lo Kwela man Ye hum ho la la Kwela, Kwela Ye hum ho la lo Kwela man You gave it your life Ye hum ho la lo Kwela man Ye hum ho la la Kwela, Kwela Ye hum ho la lo Kwela man You gave it your life Ye hum ho la lo Kwela man Ye hum ho la la Kwela, Kwela Ye hum ho la lo Kwela man