Sarie Marais

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Sarie Marais (also My Sarie Marais ) is a traditional folk song in Afrikaans . It was written in one of the Boer Wars between 1880 and 1900. The melody comes from the song "Ellie Rhee" from the time of the American Civil War .

The song is about Sarie Marais ( Sara Johanna Adriana Maré ), who is greatly missed by her lover. He had met her in Mooi River before the war began . In the chorus the wish is expressed to finally return to the old Transvaal and meet Sarie Marais there. In the further course, the fear of the British troops that could take you prisoner is expressed. The British are compared to the insidiousness of a crocodile trying to drag its victim into the water. At the end - the war is over - it is hoped to be able to return to the old Transvaal and to be greeted with a kiss by the beloved.

Words

My Sarie Marais is so ver van my hart,
Maar'k hoop om hair weer te sien.
Sy het in die wyk van die Mooirivier,
Nog voor die oorlog het begin.
Refrain:
O bring my t'rug na the ou Transvaal,
Daar waar my Sarie woon.
Daar onder in the mielies
By the big doringboom,
Daar woon my Sarie Marais.
Ek was so bang dat die kakies my sou vang
En ver oor the sea route;
Toe vlug ek na die kant van die Upington se sand
Daar or slowly the Grootrivier.

refrain

The Kakies is mos net soos' n krokodillepes,
Hulle sleep jou altyd water toe;
Hul gooi jou op 'n skip vir' n long, long trip,
The josie weet waarnatoe.

refrain

Verlossing het com en die huis toe gaan was daar,
Terug na die ou Transvaal;
My favorite people sal seker ook daar wees
Om my met 'n kus te beloon.

refrain

The grave of Sara Johanna Adriana Maré.

The "real" Sarie Marais

The person sung about in the song can be traced back to several different women, depending on the author. One of these people is Sara Johanna Adriana Maré (* May 10, 1840 in Uitenhage ; † December 27, 1877 in Kranskop ) who married at the age of 17 and died two days after the birth of her eleventh child on her husband's farm.

Another possible role model for the sung-about woman is Susara Margaretha Maré (born May 25, 1868 in Pretoria , † December 22, 1939 in Bloemfontein ).

Sources and individual references

  1. ^ KwaZulu-Natal Heritage Preservation Initiative: Sara Johanna Adriana Maré (Sarie Marais) - Grave ( Memento from April 28, 2017 in the Internet Archive ). on www.kznheritage.org (English, Afrikaans)
  2. ↑ Greytown ( English ) Archived from the original on December 2, 2008. Accessed on 23 November, 2008.
  3. ↑ Sarie Marais ( English ) Archived from the original on July 29, 2009. Retrieved on November 23, 2008..
  4. ^ Louise Bethlehem: Transferential Zionism? - Manfred Nathan's Sarie Marais: A Romance of the Anglo-Boer War ( English , PDF; 77.4 kB) p. 6. Accessed on February 19, 2010.