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"I Zimbra"
UK vinyl single
Single by Talking Heads
from the album Fear of Music
B-side	"Air" (3:33)
Released	1980
Recorded	1979
Genre	New wave post-punk afrobeat disco
Length	3:06
Label	Sire
Songwriter(s)	David Byrne Brian Eno Hugo Ball
Producer(s)	Brian Eno
Talking Heads singles chronology
"Life During Wartime" (1979) "I Zimbra" (1980) "Cities" (1980)
Official audio
"I Zimbra" (2005 Remaster) on YouTube

"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.

• 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. It is also in Byrne's stage musical American Utopia, also filmed for theatrical release by Spike Lee.

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 musicians

• 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 1984 concert film Stop Making Sense but were restored as a bonus feature for the 1999 DVD release.

References

1. Molanphy, Chris (October 14, 2023). "This Ain't No Party?! Edition". Hit Parade | Music History and Music Trivia (Podcast). Slate. Retrieved November 10, 2023.
2. Reynolds, Simon (January 1, 2005). "Prologue: The Unfinished Revolution". Rip It Up and Start Again: Postpunk 1978-1984. Faber & Faber. p. xviii. ISBN 0-571-21570-X.
3. 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.
4. Fear of Music by Talking Heads (1979), album cover credits
5. "T A L K I N G – H E A D S . N E T". Archived from the original on 2007-09-21. Retrieved 2007-05-24.
6. Erdmann, Kevin (22 December 2021). "Spider-Man No Way Home Soundtrack Guide: Every Song". Screenrant. Retrieved 23 December 2021.
7. Sam Kemp (3 November 2021). "Watch David Byrne break down the Talking Heads classic 'I Zimbra'". Far Out. Retrieved 12 August 2023.
8. "Talking Heads > Charts & Awards > Billboard Singles". Allmusic. Retrieved 24 December 2010.
9. New York Times/Allmovie

• 1979 songs
• Talking Heads songs
• Songs written by David Byrne
• Songs written by Brian Eno
• Sire Records singles
• 1980 singles
• Song recordings produced by Brian Eno
• Songs written by Hugo Ball