What are the lyrics in Amber Light and what do they mean?
The Xhosa/Zulu refrain in Amber Light plays a very important role in highlighting the true meaning of this track. Ekuseni(-e) is derived from the adverb kusasa, which means: “early in the morning / daybreak”. Therefore ekuseni(-e) means “at daybreak” (in both Xhosa & Zulu). Yeah, I know it sounds stupid, but Xhosa/Zulu is a very descriptive language. Khanya is a verb which means: “shine / to be bright/” or even closer: “beam forth / emanate / emit / radiate light”. Kuya is actually part of the verb khanya and fulfils the role of auxiliary verb. Roughly translated it means “will”. Let us review the sentence. Ekuseni(-e) kuya k(h)anya literally means: “At daybreak will light shine / emanate / beam forth”. If one reconstructs this sentence according to western grammar rules, it should look something like: “The light will shine (I like “radiate” more) at daybreak.” Do you sense a deeper meaning in this sentence? It is the Xhosa/Zulu way of expressing a message of hope at the end of a dark
