Sometimes when we listen to a song it speaks to us, it takes us on a journey and in some cases we can reflect on whatever we will be going through. Musicians are great storytellers and some songs have great advice, advocate and raise awareness for different issues. Lastly, in some cases some songs describe current situations taking for instance COVID-19 pandemic.

I don’t know the reason why Oliver Mtukudzi decided to write the song Mabasa and I wonder what was the inspiration behind the song. How I wish I could try and remember what was happening around this time, but I was only two years old. Although this song was released when I was a baby, I can relate to the song in my adult life. I applaud the legend’s music that has managed to cut across all generations.

Oliver Mtukudzi was a Zimbabwean musician and composer whose music still lives on. He was an uncle, brother and friend to many Zimbabweans and people of different nationalities. Relationships were created because of his music and the impact it had on people’s lives. Whenever I listen to this song my eyes get misty because this song seems to be relevant during our new normal. There are many questions, but sadly there are no responses. A time where wearing a face mask and sanitizing our hands isn’t something foreign anymore. We are uncertain of when the crisis will come to an end. Many of us have been infected but all of us have been affected by COVID-19.

The pandemic put a hold on our daily routines and every day someone receives news about the death of a family member, neighbour or workmate. It is hard to accept that the neighbour or loved one has succumbed to the virus because the last time you saw them they were sick but they looked okay. Sometimes people are in denial that their loved one succumbed to COVID-19. It has become overwhelming and it has caused nothing but heartache to know that when your loved one has succumbed to the Coronavirus there are some practices you cannot do. In some cases, the pain has made people numb and people shed tears each day. Am I the only one who is feeling weary and drained because of the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic?

The global pandemic has taught me to be grateful for the gift of life and never take anything for granted. Funeral rites and offering condolences during the COVID-19 pandemic are completely different from what we were used to as African people. You wonder how one is to comfort a loved one through a text message or a voice call – because traditionally, to support the family of the deceased one did whatever they could do to help during the funeral. Sometimes when you are in pain so much you cannot express how you feel and like Oliver Mtukudzi sang in his song “zvakurwadzira mumoyo chinyararire”. Who will heal the brokenhearted and will the pain ever go away?

The global crisis has made a lot of people feel weary, tired and drained. In some cases, one struggles going through the day without having panic attacks or crying. In Oliver Mtukudzi’s song Mabasa, there is a part where he sings that it gets difficult to comfort and offer your condolences, since everyone will be grieving over the loss of a loved one. Growing up in an African home I was taught and I believe that the young will always bury the old. Sadly in some cases, the elderly live up until the sunset years of their lives whereas in some cases the young do not live up until their adult life. Many lives are lost each day and one might wonder if it is the end of the world.

Which songs can you relate to during this global crisis?