And was an English language version of the traditional Zulu song "Mbube", first recorded by Solomon Linda in South Africa shortly before George Weiss translated it for the Tokens' version. Linda claimed to have written it in the 1920s but it's more likely he was simply the first to write it down. Oral tradition is more common in Africa.
This post was edited by Slartibartfast at September 28, 2020 2:56 PM MDT