Sarie Marais is to South Africans is what Waltzing Matilda is to Australians. The translation you have is a relatively accurate translation of the original song . It is about a Boer soldier on the run from the British and longing to get back to the Transvaal to see Sarie Marais who lives behind the Maize by the green thorn tree . The Boers were mainly country folk with a great love for their country . The British went to war against them to gain control over the rich gold fields in the Transvaal . They did not stand a chance but managed to hold out for 3 years even after their capital Pretoria and Johannesburg were captured . The British embarked on a scorched earth policy .as the Boer Commando's (They originated the word } lived off the land . Farms were burnt and thousnads of women and children were incarcerated in concerntration camps ( that was a British invention) where many died of disease and malnutrition.