Bwatue
"Bwatue" is a song by Phil Ochs, a U.S. singer-songwriter best known for the protest songs he wrote in the 1960s. He co-wrote the song with two African musicians named Dijiba and Bukasa. "Bwatue" was written and recorded in 1973.
"Bwatue" was written while Ochs was visiting Kenya. Its lyrics are in Lingala. The title means "canoe"; the lyrics develop the river as a metaphor for life. "Bwatue" was released as a single in Africa by A&M Records. The B-side of the single, "Niko Mchumba Ngombe", also by Ochs, Dijiba, and Bukasa, was written in Swahili. Both songs were recorded by Ochs with the Pan-African Ngembo Rumba Band. The record was a commercial failure.
"Bwatue" and "Niko Mchumba Ngombe" have been described as early examples of blending Western popular music with world music, and critics note that they predate Paul Simon's Graceland by more than ten years. Still, one critic says the record "should be seen more as a curiosity rather than a serious attempt at exploring a new style". One of Ochs' biographers cynically suggests that Ochs recorded the songs in order to deduct the cost of his trip to Africa from his income tax as a business expense.
Boom
Push up
Haha, I never knew that a kid like me
Could take his mic around the world
(World)
Flash the big S.D.
And rock the masses
From Madrid to Calabasas
Tijuana, Mexico
Bootleg demos in Tokyo
Say they know me though
'Cause I'll be puttin' in work
Commit my life to rebirth
Well respected, 'cause that's my word
And I'm sure you heard
(Heard)
'Bout a new sound goin' 'round
She might have left my hood
But she was born in my town
You didn't know, thought we was new on the scene
(Well it's alright, it's alright)
I know you know, I see you smilin' at me
(Well it's alright, it's alright)
Boom!
Here comes the
Boom!
Ready or not?
Here comes the boys from the South
Boom!
Here comes the
Boom!
Ready or not?
How you like me now?, I say
We rep the South
So what you talkin' 'bout?
I'm not runnin' off my mouth
I know this without a doubt
'Cause if you know these streets
Then these streets know you
An' when it's time to handle business
Then you know what to do
(What to do)
Me and my crew
We stay true, old skool or new
Many were called
But the chosen are few
(We are few)
We rise to the top
What you want, just in case you forgot
Rush the stage, grab my mic
Show me what you got?
You didn't know, thought we was new on the scene
(Well it's alright, it's alright)
I know you know, I see you smiling at me
(Well it's alright, it's alright)
Boom!
Here comes the
Boom!
Ready or not?
Here comes the boys from the South
Boom!
Here comes the
Boom!
Ready or not ?
How you like me now?, I say
Boom!
Here comes the
Boom!
Ready or not?
Here comes the boys from the South
Boom!
Here comes the
Boom!
Ready or not?
How you like me now?
Is that all you got?, haha
I'll take your best shot
Is that all you got?, ha ha
I'll take your best shot
Is that all you got?, I'll take your best shot
Is that all you got?, I'll take your best shot
Is that all you got?, I'll take your best shot
I'll take your best shot, I'll take your best shot
Is that all you got?
(Well it's alright, it's alright)
I'll take your best shot
Is that all you got?
(Well it's alright, it's alright)
I'll take your best shot
Is that all you got?, I'll take your best shot
(Well it's alright, it's alright)
Take your best shot, take your best shot
Is that all you got?, I'll take your best shot
(Well it's alright, it's alright)
Take your best shot, take your best shot
Boom!
Here comes the
Boom!
Ready or not?
Here comes the boys from the South
Boom!
Here comes the
Boom!
Ready or not?
Haha, how you like me now?, I say
Boom!
Here comes the
Boom!
Ready or not?
Here comes the boys from the South
Boom!
Here comes the
Boom!
Ready or not?