Josh Groban - Weeping Lyrics

A South African classic written by Dan Heymann of the band Bright Blue which was voted the "All-time favourite South African song" in a poll .

Singing this in my choir

Josh's voice is so calming. I love it.

Beautiful music, Josh! YOU ARE FUCKING AWESOME!!

Never, never, never again will our people be bound by the shackles of Apartheid. God bless my beautiful country, South Africa.

Just a pity the present government is so corrupt and hasn't served its people as promised, despite a quarter of a century of rule :-(. The lyrics are clever and people need to read between the lines. But, Josh, as usual, delivers so beautifully.

Fu$& Commies

My God... This song has taken on a whole new meaning for me in 2019!

I can safely say this is my favourite song...it illuminates my chauvinism

I knew a man who lived in fear
It was huge, it was angry,
It was drawing near
Behind his house a secret place
Was the shadow of the demon
He could never face
He built a wall of steel and flame
And men with guns to keep it tame
Then standing back he made it plain
That the nightmare would never ever rise again
But the fear and the fire and the guns remain
It doesn't matter now it's over anyhow
He tells the world that it's sleeping
But as the night came round I heard
It slowly sound
It wasn't roaring, it was weeping
It wasn't roaring, it was weeping
And then one day the neighbors came
They were curious to know about the smoke and flame
They stood around outside the wall
But of course there was nothing to be heard at all
"My friends, " he said, "We've reached our goal
The threat is under firm control
As long as peace and order reign
I'll be damned if I can see a reason to explain
Why the fear and the fire and the guns remain"
It doesn't matter now it's over anyhow
He tells the world that it's sleeping
But as the night came round I heard
It slowly sound
It wasn't roaring, it was weeping
It wasn't roaring, it was weeping
Say ah, say ah, say ah
Say ah, say ah, say ah
It doesn't matter now it's over anyhow
It doesn't matter now it's over anyhow
It doesn't matter now it's over anyhow
He tells the world that it's sleeping
But as the night came round I heard
It slowly sound
It wasn't roaring, it was weeping
It wasn't roaring, it was weeping
Say ah, say ah, say ah
Say ah, say ah, say ah

Songwriters: Daniel Heymann / Thomas Fox / Ian Cohen / Peter Cohen
Weeping lyrics © Kobalt Music Publishing Limited

Are you Turkish?

magnifiques rhytmeset l harmonie des coeurs est une reussite merci encore

i sang this song before i could even understand english

really nice!!!!!

Josh groben.....ultimate perfection.xx

Janine Withers is wonderfull i lo

This has helped me move on through all trauma I have experienced. It tells a story of a man who's ill in the head, and how he builds his wall and keeps the demon at bay. I love it

@Jon Snow Exactly. But we mustn't forget to give credit to F.W. de Klerk who released Mandela from prison and basically brokered a peaceful take-over. Too often it is forgotten that he was the other recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize and, of all the apartheid (pronouced 'hate', ironically enough) Presidents and prior prime ministers, he was the best. While apart'hate' has gone, the current leaders have a whole heap of tyrannies to answer to - a reversal of roles and with so many of the population hellbent on slaughtering their own. Sorry, this is not a political forum - just a little info!

@Denise Super Yeah I know but I was speaking about PW Botha, the man who even after Apartheid refused to go before the TRC

@Jon Snow I know you were. He was a hateful man...Hitler used to come to mind when I saw or heard him.

@Denise Super People use to call him the krokodil and he would always wave his finger around when making a speech

@Jon Snow I remember that very precisely! And the pursely little mouth...ughh. A lot worse than even Vorster. I am a South African living in Australia and am old enough to have experienced many changes over the years, going back to my childhood :-)

Naah Man the Vusi Mahlasela version of this song is much better.

They are both good. I think Josh has a clearer voice though. Though I like the original with uBrenda.

This song touched me today in relation to the state of the fear and paranoia between countries and especially in America.

2017 am listening though am the one weeping... miss my Dad

this is the result of his April 2006 stay in South Africa

the best of them best love dis guy

Enjoyed this video! All the best!!

Gotta sing you sooon...

Gotta sing you sooon...

Happy New Year 2015 Josh Groban from Gloria Law TY for everything. :)

so proud TO BE SOUTH AFRICAN WHEN I listen to this song, Josh sing is beautifully!

I agree Chene, but I think there was a little naivete and not quite the depth of knowledge necessary - but that's a universal thing. This song was sung brilliantly by Josh as well as the whole 'Awake' concert/DVD.

It's been awhile since anyone commented on this song. I love it but would love to understand the story better. Anyone from South Africa that can explain it to me? Is it about Apartheid? I would love to get to the root of the meaning. Thank You in advance! 

This song was written by a guy called Dan Heymann, a 21 year old unwilling conscript in the Apartheid era South African Defense Force.  He wrote it (while still in the army, I believe) to protest against being drafted to fight against his fellow countrymen. (He has a website where he talks about it.) I think that this makes the song even more powerful, as it was written from the perspective of one who (albeit very reluctantly) was actually part of the 'fear and the fire and the guns'. I think its great that Josh Groban has brought it to a wider audience, but it is a shame that he does not acknowledge the full origins and the full meaning of the song. Dan Heymann recorded it with his band Bright Blue, and they sneaked in the melody from Nkosi sikele iafrika which was banned at the time. This song had huge resonance in South Africa in the 80's, during the State of Emergency when no-one knew what was going to happen and the country was in chaos and essentially under military rule, with massive media censorship, detention without trial, heavy army presence, landmines in supermarkets, violent protests, journalists being arrested for being in the wrong place and people 'committing suicide' in police custody. On top of that the SA army was also supporting rebels in Angola against the communist gov (supported in turn by the Cubans) and trying to hold on to power in Nambia (fighting SWAPO). Just to give some context from the time. Utter Chaos.

ETA - The man who lived in fear = apartheid gov and supporters (many of whom conflated black majority rule with communist rule), 'he built a wall' = to keep the rest of the world out, the 'fire and the guns' = the military and 'wasn't roaring it was weeping = the oppressed people who should be empathised with not feared. Sorry for the essay, I'm a bit pedantic about detail and context!

+Elizabeth R Elizabeth, as a detail-oriented person myself, I loved the history of this song. My eyes were opened to the horrors of apartheid nearly 50 years ago when my English teacher in HS (freshman year) assigned us to read "Cry, The Beloved Country" by Alan Paton. While details of the book have faded, Paton's description of the degree to which non-whites were dehumanized under that horrible system still is extremely grievous to me and forever is burned in my memory. It is one of the galvanizing agents in my pursuit of social justice.
At the same time, I would not be too harsh toward Josh Groban. He is such a talented and humble man that sometimes we forget that he was only in his mid-20's when Weeping was recorded and Awake was released. He is too young to have much connection with apartheid, if any. He wouldn't know of the Sharpeville massacre, the murder of Steve Biko or the Soweto uprising, to name some of the more well-known events in the resistance. And especially when he started his professional career, it was so meteoric that it took a while for him to make any kind of political statements. Even now, he is still pretty much apolitical in his public persona. His life and joy is in his music, and a great gift it is.
So I appreciate Josh for bringing this song and Ladysmith Black Mamnazo to the public's attention. And Elizabeth, I appreciate you for providing the very important back story.

Thank you for the background.  It really does give it more meaning and significance to the song

Elizabeth R thank you so much for the background. my image of this song changed completely after I read your explanation. to think that this song would have a completely different meaning once you know it's history..... I pray that one day the scars of those oppresses by the apartheid would fade and all they would find it in their hearts to forgive. God bless you all.

@Lois Simmons Lois, two factors I'd like to point out is that South Africa wasn't always under an apartheid rule. Also, with the military wing of the ANC, Umkhontu isiswe (forgive my spelling - has been a long time since I've actually written the words) training in communist countries with their support, and with the slogan of 'one settler, one bullet' (except that was by no means confined to their army - it was a call for all Black South Africans to heed and is still used to this day), there was a very real fear that South Africa would end up under Communist rule. The ANC itself leant very heavily towards Communism. South Africa was condemned for having segregation written into the constitution but was by no means the only country to practise segregation. Think of the Native Americans, banished and many still languishing in reserves; the African-Americans; the Australian Aborigines and New Zealander Maoris who were butchered to form the small percentage of the population that they are now. Segregation through racism still exists in these countries. There is literature that cites the entrenched segregation and the withholding of the right to vote of the Blacks as being a means of not allowing the Native Africans to take charge of the country. There was no mass massacre as in other countries, which had decimated the original Natives down to very much smaller ones, so the Black population grew exponentially in South Africa rather than dwindling as in the countries I made mention of.
I'm certainly not anti-apartheid but I always try to look at all issues from all angles.
Never mind - go Josh!

One of my absolute favorites of all times. <3

My favorite of his! 

All the men who have been to war, they know the know this demon.

Thank you for sharing this lovely song!!! :)

I really love the message of this song.

Proud to call myself south african (even if I was born in Italy)

I love the narrative of this song. It wasn't roaring, it was weeping.

love this song

God I love this song so much. I've walked down streets here, singing it like the happiest fool alive.

Apartheid. And I always thought this song was about the skeletons in our closets.

Wonder how many people know the true History of this song... Proudly South African!!!!

Great version Josh!!

I love the message of this song almost as much as I love Josh's voice. Yes, we still see violence perpetrated by people with mental problems and by people who are so filled with hate, that it would be a miracle if they got the message of this song. But if the rest of us would just get to know each other and break down those walls, perhaps we would have the resources to take care of the seriously mentally ill, and the hatemongers within every group would be marginalized to ineffectiveness.

My favorite song <3.

I have been looking for this song for years. <3

This has to be one of my favorites.

LOVE THIS SONG!!! Josh Groban is the best! Solo Por Ti and Mai remind me of the Hunger Games, seen the movie twice!!! can't wait for it on dvd!!! MAY THE ODDS BE EVER IN YOUR FAVOR!!!!

I LOVE it
seriously, the first time i heard it, i fell in love with the song

i love this song, this is my third favorite! i love Josh Groban, his italian songs are so haunting! like i said before, for some reason his songs reminds me of the Hunger Games, i think its the music and the song. can't wait for the movie!!!!!! MAY THE ODDS BE EVER IN YOUR FAVOR!!!!!!

SING IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIT!!!!!! love this song. love josh!!!!!

I REMEMBER HE SANG THIS IN HIS CONCERT IN STAPLES CTR AUG 17, 2011 :D :D :D I LOOOVE THIS SONG!!! <3 <3 <3 <3

Yep - I saw the concert in Brisbane, Australia.

This is a really awesome song!