I Zimbra

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“I Zimbra”
Single by Talking Heads from the album Fear of Music
Released	1980
Recorded	1979
Genre	New Wave Art punk
Length	3:06
Label	Sire Records
Writer(s)	David Byrne, Brian Eno, Hugo Ball
Producer	Brian Eno
Talking Heads singles chronology
"Life During Wartime" (1979) "I Zimbra" (1980) "Cities" (1980)

"I Zimbra" is the opening track of the 1979 Talking Heads album Fear of Music. The lyrics are an adaptation of Dadaist Hugo Ball’s poem “Gadji beri bimba.”

Contents 1 Lyrics 2 Quotes 3 Personnel 4 References

[edit] Lyrics

The lyrics contain these lines:

Gadji beri bimba clandridi

Lauli lonni cadori gadjam

A bim beri glassala glandride

E glassala tuffm I zimbra

[edit] Quotes

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 ^[1]

[edit] Personnel

• David Byrne – vocals, guitars
• Chris Frantz - drums
• Jerry Harrison – keyboards, guitars, backing vocals
• Tina Weymouth – bass, backing vocals
• Gene Wilder, Ari – congas
• Brian Eno - treatments
• Robert Fripp – guitar
• Julie Last – backing vocals

[edit] References

1. ^ T A L K I N G - H E A D S . N E T

v • d • e Talking Heads David Byrne | Jerry Harrison | Tina Weymouth | Chris Frantz Studio Albums Talking Heads: 77 (1977) | More Songs About Buildings and Food (1978) | Fear of Music (1979) | Remain in Light (1980) | Speaking in Tongues (1983) | Little Creatures (1985) | True Stories (1986) | Naked (1988) The Heads Albums No Talking, Just Head (1996) Live Albums The Name of This Band Is Talking Heads (1982) | Stop Making Sense (1984) Compilations Sand in the Vaseline: Popular Favorites (1992) | Once in a Lifetime (2003) | The Best of Talking Heads (2004) | Brick (2005) | Bonus Rarities and Outtakes (2006) Filmography Stop Making Sense (1984) | True Stories (1986) | Storytelling Giant (1988)