According to cultural researchers Booth and Nauright, Zulu workers later took up the song to generate rhythm during group tasks and to alleviate boredom and stress.
It was usually sung under hardship in call and response style (one man singing a solo line and the rest of the group responding by copying him).
The late former South African President Nelson Mandela described how he sang Shosholoza as he worked during his imprisonment on Robben Island.
He described it as "a song that compares the apartheid struggle to the motion of an oncoming train" and went on to explain that "the singing made the work lighter".
[6] The song is also used in pop culture to convey messages of hope and solidarity for athletes during competitions or in other times of hardship and distress.
The song has been recorded by a variety of artists, including Pete Seeger, John Edmond, Helmut Lotti, Ladysmith Black Mambazo, PJ Powers, Soweto Gospel Choir, Peter Gabriel (as the B-side of his single "Biko"), Sérgio Dias and Drakensberg Boys' Choir, as well as being a standard of most gumboots bands,[1] and also featured in the musical 'King Kong' (1959).
The South African a cappella group Overtone recorded the song for director Clint Eastwood's movie Invictus (2009).
The song was also sung by the South African football team as they came onto the field of play to open the 2010 FIFA World Cup.