Baba Yetu - Music and the Fictive Dream

 

    Baba Yetu was written in 2005 for the game Civilization 4. In 2005 it would have been challenging to figure out the meaning of the lyrics. The song is meant to take a listener on a journey, and to experience this, the piece should be listened to before reading any analysis. Please take three and a half minutes to just listen to the song before reading further. "You took me out of my seat and somewhere" was Mel B's response when she heard this song on America's Got Talent. Let the music take you somewhere, and come back and read. 

(Soweto Gospel Choir)

Introduction

    Baba Yetu was written in 2005 by Christopher Tin. It was performed by the Soweto Gospel Choir and became the first video game theme to win a Grammy in 2011(Mathias). It uses African percussion and rhythm in the song(Mathias). Baba Yetu means our father in Swahili (Baba- father, Yetu-Our), and the lyrics comprise the lord's prayer. This song is more than just a prayer.

    Civ IV is a 4x game where players would take control of a nation and govern them throughout the ages. Beginning in the ancient era and ending in the not-to-distant future. The first Civilization game was released on the Super Nintendo, with the latest Civ VI being released in 2016 for the PC. Christopher Tin also released music for the latest Civ game, Sogno di Volare(The Dream of Flight), which is also very good.

    In Civ IV, The earth would have been seen in the background during this intro, transiting between day and night. While on this introduction screen is where the music would play. The song is supposed to show how beautiful the earth is, a theme in Christopher Tin's work. It puts players in the mood to explore the beauty of the Earth, society, and history. 

The song and its afterlife

    The song has had a long and significant life outside of Civ IV. There are two broad fan groups with differing interpretations: a secular camp, which likes the music because of its meaning, and a religious camp, which likes the song's religious tones. The song directly translates to the Lord's prayer, so it is obvious why some religious choirs would enjoy the song. Christopher Tin is not known for making religious music, but the song has a supernatural quality(Takeshi). The religious tones of this music may be what motivates people to sing it so powerfully.

        meaning and social commentary

    This song can be interpreted in several different ways. The song is written in Swahili, one of Africa's most widely spoken languages. James F. McGrath wrote in a piece where he tried to recreate the music more authentically for a Christian choir, some issues and peculiarities with the Lyrics. Specifically repeating the word Yetu meaning our. This could have been repeated to emphasize the collective our, especially with the earth in the background. It is our Father and our Earth.

    Febe Kartika at Medium talked about events that were going on and a bit more about the songs meaning. In 2005 the Iraq and Afghanistan wars raged, and a giant tsunami killed over 100,000 Indonesians. The U.S. seemed enraptured by the desire for war while other wars and conflicts were fought throughout the globe. With all this violence and chaos, people were praying for God's kingdom to come and for the earth to become like heaven. Katrika writes, "This prayer, was cried out by the people in Africa and their descendants. The “lowest caste” of people according to the world’s view are praying the hardest to God."(Kartika). 

    Baba Yetu has had significant influence since it won a Grammy in 2011. Many people might remember it for its cover on America's Got Talent. It was also played at the Maputo Accord's signing, a peace treaty in Mozambique in 2019(Wikipedia).

Music elements

    This song changes its dynamics, increasing and decreasing the sound level to make certain parts glorious(old composer).  The Old Composer also states," the touches that he puts in with his arrangements here... small little changes and.... little seconds, or forths, or ninths that leave you hanging. (These) intervals that give you that chicken skin"(Old Composer). Chicken skin, or Goosebumps, is part of a phenomenon known as Frisson. Not everyone experiences it, but it's feeling shivers, lumps in the throat, or goosebumps. The song uses clever dynamics and chords to cause this in listeners. The song has 92 beats per minute which is called Andante moderato.

Personal reaction

I originally heard this song before I had access to steady internet. Hearing it made me want to play the game, but sometimes I would just launch it and listen. It's always been a song that has stuck with me for years. Studying it for this post has given me new insights into music more broadly. I never knew that Frisson was a common phenomenon. I was always embarrassed about getting a lump in my throat for certain songs. I was surprised that it had won Grammy awards and was so popular that it was played at the signing of a peace treaty in Mozambique. For me, that's the meaning of this song. The world is beautiful, and it is ours. We should learn to live in peace with one another.

Sources

“Baba Yetu.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 5 Mar. 2023, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baba_Yetu.

“Find the BPM and Key for Any Song: Every Song, Every Tempo: Songbpm.” SongBPM, https://songbpm.com/@christopher-tin/baba-yetu.

Kartika, Febe. “Baba Yetu, More than Just a Prayer.” Medium, Medium, 3 Sept. 2018, https://medium.com/@fk_clefs/baba-yetu-more-than-just-a-prayer-8646d5f80107.

Kohler, Chris. “Civilization Song Wins Game Music's First Grammy.” Wired, Conde Nast, 14 Feb. 2011, https://www.wired.com/2011/02/civilization-baba-yetu-grammy/.

Mathias, Shari. “What Is Baba Yetu? Meaning, Lyrics, Awards...: Parker Symphony Orchestra.” Parker Symphony Orchestra | Your Local Community Orchestra, 25 Aug. 2019, https://parkersymphony.org/baba-yetu-meaning-lyrics-awards.

McGrath, James F. “The Swahili of Baba Yetu.” Religion Prof: The Blog of James F. McGrath, Patheos Explore the World's Faith through Different Perspectives on Religion and Spirituality! Patheos Has the Views of the Prevalent Religions and Spiritualities of the World., 30 Aug. 2015, https://www.patheos.com/blogs/religionprof/2015/08/the-swahili-of-baba-yetu.html.

Takeshi, Daniel. On Baba Yetu and the Role Music Plays in Life, https://danieltakeshi.github.io/2016-09-17-on-baba-yetu-and-the-role-music-plays-in-life/.

“What Getting Chills from Music Says about Your Brain.” Discovery, https://www.discovery.com/science/Getting-Chills-from-Music.

Composer, Old, director. YouTube, YouTube, 2 Mar. 2023, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jC06nrfq3bQ. Accessed 9 Apr. 2023.

YouTube, YouTube, 20 Oct. 2016, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WQYN2P3E06s. Accessed 9 Apr. 2023.

YouTube, YouTube, 24 July 2018, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B1cjW3rGSvg. Accessed 9 Apr. 2023.