"Soweto Blues" is a protest song written by

Hugh Masekela Hugh Ramapolo Masekela (4 April 1939 – 23 January 2018) was a South African trumpeter, flugelhornist, cornetist, singer and composer who was described as "the father of South African jazz". Masekela was known for his jazz compositions and fo ...

and performed by

Miriam Makeba Zenzile Miriam Makeba (4 March 1932 – 9 November 2008), nicknamed Mama Africa, was a South African singer, songwriter, actress, and civil rights activist. Associated with musical genres including Afropop, jazz, and world music, she w ...

. The song is about the Soweto uprising that occurred in 1976, following the decision by the

apartheid Apartheid (, especially South African English: , ; , "aparthood") was a system of institutionalised racial segregation that existed in South Africa and South West Africa (now Namibia) from 1948 to the early 1990s. Apartheid was ...

government of South Africa to make

Afrikaans Afrikaans (, ) is a West Germanic language that evolved in the Dutch Cape Colony from the Dutch vernacular of Holland proper (i.e., the Hollandic dialect) used by Dutch, French, and German settlers and their enslaved people. Afrikaans g ...

a medium of instruction at school. The uprising was forcefully put down by the police, leading to the death of between 176 and 700 people. The song was released in 1977 as part of Masekela's album ''

You Told Your Mama Not to Worry ''You Told Your Mama Not to Worry'' is the twentieth studio album by South African musician Hugh Masekela. It was recorded in Kumasi, Ghana, and released on 9 November 1977 via Casablanca Records label. Background The album includes the song ...

''. The song became a staple at Makeba's live concerts, and is considered a notable example of music in the movement against apartheid.

Background

In 1976 the apartheid government of South Africa decided to implement the use of

as the medium of instruction in all schools instead of English. In response, high school students began a series of protests on the morning of 16 June that came to be known as the Soweto Uprising. Student