I really like the voice of this South African artist: Helena Hettema. She sings the song about her uncle on a farm in ‘Africa’ – he’s in trouble and can’t uphold his payments with the bank and in his letter, he asks to send Mannetjies Roux his greetings. Mannetjies Roux is a legend in South African rugby. You can see him in the video clips near the bottom of this entry. As a rugby-lover myself, I enjoyed watching these clips and wonder if the Springbok team will ever be the mighty ‘power machine’ they used to be a few years ago. I’d seen quite a few games on Loftus Versfeld and haven’t seen the brilliant rugby from the team after the 1995-team of Francois Pienaar. I hope anyone reading here disagree with me as that will give me some hope. Helena sings the very famous and popular song: Send Mannetjies Roux my greetings.
Greetings to Mannetjies Roux
My uncle’s car is an old machine,
He fills it up with diesoline,
And he sings on the roads when he comes to see me,
My uncle is old and I’m just about thirteen.
My uncle drinks coffee and my auntie tea,
I ask about the rain and he says ‘yes, no!’
And he drinks sweet coffee with one eye closed,
And he talks of the try of Mannetjies Roux.
Oh send us just a little rain,
My uncle has a tankful of diesoline,
And bless my mum and bless my dad,
And my uncle on his farm in Africa!
My uncle struggled on the farm,
Because the sun was too hot and rain was little,
The clerk from the bank just nodded his head,
Because my uncle, yes my uncle, was deep in debt.
Oh send us just a little rain,
My uncle has a tankful of diesoline,
And bless my mum and bless my dad,
And my uncle on his farm in Africa!
And in the morning, if you walk through the fields,
Then, you hear my uncle with his car with its ‘clack, clack clack,’
But my uncle, yes my uncle’s eyes are both now closed,
And in his letter he sends his greetings to Mannetjies Roux.
Oh send us just a little rain,
My uncle has a tankful of diesoline,
And bless my mum and bless my dad,
And my uncle on his farm in Africa!
Mannetjies Roux – the rugby player
A true legend
Mannetjies Roux interview – telling how he heard about this song the first time – very emotional.
Chessalee 
Dit was nou lekkerbom weer na ourydse rugby te kyk! Sjoe maar hy is vinnig!!!
Hi Seegogga, Ek stem, maar kyk bietjie na videos van Danie Gerber! Sjoe, daardie mannetjie was net so vinnig – een van my groot helde van die mid 80s
Hello Nikita, absolutely delightful. I knew the original version of Laurika Rauch (I think her husband composed it) but this version here is more in the vein of a “chanson”, not so “solemn” but more introspective and thoughtful. And Helena Hettema? I must admit, I had never heard of her before, although she must have been around for some time. But I’ll check her out now.
But over the years I’ve sung this particular song dozens or hundreds of times myself. In the 1990ies / 2000s I played for a Rugby team made up mainly of South African expats living over here in Germany and that was our side’s “anthem”, although admittedly the Rugby connotation is thin: just the mention of Mannetjies Roux. And the lyrics are “bitter-sweet” too, as of course the uncle is crippled by debts and therefore the farm in danger of being seized by the bank. My mates even told me that the “closed eyes” and the “letter” in the last verse could be refering to the uncle’s suicide letter…
Anyway, our version was robust, hearty and rousing to say the least – before we lost yet another match against British soldiers who could have been our sons… š
But please keep those video links to SA music coming, for non-South Africans like me this particularly interesting.
Hi Carl, Welcome to my blog and fabulous to hear about the rugby and the expats – and of course the song! Yes, you are absolutely right, I couldn’t put that in the lyrics, but assumed it myself too. You are also right in saying that Laurika’s husband composed it, I think Mannetjies also referred to it. Helena Hettema is a little unknown to myself, but must admit that I have heard about her – quite a few years ago (as we’re in SA anymore) and only remembered again when I found her song – I LOVE her voice – almost like Mireille Mathieu – deep and husky (and beautiful). I will try keeping up with the video links. š Have a good day!