Da Same Da Same - Annotated

DA SAME DA SAME SIPHO SEPAMLA 1984 1 I doesn’t care if you black 2 I doesn’t care if you white 3 I doesn’t care if you India 4 I doesn’t care if you clearlink 5 if sometimes you Saus Afrika 6 you got a big terrible, terrible 7 somewheres in yourselves 8 I mean for sure now 9 all da people is make like God 10 an’ da God I knows for sure 11 He make avarybudy wit’ one heart 12 for sure dis heart go-go da same 13 dats for meaning to say 14 one man no diflent to anader 15 so now 16 you see a big terrible terrible stand here 17 how one man make anader man feel 18 da pain he doesn’t feel hisself 19 for sure dats da whole point 20 sometime you wana know how I meaning for 21 is simple 22 when da nail of say da t’orn tree 23 scratch little bit little bit of da skin 24 I doesn’t care if you black 25 I doesn’t care if you white 26 I doesn’t care if you India 27 I doesn’t care if you clearlink 28 I mean for sure da skin 29 only one t’ing come for sure 30 an’ da one t’ing for sure is red blood 31 dats for sure da same da same 32 so for sure now 33 you doesn’t look anader man in da eye DA SAME DA SAME SIPHO SEPAMLA tone: from the outset, the poet creates an authentic but unsophisticated tone through using informal language, perhaps suggesting that the speaker does not have a formal education born and raised in Soweto during apartheid, Sydney Sipho Sepamla is a celebrated novelist and poet; most of his later work was focused on protesting the injustices faced by those marginalised by the apartheid government 1984 during the 1980s, the apartheid government came under increasing internal pressure; in an attempt to ease this pressure, they created a three-part parliament (with white, coloured and Indian parts); black people were excluded from this parliament because they were seen to have political rights in the “homelands”; ‘83 and ‘84 marked the intentional use of informal syntax implies a lack of education; this also dismisses the principles that underpin apartheid (i.e.: caring about someone’s race) refrain: the repetition of "I doesn’t care” reinforces the sameness of people tone: the use of refrain seems to create a serious tone - the speaker seems to speak with conviction, showing that they strongly believe what they are saying tone: this reinforces the speaker’s conviction, again showing how strongly the speaker believes what they’re saying; the informal syntax takes this serious tone and makes it slightly more authentic and sincere 1 here, the mention of different racial groups shows the divides that make us “not the same” - the specific mention of the latter three could be a reference to the tricameral parliament; the speaker is dismissing the value of these divides I doesn’t care if you black this is yet another example of incorrect spelling being used to diminish and invalidate the racial divides emphasised by the apartheid government 2 I doesn’t care if you white 3 I doesn’t care if you India d at the same time, this could be referring to the racism or bigotry that we hold within ourselves (internal) g 5 if sometimes you Saus Afrika 6 you got a big terrible, terrible 8 I mean for sure now everyone has been made “in God’s image”; everyone is equal onomatopoeia: repetition: the repetition of the previously seen refrain brings the reader’s attention back to the speaker’s main point: they do not care for race, for we are all the same j m 14 one man no diflent to anader n this can make racism seem complex and intricate just as we are while also making it seem as vulnerable and fragile as we are everyone is equal by placing this on its own line, the poet is emphasising the alleged simplicity of the fact that everyone is, ultimately, just human i 13 dats for meaning to say “go-go” mimics the sound of a beating heart, reiterating people’s humanity tone: here, the speaker returns to their slightly more serious tone, addressing the reader in a way that makes it seem like the solution to the problem is obvious f one could even go so far as to say that this might be referring to internalised racism; (the way in which people of colour were made to feel negatively about themselves) this can also be interpreted as God has made everyone with His He make avarybudy wit’ one heart k unchanging heart - he is literal: figurative: sure of what he has our hearts are one of the things that everyone has the capacity for keep us alive, the one thing we all share compassion, we are all capable of done; God makes no mistakes for sure dis heart go-go da same l loving one another 10 an’ da God I knows for sure 12 e h 9 all da people is make like God 11 c on one hand, this could be referring to the “terrible” state of the country with respect to racism and discrimination (external) 4 I doesn’t care if you clearlink 7 somewheres in yourselves one can’t help but wonder, perhaps “clearlink” has been used in place of “coloured” to quite literally insinuate that, while there are these things that divide us (e.g.: race), there is an a undeniable thing that links us all in spite of race: our humanity b this speaks to the fact that it is very easy to make you see a big terrible terrible stand here someone feel something you are how one man make anader man feel not feeling - it is very easy to da pain he doesn’t feel hisself intimidate someone, control someone for sure dats da whole point when you are in power 15 so now 16 17 18 19 personification: racism has been humanised by being given the ability to stand 20 sometime you wana know how I meaning for 21 is simple 22 when da nail of say da t’orn tree 23 scratch little bit little bit of da skin 24 I doesn’t care if you black 25 I doesn’t care if you white 26 I doesn’t care if you India extended metaphor: this could be speaking to the fact that the thorn tree, the evil in one’s life, can continually scratch one’s skin and bring one down - a scratch from a thorn, though, might not kill you but only make you stronger, make you long for things to change and get better oftentimes, we look at red and blood as a symbol of 28 I mean for sure da skin violence or deep tone: passion - here, it the repetition of "sure” 29 only one t’ing come for sure seems to be reinforces the fact speaking to the that the speaker is 30 an’ da one t’ing for sure is red blood fact that confident in what ultimately, our they’re saying 31 dats for sure da same da same blood (the thing this is the shortest stanza of the whole poem, again that is most showing how the poet has used brevity to make the integral to our reader focus specifically on one element existence) is the 32 so for sure now one thing that unites us all 27 I doesn’t care if you clearlink 33 you doesn’t look anader man in da eye here, the speaker insinuates that, in light of this (in light of the atrocities experienced by many people of our country in spite of our sameness), you cannot face another person to look at someone that is experiencing such dehumanisation and marginalisation, and not feel some form of empathy is impossible h o p q r s t u v a b c d v j w l when reading this, ideas of Mandela’s “Rainbow Nation” inevitably spring to mind because of this, one can’t help but wonder: is this idea of “we all bleed the same blood” truly appropriate? does this accurately depict the state of our nation, both then and now? h x because of this, it seems as though the speaker strongly feels that to dehumanise someone is to also strip yourself of your own humanity throughout the poem, but here specifically, the speaker seems to confront the reader with the question: how can we treat others in a way that we do not want to be treated