I Zimbra

"I Zimbra"
"I Zimbra"
Song
B-side	"Air" (3:33)

"I Zimbra" is a song by American new wave band Talking Heads, released as the second single from their 1979 album Fear of Music.

The song's lyrics are an adaptation of Dadaist Hugo Ball's poem "Gadji beri bimba". 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.^[1]

Lyrics

The lyrics contain these lines:

Gadji beri bimba clandridi

Lauli lonni cadori gadjam

A bim beri glassala glandride

E glassala tuffm I zimbra

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 innovations.

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 ^[2]

Charts

Chart (1980)	Peak position
US Billboard Hot Dance Club Play^[3]	28

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.^[4]

References

^ Steenstra, Sytze (2010). Song and Circumstance: The Work of David Byrne from Talking Heads to the Present. New York: Continuum. p. 53. ISBN 978-0-8264-4559-9.
^ T A L K I N G - H E A D S . N E T
^ "Talking Heads > Charts & Awards > Billboard Singles". Allmusic. Retrieved 24 December 2010.
^ New York Times/Allmovie

External links

Template:MetroLyrics song

[1] Steenstra, Sytze (2010). Song and Circumstance: The Work of David Byrne from Talking Heads to the Present. New York: Continuum. p. 53. ISBN 978-0-8264-4559-9.

[uofrci-2] T A L K I N G - H E A D S . N E T

[billboard_singles-3] "Talking Heads > Charts & Awards > Billboard Singles". Allmusic. Retrieved 24 December 2010.

[4] New York Times/Allmovie

[1]

[2]

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v t e Talking Heads
David Byrne Chris Frantz Jerry Harrison Tina Weymouth
Studio albums	Talking Heads: 77 More Songs About Buildings and Food Fear of Music Remain in Light Speaking in Tongues Little Creatures True Stories Naked
Live albums	The Name of This Band Is Talking Heads Stop Making Sense
Compilations	Popular Favorites 1976–1992: Sand in the Vaseline Once in a Lifetime: The Best of Talking Heads Once in a Lifetime The Best of Talking Heads Talking Heads Bonus Rarities and Outtakes
Singles	"Love → Building on Fire" "Psycho Killer" "Take Me to the River" "Life During Wartime" "I Zimbra" "Cities" "Crosseyed and Painless" "Once in a Lifetime" "Houses in Motion" "Burning Down the House" "This Must Be the Place (Naive Melody)" "Girlfriend Is Better" "Road to Nowhere" "And She Was" "Wild Wild Life" "Blind" "(Nothing But) Flowers" "Sax and Violins"
Other songs	"Thank You for Sending Me an Angel" "Heaven" "Born Under Punches (The Heat Goes On)"
Filmography	Stop Making Sense True Stories Storytelling Giant
Related articles	Discography Songs How Music Works "King's Lead Hat" My Life in the Bush of Ghosts No Talking, Just Head "Damage I've Done" Sounds from True Stories Tom Tom Club
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