Pata Pata Miriam Makeba Video and Lyrics

Miriam's Biggest Hit!

Pata Pata Miriam Makeba -This song is about a traditional South African dance. It is written in the Xhosa language and means something like "touch touch".

Miriam Makeba wrote Pata Pata as a young woman in 1957, before she ever left South Africa. But it was not until 1967, that she recorded and released the song in the US.

Pata Pata entered the American music charts and was very successful. I read in her biography, that she never received a penny for the song. Apparantly, her manager messed up her royalties.

Pata Pata Lyrics:

Sat wuguga sat ju benga sat si pata pata
Aya sat wuguga sat ju benga sat si pata pata
A sat wuguga sat ju benga sat si pata pata

Chorus
Hihi ha mama, hi-a-ma sat si pata
A-hihi ha mama, hi-a-ma sat si pata pat

Line 1:
Pata Pata is the name of a dance we do down Johannesburg way.
Everybody starts to move as soon as Pata Pata starts to play.

Line 2:
Hoo, every Friday and Saturday night it's Pata Pata-time.
The dance keeps going all night long till the morning sun begins to shine.

Return to my Miriam Makeba page for more song lyrics and videos.