"Bwatue" is a song by

Phil Ochs Philip David Ochs (; December 19, 1940 – April 9, 1976) was an American songwriter and protest singer (or, as he preferred, a topical singer). Ochs was known for his sharp wit, sardonic humor, political activism, often alliterative lyrics, and ...

, a US singer-songwriter best known for the

protest song A protest song is a song that is associated with a movement for social change and hence part of the broader category of ''topical'' songs (or songs connected to current events). It may be folk, classical, or commercial in genre. Among social mov ...

s he wrote in the 1960s. He co-wrote the song with two African musicians named Dijiba and Bukasa. "Bwatue" was written and recorded in 1973. "Bwatue" was written while Ochs was visiting

Kenya ) , national_anthem = "Ee Mungu Nguvu Yetu"() , image_map = , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Nairobi , coordinates = , largest_city = Nairobi , ...

. Its lyrics are in

Lingala Lingala (Ngala) (Lingala: ''Lingála'') is a Bantu language spoken in the northwest of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the northern half of the Republic of the Congo, in their capitals, Kinshasa and Brazzaville, and to a lesser degree in ...

. The title means "canoe"; the lyrics develop the river as a metaphor for life. "Bwatue" was released as a single in Africa by

A&M Records A&M Records was an American record label founded as an independent company by Herb Alpert and Jerry Moss in 1962. Due to the success of the discography A&M released, the label garnered interest and was acquired by PolyGram in 1989 and began distr ...

. The

B-side The A-side and B-side are the two sides of phonograph records and cassettes; these terms have often been printed on the labels of two-sided music recordings. The A-side usually features a recording that its artist, producer, or record compan ...

of the single, "Niko Mchumba Ngombe", also by Ochs, Dijiba, and Bukasa, was written in Swahili. Both songs were recorded by Ochs with the Pan-African Ngembo Rumba Band. The record was a commercial failure. "Bwatue" and "Niko Mchumba Ngombe" have been described as early examples of blending Western

popular music Popular music is music with wide appeal that is typically distributed to large audiences through the music industry. These forms and styles can be enjoyed and performed by people with little or no musical training.Popular Music. (2015). ''Fun ...

with world music, and critics note that they predate

Paul Simon Paul Frederic Simon (born October 13, 1941) is an American musician, singer, songwriter and actor whose career has spanned six decades. He is one of the most acclaimed songwriters in popular music, both as a solo artist and as half of folk roc ...

's ''

Graceland Graceland is a mansion on a estate in Memphis, Tennessee, United States, which was once owned by rock and roll icon Elvis Presley. His daughter, Lisa Marie Presley, inherited Graceland after his death in 1977. Graceland is located at 3764 Elv ...

'' by more than ten years. Still, one critic says the record "should be seen more as a curiosity rather than a serious attempt at exploring a new style". One of Ochs' biographers cynically suggests that Ochs recorded the songs in order to deduct the cost of his trip to Africa from his

income tax An income tax is a tax imposed on individuals or entities (taxpayers) in respect of the income or profits earned by them (commonly called taxable income). Income tax generally is computed as the product of a tax rate times the taxable income. Tax ...

as a business expense. In the early 1990s, the single was reissued in a

limited edition The terms special edition, limited edition, and variants such as deluxe edition, or collector's edition, are used as a marketing incentive for various kinds of products, originally published products related to the arts, such as books, prints, r ...

of 1000 by Sparkle Records, ostensibly on behalf of the Phil Ochs Fan Club of Canada. The reissue was unauthorized and is considered a

bootleg Bootleg or bootlegging most often refers to: * Bootleg recording, an audio or video recording released unofficially * Rum-running, the illegal business of transporting and trading in alcoholic beverages, hence: ** Moonshine, or illicitly made ...

. The only known review of the single was positive. Reviewing the bootleg release in ''

Dirty Linen ''Dirty Linen'' was a bi-monthly magazine of folk and world music based in Baltimore, Maryland. The magazine ceased publication in the spring of 2010. The magazine offered extensive reviews of folk music recordings, videos, books, and concert ...

'', Cliff Furnald wrote that "the band gives a superb look at the Zaire/Kenyan dance style at the time before mass marketing started the diluting downward trend". at Because of the single's limited release, "Bwatue" and "Niko Mchumba Ngombe" were extremely rare. Most Ochs fans never heard the songs before they were included in 1997's ''

American Troubadour ''American Troubadour'' is a 1997 British 2-CD set that presented a portrait of singer-songwriter Phil Ochs' later career, featuring selections from each of the five albums he recorded for A&M Records, from various non-album single sides and from ...

''. "Niko Mchumba Ngombe" was also included in the 2004 collection '' Cross My Heart: An Introduction to Phil Ochs''.

References

1973 singles Phil Ochs songs World music songs Songs written by Phil Ochs {{1970s-single-stub