The old man plays his saxophone
While coins glisten on the pavement at his feet
He is free to earn a living in a country
Where there is always music in the street
From the colourful coons of the Mother City
Shaking tambourines and dancing to the beat
To the gumboot miners in the Place of Gold
Clapping their hands and stamping their feet
The heartbeat of South Africa
Is heard in the rhythms of her soul
Each tune unique to its people
Forming a symphony as a whole
Eleven voices singing in their own tongues
Telling the stories of their lives
Of battles fought with mind and spirit
And wars with spears and knives
As you listen to her songs you will hear
Tales of a country where hope is king
Where thoughts and ideas that once were silenced
Have been given the freedom to sing
Where a voice rang out from a prison cell
With words that would change a nation
Hymns that broke through the deafness of fear
And gave birth to a new creation
Where a people once divided by hatred
Now sing in one united chorus
A country of change and growth and learning
A beautiful and inspirational opus
Bronwyn Johnson
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