[Verse 1]
Long ago, there was a sound in the night
Kwela man singing under our street lights
A cheap guitar, he gave his sorrow a smile
And he sowed his songs in the alley way smile upon my world

[Chorus]
Ye hum ho la lo, Kwela man
Ye hum ho la la Kwela Kwela
Ye hum ho la lo Kwela man
You gave it your life (Kwela Kwela)

Ye hum ho la lo, Kwela man
Ye hum ho la la Kwela Kwela
Ye hum ho la lo Kwela man
You gave it your life (Kwela Kwela)

[Verse 1]
Living low with the pennywhistle-tea-chest-base-gang
I followed him home and he danced as he sang
But now he's gone
Not even the slightest traces
Of a Kwela song
And the street is full of empty spaces

[Chorus]
[Chorus]
Ye hum ho la lo, Kwela man
Ye hum ho la la Kwela Kwela
Ye hum ho la lo Kwela man
You gave it your life (Kwela Kwela)
Ye hum ho la lo, Kwela man
Ye hum ho la la Kwela Kwela
Ye hum ho la lo Kwela man
You gave it your life (Kwela Kwela)

[Verse 2]
Nobody knows did he survive the winding road
Did he find a song that took him back to the heartland
Here I stand lost in a memory
Of a Kwela man singing in the long gone twilight

[Pre-Chorus]
When I followed you home, Kwela man
You filled my soul, Kwela Kwela
When you sang your song, Kwela man
You gave it your life

[Chorus]
Ye hum ho la lo, Kwela man
Ye hum ho la la Kwela Kwela
Ye hum ho la lo Kwela man
You gave it your life (Kwela Kwela)

Ye hum ho la lo, Kwela man
Ye hum ho la la Kwela Kwela
Ye hum ho la lo Kwela man
You gave it your life (Kwela Kwela)
Ye hum ho la lo, Kwela man
Ye hum ho la la Kwela Kwela
Ye hum ho la lo Kwela man
You gave it your life (Kwela Kwela)