Mama Africa is dead

Miriam Makeba (Mkeba in the olden days) has died at age 76. We used to listen to her records at the Double Four Ranch back in the early 60's. I don't know who had the effrontery to bring them into that Republican stronghold, but Belafonte, Odetta, and Mariam (radically left) were listened to a lot along with The Kingston Trio (radically bland). I still sing this one in the car-doing all the parts. The chorus is a hauntingly beautiful melody.
It was a duet with Belafonte singing the call and Mkeba the answer: One More Dance

Darling, go home, your husband is ill.
Is he ill? Let them give him a pill. Oh, come my dear Franz, just one more dance, Then I'll go home to my poor old man, Then I'll go home to my poor old man.
Darling, go home, your husband is worse.
Is he worse? Well I am no nurse. Oh, come my dear Franz, just one more dance, Then I'll go home to my poor old man, Then I'll go home to my poor old man.
Darling, go home, your husband is dead.
Is he dead? There's no more to be said Oh, come my dear Franz, just one more dance, Then I'll go home to my poor old man, Then I'll go home to my poor old man.
Darling, go home, the will's to be read.
What's that you said? I said the will's to be read. Oh, no, no, my dear Franz, this is no time to dance, I must go weep for my poor old man, I must go weep for my poor old man.

Goodbye Mama Africa and thanks for the beautiful memories.

Parlor Tricks , I mean politics, one of the three taboo subjects (sex religion and politics) for social occasions is, nonetheless, always illuminating of the personality of the speakers. Listen to anybody and you can catch their "backstory" and "life script." Events seem to change a person's politics, but like religion which is not subject to rational debate, talking seldom does. Political discourse could benefit from an injection of facts but the facts seem to have less, and life-script more, influence on political pronouncements. People who would never expose their inner feelings will strip their souls naked and let you see their anger or joy, feeling put upon or grateful, in control of their fate or feeling powerless, cheated by life or blessed, generosity or stinginess, prejudices, and the quality of mind, sometimes painfully dull, sometimes amazingly acute, is apparent.