Pata Pata Tribute To Miriam Makeba

The late Miriam Makeba blessed the world with so many beautiful songs. One of our all time favourites is Pata Pata, which we performed last night at Juju's Bar & Stage, with the lovely Tsungai Tsikirai on lead vocals.

Pata Pata is sung in isiXhosa, one of the 11 official languages of South Africa, and the title means "Touch Touch". The song was originally recorded in South Africa in 1957 but was only released in 1967 whilst Miriam Makeba was living in exile in the United States of America.

The original lyrics in isiXhosa are as follows (with a rough explanation in English in brackets):

Saguquka sathi 'bheka' (As we danced we said "Look!")
Nants’ iPata Pata (It's the Pata Pata)
Saguquka sathi 'bheka' (As we danced we said "Look!")
Nants’ iPata Pata (It's the Pata Pata)

Yiyo mama, yiyo mama (This one, mama; This one, mama)
Nants’ iPata Pata (It's the Pata Pata)
Yiyo mama, yiyo mama (This one, mama; This one, mama)
Nants’ iPata Pata (It's the Pata Pata)

Pata Pata is the name of the dance
We do down Johannesburg way
And everybody starts to move
As soon as Pata Pata starts to play

Saguquka sathi 'bheka' (As we danced we said "Look!")
Nants’ iPata Pata (It's the Pata Pata)
Saguquka sathi 'bheka' (As we danced we said "Look!")
Nants’ iPata Pata (It's the Pata Pata)

iyo mama, yiyo mama (This one, mama; This one, mama)
Nants’ iPata Pata (It's the Pata Pata)
Yiyo mama, yiyo mama (This one, mama; This one, mama)
Nants’ iPata Pata (It's the Pata Pata)

Every Friday and Saturday Night
It's Pata Pata time
The dance keeps going all night long
Til' the morning sun begins to shine

ABOUT US

We are a rhythmic world-music African marimba band, based in the United Kingdom, playing folk music from Zimbabwe, South Africa and Botswana.

We are available for hire for all types of private and corporate events, including weddings, private parties, fundraisers, charity events, business networking events, conferences, festivals and concerts. Workshops are also available in marimba, mbira, drumming, singing, and African dance.

For bookings and enquiries, contact us on +44 (0)751 550 8934.