Thengo

from Mau a Malawi: Stories of AIDS by Peter Mawanga & Andrew Finn Magill

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about

Former Minister of Lands & Physical Planning and Ambassador to Taiwan, Thengo Maloya spent 30 years in political exile from ex-president Kamuzu Banda. He was one of the first publicly-elected African officials to speak publicly about his personal loss from AIDS, having lost three children in the prime of life. "I'd like to see my grandchildren grow freer. All children who are younger than me are my grandchildren. I would like to see them grow up physically fit to face the future" -Former minister Thengo Maloya

lyrics

Ndithandizeni manga/Ana anta agera kuchigwembe

Translation: Help me please, help me urgently/My children have all fallen into the pit

When a father buries his child who will bury him?
What we've buried in silence has taken my children

I watched my ministry slip away from me
Workers every month, then my children, how can this be?
e built this democracy to speak for everyone
Yet the ones who should be speaking we're losing one by one

When a father buries his child who will bury him?
What we've buried in silence has taken my children

I gathered my countrymen to tell them of this loss
Now we've started speaking but at much too high a cost
All of my life I've believed in sacrifice
But to give a son, I thought only God should pay that price

credits

from Mau a Malawi: Stories of AIDS, released October 12, 2011
Daniel Kelo: English lead vocal
Peter Mawanga: Chichewa lead and nylon string guitar
Andrew Finn Magill: steel-string guitar, violins, Irish low whistles
Austin McCall: shaker and calabash

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about

Andrew Finn Magill Asheville, North Carolina

For twenty years violinist/fiddler and composer Andrew Finn Magill has been pursuing parallel careers in traditional Irish music, Brazilian choro, jazz and American fiddle and he has performed with everyone from grammy-nominees Trio Brasileiro to Rising Appalachia. ... more