I 'm not sure if this is the same documentary that I saw on public TV recently or not. But the one I saw was worth seeing. THe racial tension in South Africa was unbelievable. Mandela was in jail. Just getting Paul Simon together with these people was dangerous. Most of those musicians had NO idea who Paul Simon was when they were summoned to play with him.  They just jammed in recorded sessions.  Paul would get ideas of what he wanted and would try and communicate what he wanted through translators. Then they would record another jam session.  A studio tech took pieces of the jam sessions and created some of the songs from them. Then Paul wrote the words.  If this link is to the same documentary I saw. I will have to check it out later as I am headed out the door to work. 

I was a lieutenant in the Army stationed in Germany when "Graceland" appeared.  These lines from "You Can Call me Al" would play in my head as I wandered about

"A man walks down the street
It's a street in a strange world
Maybe it's the Third World
Maybe it's his first time around
He doesn't speak the language
He holds no currency
He is a foreign man"

I saw the "Graceland" concert in Frankfurt with all the South African musicians and singers: Ladysmith Black Mambazo, Ray Phiri on guitar.  Midconcert Miriam Makeba came out alone on stage and in a high, lilting, almost little-girl voice said, "I want to thank Mr. Simon for inviting me to perform with him."  She spoke slowly, pausing after words for effect, enunciating carefully with a British-South African accent.  She continued in her high voice. "I hope someday I can invite Mr. Simon to perform with me"—again she paused and then shifted into a deep otherworldly register, so that you felt it, and shouted, "IN A FREE SOUTH AFRICA."  For a second the audience was stunned, before cheering erupted. The memory of her voice still sends chills down my spine. 

There's a documentary film on the Graceland tour and album.  Hope it makes it here.

http://www.paulsimon.com/us/video/under-african-skies-graceland-documentary-trailer

Ah nice: Costanza & the bubble boy..."It's Moors you idiot!"

 MojoJojo wrote:

 

This whole album is good for the ears, not a bad track at all.

Love everything about the bass part on this.  Love the accordion thingy holding down the rhythm part too.  I'm picturing Myron Floren in some sort of floral print african shirt...

Moops  

1986

It was a slow day
And the sun was beating
On the soldiers by the side of the road
There was a bright light
A shattering of shop windows
The bomb in the baby carriage
Was wired to the radio

. . .it seemed like another world way back then.

This whole album is good for the ears, not a bad track at all.

from the brilliance of radiohead's reckoning to this friggin accordian crappola?  felt like i was just in a car wreck.  jolting.  don't get me wrong, this song is fine, but that segue left a lot to be desired - for instance, a segue. 

This song is soooo good for the ears...