Zangaléwa by Zangalewa (Golden Sounds) Music Video

In 1986, a group from Cameroon called the Golden Sounds released a military inspired hit song entitled “Zangaléwa”.

The Zangaléwa song pays tribute to African skirmishers, also known as tirailleurs during WW2 as seen on the Zangalewa music video below. It is sometimes called “Zamina” undermined by the first words of the lyrics. The song is still used today by soldiers, policemen, boy scouts, sportsmen and their supporters, usually during training or for rallying.

The Zangalewa song is also widely used in schools throughout the country as a marching song and almost everyone in the country knows the song by heart.

Most of the Golden Sounds’ band members were in the Cameroonian Army themselves. As the song became a hit, the band eventually changed their name to Zangaléwa too.

Watch the Zangalewa music video by Zangalewa (Golden Sounds):

Here’s the Zangalewa lyrics in Cameroonian dialect called Fang:

The Zangaléwa song is on the chorus part of the Waka Waka (This Time for Africa) song by Shakira featuting the Freshlyground for the 2010 FIFA World Cup and Waka Waka (Esto es Africa).

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