Get that spot, put it in the pot for me 'Cos I'm Muzorewi's daughter I'm Muzorewi's daughter I'm Muzorewi's daughter I'm Muzorewi's daughter
I was Muzorewi's daughter I've been in the pot too long Too hot in the pot too long I'm Muzorewi's daughter Muzorewi's daughter Afrika Korps love Gentle laws love I'm Muzorewi's daughter
Left-wing hot properties Out of the closet and she runs Muzorewi's daughter I'm Muzorewi's daughter I'm Muzorewi's daughter I'm Muzorewi's daughter
I'm Muzorewi's daughter I'm Muzorewi's daughter
The trees are reeds with evil seeds for me 'Cos I'm Muzorewi's daughter I'm Muzorewi's daughter I'm Muzorewi's daughter I'm Muzorewi's daughter
Afrika Korps love Gentle laws love I'm Muzorewi's daughter I blow a wall, love I'm Muzorewi's daughter I'm Muzorewi's daughter
I'm too long in the pot I'm too long in the mouth I'm too long in the pot I'm too long in the nips I'm too long in the tits I'm too long in the mitts
In the context of 1979, this was a huge story in the news, Muzorewa being seen by many as a puppet figure—a moderate leader caught between the white minority government of Ian Smith and the liberating forces of Mugabe and Nkomo. “in the pot too long” and it being “too hot” evokes a dark, almost cartoonish image of colonial “cannibal” imagery, which Smith uses to illustrate a state of being trapped or consumed by external forces. Being in the “pot” seems to imply being at the center of a boiling political situation where you have no control over the heat. “too long in the nips / tits / mitts” turn the political into the visceral. It suggests a loss of bodily autonomy, as if the “daughter” is being handled or scrutinized by everyone from politicians to the public. Mark E. Smith is seemingly jabbing at the so-called “champagne socialism” that leftists in the UK were accused of practicing. Similarly, in 1979 when this song was crafted, the struggle for Zimbabwe was a major cause for the British Left. By calling the daughter a “hot property” who “runs out of the closet,” Smith is mocking how political struggles in distant lands become fashionable trends or academic properties for people in the UK. He’s looking at the disconnect between the actual violence of the situation and the way it’s discussed in trendy London circles. Fitting in with this ideological colonization of African peoples by white leftists, is the stark image of Afrika Korps, Rommel’s WWII German expeditionary force in Africa. The Gentle laws, meanwhile, may be sarcastically referring to the “Internal Settlement” laws that put Muzorewa in power—laws that were supposed to be “gentle” transitions but were seen by many as maintaining the status quo of oppression. Thus, by pairing Nazi-associated imagery with “gentle laws,” Smith is highlighting the underlying violence and absurdity of the political compromises being made at the time. The song shifts from “I’m Muzorewi’s daughter” to “I was Muzorewi’s daughter” since Muzorewa’s time in power was incredibly brief (less than a year). He was a figure defined entirely by his relationship to the power structures around him. By adopting this persona, Smith is exploring the idea of a hollow identity, someone who exists only as a symbol or a “daughter” of a failing regime. Therefore, this song is in a way about the danger of being a symbol. After all, people and definitely artists get “consumed” by the expectations and labels of others. So Smith could be saying in a way “don’t get caught in the pot of other people’s politics, or you’ll end up as a hot property with no soul.”
In the context of 1979, this was a huge story in the news, Muzorewa being seen by many as a puppet figure—a moderate leader caught between the white minority government of Ian Smith and the liberating forces of Mugabe and Nkomo. “in the pot too long” and it being “too hot” evokes a dark, almost cartoonish image of colonial “cannibal” imagery, which Smith uses to illustrate a state of being trapped or consumed by external forces. Being in the “pot” seems to imply being at the center of a boiling political situation where you have no control over the heat. “too long in the nips / tits / mitts” turn the political into the visceral. It suggests a loss of bodily autonomy, as if the “daughter” is being handled or scrutinized by everyone from politicians to the public. Mark E. Smith is seemingly jabbing at the so-called “champagne socialism” that leftists in the UK were accused of practicing. Similarly, in 1979 when this song was crafted, the struggle for Zimbabwe was a major cause for the British Left. By calling the daughter a “hot property” who “runs out of the closet,” Smith is mocking how political struggles in distant lands become fashionable trends or academic properties for people in the UK. He’s looking at the disconnect between the actual violence of the situation and the way it’s discussed in trendy London circles. Fitting in with this ideological colonization of African peoples by white leftists, is the stark image of Afrika Korps, Rommel’s WWII German expeditionary force in Africa. The Gentle laws, meanwhile, may be sarcastically referring to the “Internal Settlement” laws that put Muzorewa in power—laws that were supposed to be “gentle” transitions but were seen by many as maintaining the status quo of oppression. Thus, by pairing Nazi-associated imagery with “gentle laws,” Smith is highlighting the underlying violence and absurdity of the political compromises being made at the time. The song shifts from “I’m Muzorewi’s daughter” to “I was Muzorewi’s daughter” since Muzorewa’s time in power was incredibly brief (less than a year). He was a figure defined entirely by his relationship to the power structures around him. By adopting this persona, Smith is exploring the idea of a hollow identity, someone who exists only as a symbol or a “daughter” of a failing regime. Therefore, this song is in a way about the danger of being a symbol. After all, people and definitely artists get “consumed” by the expectations and labels of others. So Smith could be saying in a way “don’t get caught in the pot of other people’s politics, or you’ll end up as a hot property with no soul.”