South African singer, music director and songwriter Anton Goosen. Picture: Supplied
REGARDED as the Godfather of Afrikaans rock, Anton Goosen is back on the music scene, this time, with a love song.
The iconic award-winning Afrikaans singer, who has been serving fans music since the 1970s has recently released an Afrikaans soft blues track, “Bly By My, (My Lief)”.
The living legend is well-known for his chart-topping singles “Kruidjie-roer-my-nie”, “Trompie”, “Silver De Lange” and “Boy Van Die Suburbs”.
“Bly By My, (My Lief)” was originally a poem by award-winning writer Antjie Krog before Goosen added a melody to it. “Bly by My (Stay with Me)” is one of her most famous poems.
It will be performed at this year’s Toyota US Woordfees as part of the tribute programme, “Al om Antjie”.
“There are other tunes with the same title and so, I changed it to ‘Bly By My, (My Love)’ and, because it's not written as lyric, I added the chorus part,” Goosen said.
The single was produced by Goosen and Peter Pearlson, with guitarist Illimar Neitz’s input.
It features Hammond organ and guitar solos by Simon Orange and Neitz, respectively. Lise Swart sings the enchanting backing vocals.
The song forms part of Goosen’s upcoming album, “Sirkels”, which features nine new tracks of ballads, stories, dance, protest and rock music.
Over his four-and-a-half-decade career, Goosen has released more than 20 albums and has written the music for several films, including “Harlekyn” (1980), “Jantjie” (1984), “Die Laaste Tango” (2013) and “Siembamba” (2017).
He has also written music for popular Mzansi artists Laurika Rauch, Carike Keuzenkamp, Richard Clayderman and Koos Kombuis.
Goosen was also honoured with several awards as a songwriter and singer, including Sari's, Ghoemas, Geraas, Vonk, and then SAMA, Innibos, the FAK and the South African Academy of Arts and Culture awards for his lifelong contribution to music.
In 2023, he was inducted into the South African Gallery of Legends, one of only five artists to have the honour.
In addition to releasing his new album, Goosen has several performances scheduled for this year.
And film producer Niel van Deventer is working on a four-part documentary that will chronicle Goosen's career.
The single is available on all digital streaming platforms.
Listen below: