It has been a very long time since I saw an Afrikaans movie in a theater, and tonight I did : Liefling the Movie. It is an Afrikaans musical with English subtitles, and on track to become a blockbuster South African movie. Think Mamma Mia! the ABBA musical – it’s about the same. The picture below shows the romantic leads. The movie was made on a tiny tiny budget by American standards : R 5 million (US $800,000).
The original song Liefling was recorded in 1972 by Gé Korsten (album cover below).
Below are the opening lyrics of the song. Overly simplistic and dramatic, one could say – but consider this :
[Source : Wikipedia] In the 2002 Currie Cup final against the Golden Lions, a South African Rugby Union player Derick Hougaard broke Naas Botha’s 15 year record for points scored in a Currie Cup final of 24 by scoring 26. This feat at the start of his career and his excellent goal kicking success ratio during the following years earned him the accolade Liefling van Loftus (Eng. ‘Sweetheart of Loftus Versfeld Stadium’) in Pretoria. Each time Hougaard scored points for the Bulls at Loftus, the chorus of this song was played in the stadium.
Which reminds me of Simon and Garfunkel singing Where have you gone, Joe DiMaggio? A nation turns its lonely eyes to you (Woo woo woo) in the song Mrs Robinson (1968).
Liefling 1972 (Kunze, Maffay, Toerien)
Jy weet dat ek nie sonder jou kan bestaan nie You know that without you I cannot exist
Jy week dat jy ook nie alleen kan bestaan nie You know that you too cannot exist on your own
Dit weet jy goed You know that well
Koor Chorus
Liefling kan ons nie maar vergeet en vergewe? Sweetheart could we not forgive and forget?
Liefling ek kan nie sonder jou verder lewe Sweetheart I cannot carry on without you
Dit weet jy goed You know that well