Long ago there was a sound in the night
A kwela man singing under the street light
With 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 lo kwela man
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 lo kwela man
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 a memory
Of a kwela man singing in the long gone twilight

Ye hum ho la lo kwela man
Ye hum ho la lo kwela man
Ye hum ho la lo kwela man
You gave it your life

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 lo kwela man
Ye hum ho la lo kwela man
You gave it your life