THE prevailing economic and political morass in Zimbabwe can result in people resorting to solemn tunes to soothe and put their raging emotions to rest. One such song is The Living Years by Mike and the Mechanics (sounds more like an Aryan cousin of Zimbabwe’s very blessed Mechanic Manyeruke).
The singer hints, Every generation blames the one before and all of their frustrations come beating on your door.
During the war of independence, Zimbabweans rightly blamed their misfortunes on colonialism. The people vented their frustrations on the imperialists with blazing guns and sharpened daggers.
Sadly, the generation that fought for independence is disappearing. Soon it will be time for the born-free generation to blame the generation before them for all their problems, including any economic misfortunes the country may face. Hopefully the outgoing generation will not sow seeds of hatred that make Zimbabweans naturally at ease with going for each other’s throats.
Zimbabwe has a lot of problems that emanate from the first and outgoing generation of native politicians; those who stake a claim to having “died for this country”.
The born-frees act as prisoners to the skewed beliefs of the old. This appears to be reinforced by Mike: All I know is that I am a prisoner to all my father held so dear. I know that I am a hostage to all his hopes and fears. I just wish I could have told him in the living years.
This song bears a prophetic message for suffering Zimbabweans. It is a humbling revelation that in these living years, we do not see eye to eye with some of our leaders. Conversely, our rich leaders are so distant that they cannot be reached by the people’s loud pleas for mercy. The old leaders have been rendered blind to the people’s plight by the glitter of ill-gotten gems.
In every developing situation of despair, the stinking rich leaders see dollar signs and smell an opportunity to rake in more money. They simply turn a blind eye to the signs of poverty.
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In penning the song, the singer lampoons the way the people seem to have resigned to a fate of domination by the geriatrics. He sang, Crumpled bits of paper filled with imperfect thought; stilted conversations: I’m afraid that’s all we’ve got.
The singer prophetically alludes to the paper democracy such as the one we are immersed in.
Tyranny is all we have got! The crumbled bits of ballot papers do not count as they only bear rich connotations for the dictator.
Recounting the stuffed ballots does not count as the people who should really count have been miscounted!
The song shares an imaginary dialogue between those who reason logically and the archaic whose reasoning capacity is occluded by arrogance and heartlessness.
You say you just don’t see it; he says its perfect sense. You just can’t get agreement in this present tense. We all talk a different language; talking in defence.
The old say it is perfect for Zimbabweans to live in misery and they refuse to acknowledge that we deserve better. In rare occasions the old agree that things are not right, but blame it on imperialists. The old and frail politicians should be told without any equivocation that Zimbabweans no longer need to listen to lies.
Mike’s song provides the inspiration as he sings, Say it loud, say it clear. You can listen as well as you hear.
The people should be outright that they no longer see eye to eye with the incompetence that has ruined the country just as Mike solemnly states, It’s too late when we die to admit we don’t see eye to eye.
The old generation may have hatched a huge quarrel with the post-independence generation. Someone has to accept the challenge and not the insults.
The future should not be silently sacrificed by acceding to treachery.
Future generations will have bitter tastes in their mouths when they discuss the neglect of civic duties by the present generation. Mike and the Mechanics bleated, So we open up a quarrel between the present and the past. We only sacrifice the future; it’s the bitterness that lasts.
Dear Zimbabweans, if we cannot save ourselves from this, at least let us save the future from this bitterness. All Zimbabweans are bound by civic responsibilities to tell the truth about this orgy of misrule while those responsible are still alive as any omissions can lead to regret.
Mike decries, I was not there that morning when my father passed away. I didn’t get to tell him all the things I had to say.
The old generation is there to be told what it has done, what it has failed to do for the people and what it should have done for the people. There is no reason to burden the next generation with the ills of perfidy.
Mike’s song alludes to a relationship with the future, I think I caught his spirit later that same year. I’m sure I heard his echo in my baby’s new born tears. I just wish I could have told him in the living years.
The future generations should not be haunted by such a travesty of democracy.
Masola waDabudabu is a social commentator
