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I Zimbra
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Wikipedia article
{{Infobox song
| name = I Zimbra
| cover = I zimbra talking heads uk single.jpg
| alt =
| caption = UK vinyl single
| type = single
| artist = Talking Heads
| album = Fear of Music
| B-side = "Air" (3:33)
| released = 1980
| recorded = 1979
| studio =
| venue =
| genre = New wave, post-punk, worldbeat
| length = 3:06
| label = Sire
| writer = David Byrne, Brian Eno, Hugo Ball
| producer = Brian Eno
| prev_title = Life During Wartime
| prev_year = 1979
| next_title = Cities
| next_year = 1980
| misc =
}}
"'I Zimbra'" is a song by American new wave band Talking Heads, released as the second single from their 1979 album 'Fear of Music'.
According to Sytze Steenstra in 'Song and Circumstance: The Work of David Byrne from Talking Heads to the Present', the music draws heavily on the African popular music Byrne was listening to at the time.
Dada lyrics
The lyrics of "I Zimbra" are an adaptation of Dadaist Hugo Ball's poem 'Gadji beri bimba'.'Fear of Music' by Talking Heads (1979), album cover credits
*The lyrics contain these lines:
:'Gadji beri bimba clandridi'
:'Lauli lonni cadori gadjam'
:'A bim beri glassala glandride'
:'E glassala tuffm I zimbra'
Influence
In an interview, Jerry Harrison named "I Zimbra"" as his favorite Talking Heads song, and pointed out that the style of the group's next album, 'Remain in Light', was indebted to the song's production style.
"We also knew that our next album would be a further exploration of what we had begun with 'I Zimbra'."
: Jerry Harrison, Liquid Audio, 1997
The song is used in the opening scene of the movie 'Spider-Man: No Way Home'.
Charts
Personnel
'Talking Heads'
*David Byrne guitars, lead vocals
*Jerry Harrison keyboards, backing vocals, guitars
*Tina Weymouth bass guitar, backing vocals
*Chris Frantz drums
'Additional Personnel'
*Brian Eno electronic treatments, backing vocals
*Robert Fripp guitar
*Gene Wilder congas
*Ari congas
*Hassam Ramzy surdo
*Abdou M'Boup djembe, talking drum
*Assane Thiam percussion
*Julie Last backing vocals
Deleted film footage
The song was one of three songs (along with "Cities" and "Big Business") that were cut from the theatrical release of the 1983 concert film 'Stop Making Sense' but were restored as a bonus feature for the 1999 DVD release.[https://movies.nytimes.com/movie/46972/Stop-Making-Sense/dvd New York Times/Allmovie]
References
Category:1979 songs
Category:Talking Heads songs
Category:Songs written by David Byrne
Category:Songs written by Brian Eno
Category:Sire Records singles
Category:1980 singles
Category:Song recordings produced by Brian Eno
Category:Songs written by Hugo Ball
Category:Gibberish language
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