This song comes from Masekela’s 1969 album, Masekela. It was released in the United States by Uni Records. Masakela left South Africa in 1960 at age 21, and after spending time in New York, he moved to San Francisco in 1967 during the Summer of Love.
In his 2004 autobiography Still Grazing, Maseke...
If there's anybody out there who can hear me
I'm screaming from way down here below
In this lovely, lovely, lonely place that we livin' in
There's a whole lot of jivin' going on
And if I'll be strong enough to finish my story
You will see just what a movie this has been
There are brothers and sisters who think how you look is all it is
There are cities where people never say hello
There are men who think they built this world and can destroy it
They have puppets pulling water pistols on the toys
Who will shelter my little mermaid love on the seaside?
Who will play with the little boy on the hill?
Who will save all the madmen or the pretty girls
If all these men wanna do is pull a gun?
They have hung him on a cross [?]
Now they praise him
While they kill us in his name
They have given all his clothes to all the soldiers
And they're getting ready to put that cross on you
If there's anybody out there who can hear me
I'm screaming from way, way down here below
In this lovely, lovely, lonely place that we livin' in
There's a whole lot of jive going on
And if I'll be strong enough to finish my story
You will see just what a movie this has been
There are brothers and sisters who think how you look is all it is
There are cities where people never say hello
There are men who think they built this world and can destroy it
They have puppets pulling pistols on the toys