24 July 2012

TOWNSHIP GUITAR

TOWNSHIP GUITAR 
© Farouk Asvat


The township guitar keeps strumming
Strumming strumming
The migrant worker keeps thinking thinking
He keeps talk-talking
He keeps tell-telling me
About that honky-tonk woman
He keeps say-saying
He's just wait-waiting
For the rev-revolution




© farouk asvat


translated into english by farouk asvat: 2006 [Johannesburg, South Africa under new apartheid]



____________________________________________________________
[] WIETIE WHAT-WHAT


TOWNSHIP GUITAR  
© Farouk Asvat


The township guitar keeps strumming
Strumming strumming
The migrant worker keeps thinking thinking
He keeps talk-talking
He keeps tell-telling me
About that mlungu mfaz
He keeps say-saying
He's just wait-waiting
For the rev-revolution




© farouk asvat


original composed: 1985 [Johannesburg, South Africa under new apartheid]




[] GITAAR IN DE TOWNSHIP

            Dutch translation by © Irene Sheltes


De gitaar in de township blijft pingelen
Pingelen pingelen
De trekarbeider blijft denken denken
Blijft pra-praten
Blijft mij ver-vertellen
Over die mlungu mfaz
Blijft zeg-zeggen
Dat hij alleen maar wa-wacht
Op de rev-revolutie




[] Acknowledgements:

Township Guitar was previously published in:

                University Students Bursary Committee (University of Witwatersrand, p13, 1982);
                A Celebration Of Flames (donker, p14, 1987);
                Gitaar In De Township: Dutch translation by © Irene Sheltes (1989);
                A Celebration Of Flames (piquant publications, p15, 2007).



Bra Frooks is ...
                                []  nes 'n skollie
                                []  'n egte skollie
                                []  'n waare joster
                                []  'n tsotsi
                                []  a real scamp
                                []  streetwise
                                []  the jokerman

Bra Frooks ...
                                []  praat soos 'n skollie
                                []  wietie soos 'n joster
                                []  wietie what-what
                                []  tunes like a durbanite
                                []  speaks like an englishman




© farouk asvat.  All rights reserved.

Farouk Asvat asserts his moral right to be identified as the author of this work.
No part of this publication may be reproduced by any means whatsoever, or transmitted in any form or any means whatsoever, mechanical or electronic, including recording, printing, photocopying, or via any computerised means or media, including the internet.  This publication shall also not be stored in a retrieval system.  And the writing shall not be sold, lent, hired, resold or circulated in any form or binding or cover other than that in which it is published,
without the prior permission of the author in writing.
Permission to publish or reproduce the writings in any format can be obtained from the author.
Reproduction of this work without permission, except for scholarly purposes,
is liable to a payment of 10, 000 ren men bi or US$ 1,500.

farouk asvat can be contacted at:                                           farouk.asvat@gmail.com



[] please check out my blogs @:

faroukasvat-poems.blogspot.com/

faroukasvat-viewpoint.blogspot.com/

faroukasvat-lingo.blogspot.com/

piquant publications: BOOKS by FAROUK ASVAT
piquantpublications.blogspot.com/


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