Jim Reeves was a big hit in Southern Africa, and learnt to sing Afrikaans songs.
1. Jy is my liefling – You are my love
Here he sings it in English too, although it is not quite the same words. This is still one of my favourite love songs.
2. Daar doer in die bosveld – (Over there in the bush area)
This is about living in the bushveld, where there is peace and rest.
3. Sarie Marais – (A girl’s name)
This is about the Boer War, when a guy is away from his girlfriend Sarie Marais, and is longing to see her again.
4. Geboorteplasie – (The farm where I was born)
This is about a guy longing to go back to the farm where he was born. I have noticed on the internet, that a lot of farmers are being killed in South Africa. Someone told me, that since Mandela took over, over 70,000 white people have been brutally murdered in South Africa. Mostly farmers.
5. Die blonde matroos – (The blond sailor)
The words listed are not the same as what Jim Reeves is singing!
6. Verre Land – (Far away land)
A person longing to go back to the far away land, where everything is nice, with the sun shining, and the waves crashing in the sea.
7. Draf maar aan ou ryperd – (Just trot on old horse)
Plod along old horse, let’s go back to the farm where we can feel relaxed. The people in the city don’t speak our language.
8. Net ‘n stille uurtjie – (Just another quiet hour)
He wants to spend a nice quiet hour with his girl.
9. In die skadu van ou Tafelberg – (In the shadow of old Table Mountain)
There is something very majestic about Table Mountain in Cape Town.
10. My blinde hart – (My blind heart)
They say love is blind, and his guys heart is blinded by love.
11. Ek velang na jou – (I long for you)
I long for you. Jim sings some English words too.
12. Jim Reeves sings an Afrikaans song – Ding dong
People have told me, that in the old days, when a guy went to visit a girl, that there would be a candle burning, and when it was finished burning, it was time for him to leave.
Here Jim Reeves sings partly in Afrikaans, and partly in English.
14. Nooientjie van die ou Transvaal – (My girlfriend from the old Transvaal)
A guy is longing for his girlfriend who lives in the Transvaal province.
15. Bolandse nooientjie – (Highland girlfriend)
The Boland is the high country east of Cape Town. We were in a snow storm once in Ceres.
I was a teenager in Bulawayo when I first heard Jim Reeves sing Afrikaans, but I couldn’t understand anything he sang. It was only many years later, when I was in South Africa, that I had to learn to speak Afrikaans, that I could understand what he was singing about.
I also have a gospel website, if you would like to check it out: Country Gospel and Bible