There may be no more suitable song for the social justice collective “Playing for Change” than “Biko,” the Peter Gabriel masterpiece that enlightened many people about the atrocities of apartheid in South Africa by detailing the chilling murder in 1977 of black activist Stephen Biko “in police room 619.” The song also foretold (if not helped initiate) the end of the racist regime in 1994 as Gabriel sang: “You can blow out a candle, but you can’t blow out a fire. Once the flames begin to catch, the wind will blow it higher.”

Indeed, Gabriel’s song is filled with haunting lines, including a direct warning to white South Africa: “The eyes of the world are watching now.”

Including the Xhosa phrase, yihla mohja – “come spirit” – the song is interpreted as suggesting that, though dead, Biko’s spirit is still alive.

We’ve offered several PFC videos before, primarily for the unique takes on familiar songs by musicians from around the world nimbly spliced together in first-rate videos – and often led by or, or including, cameos, from the original artists.

In that respect, “Biko” is no different, travelling the globe from Nevada to the Congo, and Spain to India. South Africa, suitably, sets the scene and Gabriel himself leads proceedings from Wiltshire England. A special guest, “casually dropped into the mix,” is Yo-Yo Ma, cello-ing from his study in Boston.

But more than just a fresh take on a famous song (though the version here was recorded in 2009), it reminds that, while music can be fun and distracting (not that there’s anything wrong with that), it can also sometimes mean more.

YouTube viewer Marc Weiss sums up the experience of hearing “Biko” live: “A crowd of 20,000 friends and brothers and sisters all chanting in unison, ‘WOH, OH, O,’ at the end of the song. Tears pouring down our faces. A sense of humanity that is seldom shared. We were going to see the world blossom into a better place.”

And vazmo1485, simply: “Oh dear god… chills and tears!”

Lyrics

September ’77
Port Elizabeth weather fine
It was business as usual
In police room 619
Oh Biko, Biko, because Biko
Oh Biko, Biko, because Biko
Yihla Moja, Yihla Moja
The man is dead

When I try to sleep at night
I can only dream in red
The outside world is black and white
With only one colour dead
Oh Biko, Biko, because Biko
Oh Biko, Biko, because Biko
Yihla Moja, Yihla Moja
The man is dead

You can blow out a candle
But you can’t blow out a fire
Once the flames begin to catch
The wind will blow it higher
Oh Biko, Biko, because Biko
Yihla Moja, Yihla Moja
The man is dead

And the eyes of the world are
Watching now
Watching now