One of my favorite pop culture quirks is when a vintage work of music that has been out of the public’s consciousness for some time suddenly recaptures attention. As an oldies enthusiast who used to feel slightly embarrassed by it because I thought it made me distinctly nerdy, it makes me happy to know I am not alone in appreciating the sounds of yesteryear.
A few weeks ago I stumbled upon a video on social media showing young revelers in an upscale bar losing their collective shit after the DJ played the opening verse of Kadongo Kamu icon Harriet Sanyu’s classic “Kyatutonderwa”.I later found out it was just one of a series of old gold songs that also included Fred Ssebatta’s “Dole W’omwana” and Betty Mpologoma’s “Londa Ennamba Yyo” played in the same set.
Each song threw the crowd into a frenzy, demonstrating that contrary to what one would expect, a considerable population of the youth vibe really heavy with these classic songs. And when you think about it, why would they not? It is literally the music we grew up hearing the adults play. The emotional connection it carries to the most formative phase of our lives, coupled with the powerful effects of nostalgia for simpler times makes it a no brainer.
No other old song has so far, found as much newfound popularity as Mpologoma’s magnum opus “Londa Ennamba Yyo”.Released off the band music matriarch’s 2005 album “Bodyguard”, the song has, largely thanks to one of its most memorable lines, returned to the attention of the masses. In quite some style, too. It all began, as tends to be the case with most trends in big 2024,with an internet meme.
When it comes to modern discourse about love and relationships, one concern seems to stand out. Reciprocation ,or the lack of it. People are really fed up with experiences of unreturned affection as the struggle to find genuine, lasting and satisfying love seems to becomes tougher and tougher.
So when the youngins started liberally using the phrase “Atakwagala oba omulaba”,which literally means “You can clearly tell when somebody doesn’t want/like you” all around the internet,it wasn’t exactly surprising.
But then the realization of the relationship between young people and old music added a new dimension to the conversation, which I seek to discuss here; the enduring legacy of these songs. It speaks volumes that a line from a song that is very nearly two decades old has found such favor among people who still had snot running down their nostrils when it topped the charts.
My viewpoint is that the nostalgia aside, there was something so stirringly evocative about old fashioned song writing and composition that gave the music an evergreen quality. A detailed breakdown of “Londa Ennamba Yyo” reveals this to be true.
The song begins with an opening verse that carries an astounding combination of simplicity and power.”Bwaba yakukyawa mwesonyiwe”, which means “If they don’t love you anymore leave them alone”, seems like very plain and unsophisticated advice to follow, but human beings are not the rational actors they like to believe they are, and it is very much easier said, and heard, than done.
The more common tendency in such situations is to keep trying to win them back, even when it is very clearly futile, perhaps due to a fear that what you shared with them will not be replicated with anyone else.
Mpologoma uses her sagely alto to warn against this distorted scarcity mindset, informing the listener that “Ensi ngazi nyo muleke”,opining that in such a wide wide world, there are way too many eligible partners for anyone to choose to be so singularly obsessed with the one that isn’t interested in them anymore, or even at all.
She then delivers one of the best lines of the whole song, packed to the brim with both punch and poetry.”Omukwano gunyuma nne munno wo…omweguya naye akweguya/Okwesiba ku bintu tebikola bikadde”.It is an undeniable fact that love only retains its irresistible pleasure if the person whose approval you are so desperate to get and keep is equally desperate to get and keep your approval as well.
Otherwise it ferments into the bitter brew of inevitable pain if the eagerness is only one sided. She goes further, pointing out that forcing things can never return them to how they used to be. Lightning don’t strike the same place twice.
Mpologoma once again attacks the scarcity mindset that typically leads people into this trap, waking the listener up to the fact that they have more options than they realise, and are in fact so attractive that there are people who consider merely talking to them a privilege of the highest order.
It is a stunning anticipation of modern day lingo about “knowing your worth”, which has become a catchphrase for the multitudes of the heartbroken and sad. Think for a moment about how impressive it is that a song made and released in the mid 2000s captures so appropriately a defining feature of the zeitgeist of the 2020s.
The first verse ends with Mpologoma saying “Bwaba teyatondebwa kuba wuwo nebwokola eddagala”.This is interesting because it is an expression of the artiste’s conviction that if somebody is not meant to be yours, not even visiting a medicine man will change it. In short, a love potion will only work if the person you are getting it for was already meant to be yours. So much for its magical properties, then.
The chorus continues the song’s general preachy tone, which shouldn’t surprise anyone, considering that band music has its roots in the inherently educative Kadongo Kamu. Mpologoma somewhat cryptically informs the listener that these love things also have a “number”, before taking the symbolism further by noting that everybody is fated to end up with whichever “number” God originally meant for them.
From contextual analysis, the word “number” can be interpreted to mean “soulmate”, illustrating the idea that everybody has somebody who is customized for them so perfectly that it negates the need to settle for a flawed fit.
She adds that the defining factor when it comes to love isn’t words, or even actions for that matter, but rather the heart, and encourages people to pick those who pick them. This can be interpreted as a proposal for everyone to keep searching for their soulmate, rather than try to force things with someone they are not even destined to end up with.
An enchanting cocktail of brisk piano keys,guitar riffs, midtempo drums and a blaring horn provides the bridge between the chorus and the second verse,aptly setting the tone for the continuation of Mpologoma’s lesson in loveology.
She touches on the subject of people who go as far as committing suicide due to unrequited love, lamenting the foolishness of losing your life because of somebody who will not even be hurt in the slightest, because obviously they do not give two shits about you. She advises the listener to just let go, because the person evidently was not and is not meant to be yours.
She adds that genuine love can not be blocked, and then delivers the line that is responsible for this song’s renaissance, noting that when somebody does not want/like you, it is so evident to see. The unspoken implication is that it is always a person’s own delusional hope for an alternate reality that keeps them stuck, which is confirmed by the closing line of the verse; “Oba aganye tta”.If they have refused to love you, just take the L, accept it and release it. Very simple.
The third verse is even more reflective,calling upon the listener to realize that this love that causes so much pain to us does not have a formula that could explain it adequately.She once again notes that nobody can point to a specific set of words or actions that constitute what love really is.There is no rational framework for it because it is innately irrational.
She paints the picture so accurately by using the line “Teri yo ajinyonyola…nga yajiyiga kafulu”.Nobody ever understands and explains love fully enough to pose as a legitimate expert on it. Which begs the question why? The straightforward answer is that love is too complicated to be intellectualized.
Mpologoma utilizes the literal device of repetition to drive her message home, reiterating once more that nothing can stand in the way of genuine love. She also once again advises the listener to patiently wait for their “number”, which, as we have already noted, symbolizes a soulmate, rather than sell out due to desperation.
The rest of the song is taken up by the chorus, which also serves as the outro. Most impressive for me are the ad-libs, which Mpologoma uses to rehash the contents of her sermon, once again telling the listener to seek out their right person today, rather than rush towards the wrong one.
We can only speculate if Betty Mpologoma expected or even intended for “Londa Ennamba Yyo” to still be relevant twenty years after it came out. But considering that she scored her first major hit with “Big Daddy” way back in 2002,it is an unquestionable testament to her enduring brilliance that a generation barely weaned or even born at the time of her breakthrough have now come of age to appreciate her timeless wisdom.
It makes me so happy that this has happened while she is still living and actively performing. It is really nice that for once, we are giving somebody their flowers while they can still smell them.
