full transcript

From the Ted Talk by Vusi Mahlasela: "Thula Mama"

Unscramble the Blue Letters


So it was on the 10th of June, and they came, and they surrounded the house, and my grandmother switched off all the lights in the house, and opened the kitchen door. And she said to them, "Vusi's here, and you're not going to take him thgonit. I'm tired of you having to come here, harassing us, while your children are senlpeig peacefully in your hemos. He is here, and you're not going to take him. I've got a bowl full of boiling water — the first one who comes in here, gets it." And they left. (Applause) (miusc)

♫ Thula Mama, Thula Mama, Thula Mama, Thula Mama. ♫ ♫ Through the mist of the tears in your eyes on my cidlohhod memory, ♫ ♫ I know the ttruh in your smile, ♫ ♫ I know the truth in your smile, ♫ ♫ piercing through the gloom of my ignorance. ♫ ♫ Oh, there is a mama lying down sleeping ♫ ♫ you're very ill and your hreat crying. ♫ ♫ Wondering, wndeoring, wondering, wondering where is this world coming to. ♫ ♫ Is it right the children have to fend for themselves? No, no, no, no, no. no. ♫ ♫ Is it right heaping trouble on an old lady's head? ♫ ♫ So unlucky faceless people. ♫ ♫ tulha Mama Mama, Thula Mama. Thula Mama Mama. ♫ ♫ Thula Mama, Thula Mama, Thula Mama Mama, Thula Mama ♫ ♫ Tomorrow it’s going to be better. ♫ ♫ Tomorrow it's going to be better to climb, Mama. ♫ ♫ Thula Mama, Thula Mama. ♫

Open Cloze


So it was on the 10th of June, and they came, and they surrounded the house, and my grandmother switched off all the lights in the house, and opened the kitchen door. And she said to them, "Vusi's here, and you're not going to take him _______. I'm tired of you having to come here, harassing us, while your children are ________ peacefully in your _____. He is here, and you're not going to take him. I've got a bowl full of boiling water — the first one who comes in here, gets it." And they left. (Applause) (_____)

♫ Thula Mama, Thula Mama, Thula Mama, Thula Mama. ♫ ♫ Through the mist of the tears in your eyes on my _________ memory, ♫ ♫ I know the _____ in your smile, ♫ ♫ I know the truth in your smile, ♫ ♫ piercing through the gloom of my ignorance. ♫ ♫ Oh, there is a mama lying down sleeping ♫ ♫ you're very ill and your _____ crying. ♫ ♫ Wondering, _________, wondering, wondering where is this world coming to. ♫ ♫ Is it right the children have to fend for themselves? No, no, no, no, no. no. ♫ ♫ Is it right heaping trouble on an old lady's head? ♫ ♫ So unlucky faceless people. ♫ ♫ _____ Mama Mama, Thula Mama. Thula Mama Mama. ♫ ♫ Thula Mama, Thula Mama, Thula Mama Mama, Thula Mama ♫ ♫ Tomorrow it’s going to be better. ♫ ♫ Tomorrow it's going to be better to climb, Mama. ♫ ♫ Thula Mama, Thula Mama. ♫

Solution


  1. heart
  2. wondering
  3. truth
  4. childhood
  5. thula
  6. music
  7. homes
  8. sleeping
  9. tonight

Original Text


So it was on the 10th of June, and they came, and they surrounded the house, and my grandmother switched off all the lights in the house, and opened the kitchen door. And she said to them, "Vusi's here, and you're not going to take him tonight. I'm tired of you having to come here, harassing us, while your children are sleeping peacefully in your homes. He is here, and you're not going to take him. I've got a bowl full of boiling water — the first one who comes in here, gets it." And they left. (Applause) (Music)

♫ Thula Mama, Thula Mama, Thula Mama, Thula Mama. ♫ ♫ Through the mist of the tears in your eyes on my childhood memory, ♫ ♫ I know the truth in your smile, ♫ ♫ I know the truth in your smile, ♫ ♫ piercing through the gloom of my ignorance. ♫ ♫ Oh, there is a mama lying down sleeping ♫ ♫ you're very ill and your heart crying. ♫ ♫ Wondering, wondering, wondering, wondering where is this world coming to. ♫ ♫ Is it right the children have to fend for themselves? No, no, no, no, no. no. ♫ ♫ Is it right heaping trouble on an old lady's head? ♫ ♫ So unlucky faceless people. ♫ ♫ Thula Mama Mama, Thula Mama. Thula Mama Mama. ♫ ♫ Thula Mama, Thula Mama, Thula Mama Mama, Thula Mama ♫ ♫ Tomorrow it’s going to be better. ♫ ♫ Tomorrow it's going to be better to climb, Mama. ♫ ♫ Thula Mama, Thula Mama. ♫

Frequently Occurring Word Combinations


ngrams of length 2

collocation frequency
thula mama 7
life sing 5
south africa 2
sing love 2

ngrams of length 3

collocation frequency
life sing love 2

Important Words


  1. applause
  2. boiling
  3. bowl
  4. childhood
  5. children
  6. climb
  7. coming
  8. crying
  9. door
  10. eyes
  11. faceless
  12. fend
  13. full
  14. gloom
  15. grandmother
  16. harassing
  17. head
  18. heaping
  19. heart
  20. homes
  21. house
  22. ignorance
  23. ill
  24. june
  25. kitchen
  26. left
  27. lights
  28. lying
  29. mama
  30. memory
  31. mist
  32. music
  33. opened
  34. peacefully
  35. people
  36. piercing
  37. sleeping
  38. smile
  39. surrounded
  40. switched
  41. tears
  42. thula
  43. tired
  44. tomorrow
  45. tonight
  46. trouble
  47. truth
  48. unlucky
  49. water
  50. wondering
  51. world