Would you like to inspect the original subtitles? These are the user uploaded subtitles that are being translated:
1
00:00:23,720 --> 00:00:27,280
COMMENTATOR: Live from Los Angeles,
2
00:00:27,280 --> 00:00:30,720
the 29th annual Grammy awards.
3
00:00:32,560 --> 00:00:35,920
BOTH: And the album of the year is...
4
00:00:36,440 --> 00:00:38,160
Unbelievable! That's beautiful!
5
00:00:38,160 --> 00:00:39,880
The crowd is happy!
6
00:00:39,880 --> 00:00:42,480
GRACELAND!
7
00:00:45,840 --> 00:00:52,560
I'd like to thank the singers and musicians from South Africa who worked with me on Graceland,
8
00:00:52,560 --> 00:01:00,440
who live, along with other South African artists and their countrymen,
9
00:01:00,440 --> 00:01:05,000
under one of the most repressive regimes on the planet today
10
00:01:05,000 --> 00:01:09,240
and still they are able to produce
11
00:01:09,240 --> 00:01:14,040
music of great power and nuance and joy.
12
00:01:14,040 --> 00:01:17,920
THEY SING A SOUTH AFRICAN SONG
13
00:01:23,200 --> 00:01:27,920
We were influenced by American music. It was influenced by us.
14
00:01:27,920 --> 00:01:32,160
It was sharing information, so it was a two-way traffic.
15
00:01:32,160 --> 00:01:34,920
We used Paul as much as Paul used us.
16
00:01:34,920 --> 00:01:39,240
There was no abuse.
17
00:01:39,240 --> 00:01:46,840
He came at the right time to break South African music more into the mainstream market.
18
00:01:46,840 --> 00:01:53,280
If he has sold more than 14 million copies worldwide of Graceland, that says a lot.
19
00:01:53,280 --> 00:01:58,120
Over 14 million people in the world know what South African music is.
20
00:01:59,480 --> 00:02:04,200
Graceland was a particularly benign record.
21
00:02:04,200 --> 00:02:08,520
I think it described
22
00:02:08,520 --> 00:02:13,360
South African culture in a way that was very accurate.
23
00:02:13,360 --> 00:02:16,240
It was certainly not complete.
24
00:02:16,240 --> 00:02:21,440
It didn't touch on the anger that was pervasive,
25
00:02:21,440 --> 00:02:27,680
but it did touch on the other part of the culture where people laughed,
26
00:02:27,680 --> 00:02:32,520
where there was dancing, where life was being celebrated.
27
00:02:42,240 --> 00:02:50,040
The global village and the vocabulary are getting smaller because we are speaking one language.
28
00:02:50,040 --> 00:02:52,920
But it's the search for one's self...
29
00:02:55,600 --> 00:03:01,720
..that you end up finding yourself in somebody else's thing, you know.
30
00:03:01,720 --> 00:03:07,560
It's something in the air. It's not controlled by any individual.
31
00:03:07,560 --> 00:03:14,680
When there is a good songwriter somewhere, he'll touch the rest of the world with just one word.
32
00:03:14,680 --> 00:03:18,120
- #
- It was a dry wind and it swept across the desert
33
00:03:18,120 --> 00:03:20,560
- #
- And it curled into the circle of birth
34
00:03:21,480 --> 00:03:25,000
- #
- And the dead sand was falling on the children
35
00:03:25,000 --> 00:03:28,440
- #
- The mothers and the fathers and the automatic earth
36
00:03:28,440 --> 00:03:32,080
- #
- These are the days of miracle and wonder
37
00:03:32,080 --> 00:03:35,360
- #
- This is the long-distance call
38
00:03:35,360 --> 00:03:38,840
- #
- The way the camera follows us in slo-mo
39
00:03:38,840 --> 00:03:41,800
- #
- The way we look to us all Oh, yeah
40
00:03:41,800 --> 00:03:44,880
- #
- The way we look to a distant constellation
41
00:03:44,880 --> 00:03:47,960
- #
- That's dying in a corner of the sky
42
00:03:48,920 --> 00:03:51,920
- #
- These are the days of miracle and wonder
43
00:03:51,920 --> 00:03:55,160
- #
- Don't cry, baby, don't cry, don't cry...
- #
44
00:03:58,600 --> 00:03:59,720
Let's roll back.
45
00:04:04,080 --> 00:04:09,400
I think we always knew that this would be the start of the album.
46
00:04:09,400 --> 00:04:15,160
I mean, it began so unusually and the sound of those drums at the top
47
00:04:15,160 --> 00:04:18,840
sounded so African...
48
00:04:18,840 --> 00:04:26,600
that it really was like an announcement that said, "You haven't heard this before."
49
00:04:26,600 --> 00:04:30,120
HEAVY DRUMS AND ACCORDION
50
00:04:46,440 --> 00:04:50,000
- #
- It was a slow day and the sun was beating
51
00:04:50,000 --> 00:04:53,240
- #
- On the soldiers by the side of the road
52
00:04:53,240 --> 00:04:57,280
- #
- There was a bright light, a shattering of shop windows
53
00:04:57,280 --> 00:05:00,960
- #
- The bomb in the baby carriage was wired to the radio
54
00:05:00,960 --> 00:05:04,280
- #
- These are the days of miracle and wonder
55
00:05:04,280 --> 00:05:07,280
- #
- This is the long-distance call
56
00:05:08,280 --> 00:05:11,360
- #
- The way the camera follows us in slo-mo...
- #
57
00:05:11,360 --> 00:05:14,920
My favourite track is "The Boy In The Bubble".
58
00:05:14,920 --> 00:05:20,080
It represents that whole feel and experience - a very dark,
59
00:05:20,080 --> 00:05:23,760
brooding quality about it.
60
00:05:23,760 --> 00:05:27,600
And, er, to me it most represents the whole trip,
61
00:05:27,600 --> 00:05:33,880
the whole concept and the whole feel of recording in that studio over there.
62
00:05:38,720 --> 00:05:47,000
These were originally jams. Basically, they were jams - 10, 15 minutes, half an hour.
63
00:05:47,000 --> 00:05:51,360
And lo and behold maybe a song would come out of that.
64
00:05:56,520 --> 00:06:03,000
It was important to record these guys with good eye contact, close together.
65
00:06:03,000 --> 00:06:06,400
Not everybody in their own little room.
66
00:06:06,400 --> 00:06:10,640
Let's try to control the leakage the best we can,
67
00:06:10,640 --> 00:06:15,440
so the eye contact and the feel is in the room.
68
00:06:15,440 --> 00:06:20,800
And record it, so back in New York we can delete that, add this,
69
00:06:20,800 --> 00:06:25,560
add these four bars, put these four over here, these three bars here,
70
00:06:25,560 --> 00:06:28,840
and be able do that without a mess.
71
00:06:34,080 --> 00:06:38,960
What we added to the accordion to make the sound deeper was...
72
00:06:40,880 --> 00:06:45,760
We added a synthesizer to deepen the sound.
73
00:06:48,000 --> 00:06:52,200
- Like this.
- MUSIC GETS DEEPER
- In proportion...
74
00:06:55,760 --> 00:06:58,400
Similarly, with the drums...
75
00:06:58,400 --> 00:07:01,720
Here's the sample added to the snare.
76
00:07:01,720 --> 00:07:03,960
STEADY DRUM BEAT
77
00:07:03,960 --> 00:07:07,560
This happens quite a bit in Graceland.
78
00:07:07,560 --> 00:07:13,600
Sounds are added to the original sounds to make things sound deeper.
79
00:07:15,840 --> 00:07:21,200
Over here...
80
00:07:17,880 --> 00:07:21,200
BELLS CHIME
81
00:07:21,200 --> 00:07:23,640
Well, here's bells.
82
00:07:28,840 --> 00:07:35,080
They're tucked in the background just to give things a natural echo sound.
83
00:07:35,080 --> 00:07:39,880
Here's me singing voices to fit in with the accordion.
84
00:07:39,880 --> 00:07:43,280
VOCAL TRACK IS ADDED
85
00:07:43,280 --> 00:07:45,760
I'm just making up sounds.
86
00:07:48,560 --> 00:07:51,760
- #
- These are the days of miracle and wonder
87
00:07:51,760 --> 00:07:55,640
- #
- This is the lo-ong-distance ca-all
88
00:07:55,640 --> 00:07:59,360
- #
- The way the camera follows us in slo-mo
89
00:07:59,360 --> 00:08:02,360
- #
- The way we look to us all, oh, yeah
90
00:08:03,080 --> 00:08:05,680
- #
- The way we look to a distant constellation
91
00:08:05,680 --> 00:08:08,920
- #
- That's dying in a corner of the sky
92
00:08:09,960 --> 00:08:13,200
- #
- These are the days of miracle and wonder
93
00:08:13,200 --> 00:08:17,960
- #
- Don't cry, baby, don't cry, don't cry, don't cry...
- #
94
00:08:22,440 --> 00:08:25,080
It was clear that Paul
95
00:08:25,080 --> 00:08:31,440
was coming to the end of writing songs the way he had written before.
96
00:08:31,440 --> 00:08:37,840
He said to me a number of times that he wasn't interested in writing hits.
97
00:08:37,840 --> 00:08:40,240
He wasn't interested.
98
00:08:40,240 --> 00:08:44,960
Here was a man at a very crucial place in his career,
99
00:08:44,960 --> 00:08:50,000
looking for something to do, for a larger canvas to work on.
100
00:08:50,000 --> 00:08:56,120
It's important to look at it in the context of Paul's music at that time.
101
00:08:59,440 --> 00:09:02,400
It was a difficult time for me.
102
00:09:02,400 --> 00:09:04,800
I started to work on an album
103
00:09:04,800 --> 00:09:08,120
that became Hearts And Bones.
104
00:09:08,120 --> 00:09:15,200
When I did a reunion concert with Art Garfunkel, half a million people showed up.
105
00:09:15,200 --> 00:09:21,480
Then we decided to go out and do some concerts - a classic mistake.
106
00:09:21,480 --> 00:09:28,840
The album came out - an album that had been announced as Simon and Garfunkel -
107
00:09:28,840 --> 00:09:32,440
now came out as this solo album.
108
00:09:34,120 --> 00:09:40,160
I was exhausted. I didn't do any work to promote it. I just put it out.
109
00:09:40,160 --> 00:09:42,920
And it was a flop.
110
00:09:42,920 --> 00:09:46,960
And in the midst of all of that touring,
111
00:09:46,960 --> 00:09:49,480
um, I got married.
112
00:09:49,480 --> 00:09:52,040
And, er...
113
00:09:52,040 --> 00:09:54,600
I married Carrie Fisher
114
00:09:54,600 --> 00:09:57,520
in the middle of that tour.
115
00:09:57,520 --> 00:09:59,880
You know, I mean...
116
00:10:01,560 --> 00:10:06,480
What was I thinking? Certainly not thinking about life.
117
00:10:06,480 --> 00:10:09,520
You actually have to stop.
118
00:10:09,520 --> 00:10:15,000
Marriage is a hard thing to... to...er, to do.
119
00:10:15,000 --> 00:10:20,040
You need to concentrate on that. Not everything can happen at once.
120
00:10:20,040 --> 00:10:25,040
All kinds of mistakes on top of mistakes, on top of mistakes.
121
00:10:27,680 --> 00:10:32,080
So now I had, you know, a personal blow in my life,
122
00:10:32,080 --> 00:10:34,920
and a career setback.
123
00:10:34,920 --> 00:10:39,760
And the combination of the two put me into a tailspin.
124
00:10:50,720 --> 00:10:55,800
Around that time, I was building a house in Montauk, Long Island.
125
00:10:55,800 --> 00:11:02,160
And while I drove out, I would listen to this tape that a friend had given me.
126
00:11:02,160 --> 00:11:04,560
And I really liked that tape.
127
00:11:04,560 --> 00:11:09,920
After weeks of driving back and forth and listening to the tape,
128
00:11:09,920 --> 00:11:14,760
I thought, "What is this tape? This is my favourite tape.
129
00:11:14,760 --> 00:11:19,200
"I wonder who this is." And that's when things perked up.
130
00:11:19,200 --> 00:11:26,040
That led me to asking the people at Warner Brothers to trace them for me.
131
00:11:26,040 --> 00:11:28,960
They traced it to South Africa,
132
00:11:28,960 --> 00:11:35,240
and in early 1985 I set off with Roy Halee to begin this.
133
00:11:35,240 --> 00:11:40,720
And in a very good mood, too. I said, "This is going to be fun."
134
00:12:17,080 --> 00:12:22,280
Warner Brothers had never heard of a recording process like this.
135
00:12:22,280 --> 00:12:28,920
They thought - I'm sure - when we were doing this, that Paul Simon and Roy Halee were crazy.
136
00:12:28,920 --> 00:12:36,480
You can't make a record like that. How can you go to Africa? You don't even have a song.
137
00:12:36,480 --> 00:12:40,760
I'm sure, I KNOW they thought we were both nuts.
138
00:12:45,720 --> 00:12:50,920
I said I have one big advantage going by being as cold as I am.
139
00:12:50,920 --> 00:12:58,320
Nobody is paying any attention to me. I can do this all, you know, very privately.
140
00:12:58,320 --> 00:13:04,800
Nobody will ask, "Can you send us a copy? Can we hear it?" None of that will happen.
141
00:13:09,080 --> 00:13:13,480
I had finished with my disappointments and sorrows.
142
00:13:13,480 --> 00:13:16,920
WOMEN SING IN ZULU
143
00:13:26,000 --> 00:13:28,400
'My father was a musician.
144
00:13:28,400 --> 00:13:35,640
'I grew up with musicians. I'm comfortable with musicians. I hang out with musicians.
145
00:13:35,640 --> 00:13:38,960
'Studios are friendly environments to me.'
146
00:13:38,960 --> 00:13:42,320
There's nothing in a studio you can't solve.
147
00:13:42,320 --> 00:13:47,280
It's not the same as life. You'll figure it out one way or the other.
148
00:13:47,280 --> 00:13:50,440
It's a happy work environment.
149
00:13:50,440 --> 00:13:52,440
- #
- I'll sing what I said
150
00:13:52,440 --> 00:13:54,240
- #
- We come and we go
151
00:13:54,240 --> 00:13:57,920
- #
- That's a thing I keep in the back of my head
152
00:13:57,920 --> 00:14:00,280
- #
- I'll sing what I have said
153
00:14:00,280 --> 00:14:02,520
- #
- We come and we go-o
154
00:14:02,520 --> 00:14:07,160
- #
- It's a thing that I keep in the back of my head...
- #
155
00:14:07,160 --> 00:14:09,640
I was having a ball, recording it.
156
00:14:09,640 --> 00:14:16,680
To record these guys for a guy like me, from my background - everything so organised.
157
00:14:16,680 --> 00:14:23,160
Hearing the rawness, the earthiness of this, I was in seventh heaven.
158
00:14:24,720 --> 00:14:30,040
It was getting good grooves and coming back and rewriting it.
159
00:14:30,040 --> 00:14:32,600
There was nothing really written.
160
00:14:32,600 --> 00:14:38,960
All of Paul's albums - anything I ever did - songs were written in the studio.
161
00:14:38,960 --> 00:14:43,560
Paul loved to write and create great things in the studio.
162
00:14:43,560 --> 00:14:49,080
But in the studio, Paul would say, "Wait till you hear this!"
163
00:14:49,080 --> 00:14:52,760
and you'd hear Mrs Robinson. There it is.
164
00:14:52,760 --> 00:14:58,240
Here there's nothing. It's an idea, a concept, nothing on paper.
165
00:14:58,240 --> 00:15:01,600
So it was a gamble, I guess.
166
00:15:09,280 --> 00:15:13,960
We cut another track with the Tao Ea Matsekha group.
167
00:15:13,960 --> 00:15:20,800
I only liked the drums. I kept them in and we overdubbed on these drums.
168
00:15:20,800 --> 00:15:22,840
DRUM BEAT
169
00:15:22,840 --> 00:15:29,000
To my ear, certain words or certain sounds that became words,
170
00:15:29,000 --> 00:15:33,880
sometimes those words formed a phrase and it was interesting.
171
00:15:33,880 --> 00:15:40,480
Sometimes it was banal. Sometimes it made no sense, like "I'm going to Graceland."
172
00:15:40,480 --> 00:15:46,400
That phrase sang very well against what was happening in the track.
173
00:15:46,400 --> 00:15:50,280
It was comfortable to sing that, so I sang it,
174
00:15:50,280 --> 00:15:54,760
thinking all along that I would replace it.
175
00:15:54,760 --> 00:16:02,720
Until I realised I'm not going to replace it. It's always going to be in my head.
176
00:16:02,720 --> 00:16:07,120
- #
- I'm going to Graceland, Graceland Memphis, Tennessee
177
00:16:07,120 --> 00:16:09,880
- #
- I'm going to Graceland...
- #
178
00:16:11,240 --> 00:16:17,680
I was concerned that that lyric, with all those words, was very wordy.
179
00:16:17,680 --> 00:16:20,080
Rhythmically, they didn't fit.
180
00:16:20,080 --> 00:16:27,920
He would alter the way he would sing. He would phrase it thousands of different ways to make it work.
181
00:16:27,920 --> 00:16:30,840
It would always feel uncomfortable.
182
00:16:30,840 --> 00:16:35,680
There were times we both thought, "We're not going to get this."
183
00:16:35,680 --> 00:16:39,840
But Paul, with his spirit, "I'm going to get this."
184
00:16:39,840 --> 00:16:43,080
At first I thought I had a problem.
185
00:16:43,080 --> 00:16:48,320
Soon after that, I began to think, "No. Now I have an adventure.
186
00:16:48,320 --> 00:16:53,680
"Instead of resisting what's going on, I'll go with it.
187
00:16:53,680 --> 00:16:58,360
"And I'll be carried along and find out where we're going.
188
00:16:58,360 --> 00:17:03,360
"Instead of assuming I'm captain of the ship, I'm just a passenger."
189
00:17:11,040 --> 00:17:16,080
- #
- The Mississippi Delta was shining like a national guitar
190
00:17:18,720 --> 00:17:22,760
- #
- I am following the river down the highway
191
00:17:22,760 --> 00:17:26,640
- #
- Through the cradle of the civil war
192
00:17:26,640 --> 00:17:31,080
- #
- I'm going to Graceland, Graceland Memphis, Tennessee
193
00:17:31,080 --> 00:17:33,520
- #
- I'm going to Graceland
194
00:17:35,680 --> 00:17:38,360
- #
- Poor boys and pilgrims with families
195
00:17:38,360 --> 00:17:41,200
- #
- And we are going to Graceland
196
00:17:42,200 --> 00:17:46,320
I always think of this shape -
197
00:17:46,320 --> 00:17:52,840
meaning that you begin and the possibilities are going to go out this way.
198
00:17:52,840 --> 00:17:57,760
It means you have a good story to tell, as opposed to this shape,
199
00:17:57,760 --> 00:18:02,520
which means in the second verse or something, you've finished.
200
00:18:03,520 --> 00:18:08,320
So you want to begin in a way that leaves a lot of possibility.
201
00:18:08,320 --> 00:18:12,880
Sometimes you play something and you don't know what it is.
202
00:18:12,880 --> 00:18:17,920
Later, if the person you're working with has more information than you,
203
00:18:17,920 --> 00:18:21,480
you end up knowing what you are playing.
204
00:18:21,480 --> 00:18:26,480
What I heard him play was great, but it lacked something.
205
00:18:26,480 --> 00:18:32,520
Hence, I ended up saying to him, "Why don't you put a minor there?"
206
00:18:32,520 --> 00:18:37,280
I could hear him playing a straight...
207
00:18:40,080 --> 00:18:44,760
Then I thought that if I went to the minor instead of the major...
208
00:18:47,840 --> 00:18:51,640
HE MOVES TO THE MINOR
209
00:18:51,640 --> 00:18:56,360
This is what I played against Ray's electric guitar on Graceland.
210
00:18:56,360 --> 00:18:58,800
When he played it up here,
211
00:18:58,800 --> 00:19:01,160
I played it over here.
212
00:19:09,400 --> 00:19:11,840
Except I used a lighter pick.
213
00:19:13,240 --> 00:19:16,280
HE HUMS THE MELODY
214
00:19:33,920 --> 00:19:37,000
Graceland is my favourite record.
215
00:19:38,760 --> 00:19:41,480
Favourite record, my favourite...
216
00:19:41,480 --> 00:19:43,800
song that I ever wrote.
217
00:19:43,800 --> 00:19:46,840
This is it, the best I ever did.
218
00:19:46,840 --> 00:19:50,160
HE HUMS THE MELODY
219
00:19:51,960 --> 00:19:53,440
Perfect.
220
00:19:58,240 --> 00:20:01,600
It begins so relaxed. There's no lyrics.
221
00:20:05,440 --> 00:20:07,800
It's taking its time.
222
00:20:10,040 --> 00:20:14,760
- #
- The Mississippi Delta was shining like a national guitar...
- #
223
00:20:14,760 --> 00:20:17,440
'Good opening line.'
224
00:20:17,440 --> 00:20:20,800
- #
- I am following the river down the highway
225
00:20:20,800 --> 00:20:24,440
- #
- Through the cradle of the civil war
226
00:20:25,520 --> 00:20:29,200
- #
- I'm going to Graceland, Graceland Memphis, Tennessee...
- #
227
00:20:29,200 --> 00:20:34,200
- #
- Umbada-ba-dah.
- #
- In the major, but if I want to go...
228
00:20:34,200 --> 00:20:39,600
- #
- Bo-doh, bo-boh, bo-oh, Dee-doh, doh-un-doh, bo-boh.
- #
229
00:20:39,600 --> 00:20:41,960
I can make it major or minor.
230
00:20:41,960 --> 00:20:45,880
- #
- My travelling companion is nine years old
231
00:20:45,880 --> 00:20:48,320
- #
- The child of my first marriage...
- #
232
00:20:48,320 --> 00:20:53,440
I don't know why I like that. I guess there are a lot of first marriages.
233
00:20:53,440 --> 00:20:55,560
- #
- ..received in Graceland...
- #
234
00:20:58,640 --> 00:21:01,160
'Now the lick is under the lyrics.'
235
00:21:02,120 --> 00:21:05,000
- #
- She comes back to tell me she's go-o-one...
- #
236
00:21:05,000 --> 00:21:06,520
Under.
237
00:21:06,520 --> 00:21:11,960
- #
- As if I didn't know that As if I didn't know my own bed...
- #
238
00:21:11,960 --> 00:21:14,280
Now it's not...
239
00:21:14,280 --> 00:21:16,320
- #
- As if I'd...
- #
240
00:21:16,320 --> 00:21:18,680
There's the lick again.
241
00:21:18,680 --> 00:21:20,960
- #
- ..her hair from her forehead
242
00:21:22,320 --> 00:21:27,880
- #
- And she said lo-oo-sing love is like a window in your heart...
- #
243
00:21:27,880 --> 00:21:30,240
'I found that line touching.'
244
00:21:30,240 --> 00:21:33,720
- #
- Everybody sees you're blown apart
245
00:21:34,520 --> 00:21:37,920
- #
- Everybody sees the wind blo-ow
246
00:21:37,920 --> 00:21:40,640
- #
- I'm going to Graceland
247
00:21:40,640 --> 00:21:44,120
- #
- Memphis, Tennessee I'm going to Graceland...
- #
248
00:21:44,120 --> 00:21:50,960
- I didn't sing Graceland twice here. The first time, I'm going,
- #
- Graceland, Graceland.
- #
249
00:21:50,960 --> 00:21:55,320
This time, I only sing it once. Each time, I vary it.
250
00:21:55,320 --> 00:22:00,440
- #
- ..ghosts and empty sockets, are looking at ghosts and empties...
- #
251
00:22:00,440 --> 00:22:03,040
The only line I'd rewrite.
252
00:22:03,040 --> 00:22:09,880
- #
- But I've reason to believe we all will be received in Graceland...
- #
253
00:22:09,880 --> 00:22:15,640
We've got the Everly Brothers. Let's see what they sound like.
254
00:22:15,640 --> 00:22:19,360
# Poor boys and pilgrims with families
255
00:22:19,360 --> 00:22:22,120
# And we are going to Graceland.
256
00:22:24,040 --> 00:22:28,080
# My travelling companions are ghosts and empty sockets
257
00:22:28,080 --> 00:22:30,120
# I'm looking at ghosts and empties... #
258
00:22:30,120 --> 00:22:32,320
Too many words.
259
00:22:32,320 --> 00:22:37,920
# But I've reason to believe We all will be received in Graceland... #
260
00:22:37,920 --> 00:22:42,160
This was a very in-depth compositional effort.
261
00:22:42,160 --> 00:22:47,440
It wasn't just a question of taking a few rhythms and a few drummers.
262
00:22:47,440 --> 00:22:49,840
This was a real composition...
263
00:22:49,840 --> 00:22:54,520
that was made on the basis of that material.
264
00:22:54,520 --> 00:22:57,520
Ah...but...so...ah...
265
00:22:57,520 --> 00:23:03,200
So he elevated this research that turned into this record.
266
00:23:03,200 --> 00:23:09,400
He elevated that enterprise into something I don't think anyone has done since.
267
00:23:09,400 --> 00:23:14,840
It's been recomposed and processed by the way Paul worked on it.
268
00:23:14,840 --> 00:23:16,680
- #
- I'm going to Graceland...
- #
269
00:23:16,680 --> 00:23:21,600
No "Memphis, Tennessee". I'm not talking about Memphis, now.
270
00:23:22,800 --> 00:23:27,600
Memphis was only in the beginning. Now we're in another place.
271
00:23:27,600 --> 00:23:34,440
- #
- ..obliged to defend Every love, every ending Or maybe there's no obligations now
272
00:23:35,480 --> 00:23:41,840
- #
- Maybe I've a reason to believe We all will be received in Graceland...
- #
273
00:23:44,520 --> 00:23:50,720
When I was there, when I first went there, Nelson Mandela was in prison.
274
00:23:50,720 --> 00:23:57,880
And although I always thought there would be a peaceful resolution to the politics of South Africa,
275
00:23:57,880 --> 00:24:01,800
I never thought it would be this fast.
276
00:24:01,800 --> 00:24:06,520
The younger generation was ready and hungry for the outside world,
277
00:24:06,520 --> 00:24:12,560
tired of being ostracised, ready to celebrate their own culture.
278
00:24:12,560 --> 00:24:16,040
And so did black South Africans feel that way.
279
00:24:16,040 --> 00:24:19,200
Because when I was there to record,
280
00:24:19,200 --> 00:24:22,880
they were listening to American music.
281
00:24:22,880 --> 00:24:26,920
They weren't listening to their own music.
282
00:24:26,920 --> 00:24:29,520
That was already passe.
283
00:24:29,520 --> 00:24:35,520
South African music was oppressed as the people were.
284
00:24:35,520 --> 00:24:38,840
But there was a lot of apartheid in the music.
285
00:24:38,840 --> 00:24:45,760
I remember it was called "gaffle" music, you know. Bantu music, it was called.
286
00:24:48,440 --> 00:24:55,160
But we listened to American music and Rock 'n' Roll, The Beatles, Paul Simon.
287
00:24:55,160 --> 00:25:02,600
It's not unusual that cultures misjudge their own history's value, that they're willing to discard it.
288
00:25:02,600 --> 00:25:06,000
I mean, American culture's doing it.
289
00:25:11,320 --> 00:25:14,600
What emerged from Graceland,
290
00:25:14,600 --> 00:25:17,120
as an album and as a tour,
291
00:25:17,120 --> 00:25:22,360
was that, for the most part,
292
00:25:22,360 --> 00:25:27,480
it made a very powerful point gently.
293
00:25:29,440 --> 00:25:35,760
It wasn't an album that said, "There's terrible evil here."
294
00:25:35,760 --> 00:25:39,560
It said, "There's incredible beauty here."
295
00:25:41,720 --> 00:25:44,360
That was a very powerful point.
296
00:25:44,360 --> 00:25:49,440
And in conjunction with the world's anger towards South Africa -
297
00:25:49,440 --> 00:25:55,000
the attack on the fortress of apartheid -
298
00:25:55,000 --> 00:26:00,640
the walls eventually cracked and I think Graceland was a factor in that.
299
00:26:00,640 --> 00:26:05,320
People could think, who hadn't thought this before,
300
00:26:05,320 --> 00:26:09,960
"How can people be treated so inhumanely,
301
00:26:09,960 --> 00:26:14,680
"when they have so much to give the world?"
302
00:26:14,680 --> 00:26:19,720
# Emaweni webaba
303
00:26:17,600 --> 00:26:19,720
Silale maweni
304
00:26:19,720 --> 00:26:22,960
# Webaba
305
00:26:20,520 --> 00:26:22,960
Silale maweni
306
00:26:22,960 --> 00:26:24,280
# Webaba
307
00:26:24,280 --> 00:26:26,800
- #
- Silale maweni
308
00:26:26,800 --> 00:26:28,640
# Webaba
309
00:26:28,640 --> 00:26:29,800
- #
- Silale maweni
310
00:26:29,800 --> 00:26:33,400
- #
- Webaba silale maweni
311
00:26:33,400 --> 00:26:37,640
# Webaba
312
00:26:34,640 --> 00:26:37,640
Silale maweni
313
00:26:37,640 --> 00:26:40,320
# Webaba
314
00:26:38,400 --> 00:26:40,320
Silale maweni
315
00:26:40,320 --> 00:26:44,160
# Webaba
316
00:26:41,240 --> 00:26:44,160
Silale maweni
317
00:26:44,160 --> 00:26:47,360
- #
- Webaba silale maweni
318
00:26:47,360 --> 00:26:51,120
- #
- Webaba silale maweni...
- #
319
00:26:51,120 --> 00:26:54,440
Sing. # Homeless
320
00:26:54,440 --> 00:26:56,440
# Homeless
321
00:26:56,440 --> 00:27:00,800
# Moonlight sleeping on a midnight lake
322
00:27:00,800 --> 00:27:02,760
# Homeless
323
00:27:02,760 --> 00:27:04,720
# Homeless
324
00:27:04,720 --> 00:27:08,120
# Moonlight sleeping on a midnight lake... #
325
00:27:08,120 --> 00:27:12,600
I don't think I'm a good "angry" writer.
326
00:27:12,600 --> 00:27:21,360
I can be an angry person and even articulate my anger in speech, but I'm not a good angry songwriter.
327
00:27:21,360 --> 00:27:24,480
I think that's why Graceland came out,
328
00:27:24,480 --> 00:27:27,560
feeling the way that it did.
329
00:27:27,560 --> 00:27:31,080
Black Mambazo is also not an angry group
330
00:27:31,080 --> 00:27:35,840
and has done an enormous amount for South Africa and for people.
331
00:27:39,000 --> 00:27:42,160
After we met with Paul Simon in 1985,
332
00:27:42,160 --> 00:27:47,360
and we promised each other that we were going to do something together,
333
00:27:47,360 --> 00:27:52,480
and he composed the song alone. # Homeless, homeless
334
00:27:52,480 --> 00:27:57,000
# Moonlight sleeping Chai, chai, chai. #
335
00:27:57,000 --> 00:27:58,600
# Homeless
336
00:27:58,600 --> 00:28:00,440
# Homeless
337
00:28:00,440 --> 00:28:04,160
# Moonlight sleeping on a midnight lake... #
338
00:28:04,160 --> 00:28:07,080
I listened to their records a lot.
339
00:28:07,080 --> 00:28:14,440
Then I tried to write a melody that would be something like a Black Mambazo melody.
340
00:28:14,440 --> 00:28:18,640
And we listened and we read the letter from him,
341
00:28:18,640 --> 00:28:21,760
"Joseph, here's the song."
342
00:28:21,760 --> 00:28:26,960
And then, when we listened to the lyrics, it was beautiful!
343
00:28:26,960 --> 00:28:32,320
The time came and we went to join Paul Simon in London.
344
00:28:32,320 --> 00:28:34,880
# Too-loo lo Too-loo lo
345
00:28:34,880 --> 00:28:39,480
# Too-loo-lo loo loo loo loo loo-loo lo
346
00:28:39,480 --> 00:28:44,120
# Too-loo lo, Too-loo lo Many dead Tonight it could be you... #
347
00:28:44,120 --> 00:28:49,360
This is the first little rehearsal in London.
348
00:28:49,360 --> 00:28:51,600
# ..Tonight it could be you
349
00:28:51,600 --> 00:28:53,200
# Homeless
350
00:28:53,200 --> 00:28:54,880
# Homeless
351
00:28:54,880 --> 00:28:58,600
# Moonlight sleeping on a midnight lake... #
352
00:28:58,600 --> 00:29:03,200
I don't know what happened when we got into the studio.
353
00:29:03,200 --> 00:29:07,240
It felt like, "Hoo! Where to begin? Where to start?"
354
00:29:07,240 --> 00:29:14,280
We started to work. Ooh! This language is a little bit hard, talking to him.
355
00:29:14,280 --> 00:29:17,720
And he's a polite man.
356
00:29:17,720 --> 00:29:23,120
I told the guys, "Don't worry. He's very good. He's a polite man."
357
00:29:23,120 --> 00:29:30,120
He said, "Joseph, how do you think about this song?" I said, "Very good. Do you have something...?"
358
00:29:30,120 --> 00:29:32,520
"Yes. We have something."
359
00:29:32,520 --> 00:29:37,160
And then we sing that part and we come to "Homeless"
360
00:29:37,160 --> 00:29:44,000
and it's a little bit difficult to blend the voices -
361
00:29:44,000 --> 00:29:46,680
an American voice, African voice.
362
00:29:46,680 --> 00:29:51,800
The first day, it was tough. We're just touching there and then.
363
00:29:51,800 --> 00:29:57,240
Many people were trying to help us and that was confusing me.
364
00:29:57,240 --> 00:29:59,680
Ah! I said, "OK."
365
00:29:59,680 --> 00:30:04,320
And Paul discovered that there was something wrong.
366
00:30:04,320 --> 00:30:07,080
He said, "Joseph, let us tape this."
367
00:30:07,080 --> 00:30:11,960
We taped it and he said, "Right. Just go and relax.
368
00:30:11,960 --> 00:30:14,800
"We see each other tomorrow. OK?"
369
00:30:17,520 --> 00:30:21,840
At the beginning, it felt a little strained, strange,
370
00:30:21,840 --> 00:30:26,280
like they weren't sure. Everybody was feeling everybody out.
371
00:30:26,280 --> 00:30:30,560
And it was hard because they don't produce a lot of sound.
372
00:30:30,560 --> 00:30:37,680
They are tricky to record. The bass voices are soft. But it warmed up the second day.
373
00:30:37,680 --> 00:30:40,400
HE HUMS HOMELESS MELODY
374
00:30:40,400 --> 00:30:44,200
- #
- Moonlight sleeping on a midnight lake
375
00:30:44,200 --> 00:30:46,600
- #
- And we are homeless...
- #
376
00:30:46,600 --> 00:30:52,040
- That's how they sang it.
- #
- Homeless Moonlight mm-mm, mm-mm...
- #
377
00:30:52,040 --> 00:30:54,520
I think I did it...
378
00:30:54,520 --> 00:30:59,320
I think I didn't use a major chord. I think I used minor...
379
00:30:59,320 --> 00:31:02,560
- #
- Bah-dah...
- #
- Yeah.
380
00:31:02,560 --> 00:31:06,560
-
- #
- Di dah-dum.
- #
- But they wouldn't use...
381
00:31:08,080 --> 00:31:09,800
They'd sing...
382
00:31:09,800 --> 00:31:13,040
- #
- Bah lah-dah
383
00:31:13,040 --> 00:31:14,960
- #
- Lee-dah
384
00:31:14,960 --> 00:31:19,200
- #
- Dee dah-dah Do dee-dah dum.
- #
385
00:31:19,200 --> 00:31:21,480
But I was playing...
386
00:31:21,480 --> 00:31:24,720
- #
- Homeless Homeless
387
00:31:24,720 --> 00:31:28,360
- #
- Moonlight sleeping on a midnight lake
388
00:31:28,360 --> 00:31:31,880
- #
- And we are homeless Ho...
- #
389
00:31:32,840 --> 00:31:37,680
When we got into the studio, I said, "Paul, we have something."
390
00:31:37,680 --> 00:31:40,200
And Paul said, "Yes!"
391
00:31:40,200 --> 00:31:47,480
And Paul just, I remember when he said, "Everybody in this studio must go outside."
392
00:31:47,480 --> 00:31:51,120
We'd begin it # Emaweni webaba... #
393
00:31:51,120 --> 00:31:55,960
We sang those parts # Silale maweni
394
00:31:55,960 --> 00:31:58,440
# Silale maweni, silale maweni
395
00:31:58,440 --> 00:32:02,040
# Webaba silale maweni
396
00:32:02,040 --> 00:32:06,200
# Webaba silale maweni. #
397
00:32:06,200 --> 00:32:09,280
And Paul said, "Yes! That's beautiful!"
398
00:32:09,280 --> 00:32:15,640
And then, "Joseph, I was listening to your record. There's another part in your record...
399
00:32:15,640 --> 00:32:19,920
"E-i-i. E-i-i-ee. E-i-i-ee." And I was confused.
400
00:32:19,920 --> 00:32:22,400
"What is that, Paul?"
401
00:32:22,400 --> 00:32:25,040
"In your record - E-i-i-ee."
402
00:32:25,040 --> 00:32:28,600
I said. "No. Hih-ih, hih-ih." He said, "Yes!"
403
00:32:28,600 --> 00:32:33,320
- # Hih-ih, hih-ih, hih-ih
- Somebody say
- Hih-ih, hih-ih
404
00:32:33,320 --> 00:32:36,520
- #
- Somebody sing
- Hello, hello, hello
405
00:32:36,520 --> 00:32:38,840
- #
- Somebody say
- Ih, hih-ih, hih-ih
406
00:32:38,840 --> 00:32:41,800
- #
- Somebody cry
- Why, why, why?
407
00:32:41,800 --> 00:32:44,560
- #
- Somebody say
- Ih, hih-ih, hih-ih
408
00:32:44,560 --> 00:32:47,240
- #
- Somebody sing
- Hello, hello, hello
409
00:32:47,240 --> 00:32:49,960
- #
- Somebody say
- Ih, hih-ih, hih-ih
410
00:32:49,960 --> 00:32:53,240
- #
- Somebody cry
- Why, why, why?
411
00:32:53,240 --> 00:32:55,080
- #
- Kulumani
412
00:32:55,080 --> 00:33:01,120
# Kuluman, Kulumani sizwe Singenze njani
413
00:33:01,120 --> 00:33:04,240
# Baya jabula abasi thanda
414
00:33:04,240 --> 00:33:06,280
# Yo-oh. #
415
00:33:08,120 --> 00:33:14,600
This type of music originated from Zulu songs and dances.
416
00:33:14,600 --> 00:33:21,840
We grew up on the farm. Now, people - each and every one of us - singing and dancing.
417
00:33:24,400 --> 00:33:30,480
When we were at home, it was beautiful because there were men, women,
418
00:33:30,480 --> 00:33:37,720
young, old, grandmother, grandfather, when there's something, they come together
419
00:33:37,720 --> 00:33:40,240
and share the sound, the music.
420
00:33:40,240 --> 00:33:46,840
But it started to be lonely when people left their loved ones and went into town to work.
421
00:33:56,120 --> 00:34:02,960
Now they started to try to find the place where they can get together and sing.
422
00:34:06,560 --> 00:34:11,920
The music, it's always political because the truth is political.
423
00:34:11,920 --> 00:34:16,880
That's why, when we started to sing, our people were very happy
424
00:34:16,880 --> 00:34:21,800
and we just make them have power.
425
00:34:23,960 --> 00:34:31,840
It was high time that South African artists and international artists should highlight
426
00:34:31,840 --> 00:34:38,880
the importance of exposing the evils of the past eras of South Africa, like the apartheid era.
427
00:34:38,880 --> 00:34:42,840
Culture can't be owned by an individual.
428
00:34:42,840 --> 00:34:45,640
It can be shared by us all.
429
00:34:45,640 --> 00:34:50,240
But a lot of people were saying negative things -
430
00:34:50,240 --> 00:34:53,680
"This white man has used our black brothers' music."
431
00:34:55,680 --> 00:35:00,800
But then you ask yourself, "Where were they?"
432
00:35:05,560 --> 00:35:09,760
I didn't feel that I was going to South Africa
433
00:35:09,760 --> 00:35:15,760
to come back and then express a South African outrage -
434
00:35:15,760 --> 00:35:21,240
"I'll tell the world how you guys are feeling."
435
00:35:21,240 --> 00:35:24,680
I really didn't feel comfortable with that.
436
00:35:24,680 --> 00:35:31,040
My feeling was I'm playing with musicians that I have the highest respect for.
437
00:35:31,040 --> 00:35:38,800
And the way I can show my respect is to write the best possible song
438
00:35:38,800 --> 00:35:41,560
from my heart that I can write.
439
00:35:41,560 --> 00:35:48,480
Not to say, "I'll write the best possible song from your heart." I felt that was presumptuous.
440
00:35:48,480 --> 00:35:56,120
The most unfortunate thing about the beast in us is that we always find wrong when it is right
441
00:35:56,120 --> 00:35:59,360
and we find right when it is wrong.
442
00:35:59,360 --> 00:36:04,040
Some things that are beautiful can be turned into an ugly thing
443
00:36:04,040 --> 00:36:09,000
just for the sake of scoring political points.
444
00:36:09,000 --> 00:36:13,720
If Paul came to record the album, he would have been in the blacklist,
445
00:36:13,720 --> 00:36:22,280
but he went a step further because he didn't politicise it by simply writing about what was happening.
446
00:36:22,280 --> 00:36:27,360
He said, "No. Who am I to talk about people's situations?
447
00:36:27,360 --> 00:36:34,800
"Why don't I get those people to come on and let us share these beautiful rhythms with the world?"
448
00:36:48,560 --> 00:36:55,000
# Joseph's face was black as night
449
00:36:55,000 --> 00:37:01,920
# The pale yellow moon shone in his eyes
450
00:37:01,920 --> 00:37:05,360
# His path was marked
451
00:37:05,360 --> 00:37:08,680
# By the stars in the southern hemisphere
452
00:37:08,680 --> 00:37:11,640
# And he walked his days
453
00:37:11,640 --> 00:37:16,120
# Under African skies
454
00:37:16,120 --> 00:37:20,360
- #
- This is the story of how we begin to remember
455
00:37:20,360 --> 00:37:23,280
SHE SINGS IN ZULU
456
00:37:23,280 --> 00:37:27,080
- #
- This is the powerful pulsing of love in the vein
457
00:37:30,000 --> 00:37:34,080
- #
- After the dream of falling and calling your name out
458
00:37:36,760 --> 00:37:42,760
- #
- These are the roots of rhythm And the roots of rhythm remain...
- #
459
00:37:42,760 --> 00:37:50,560
I think one of the things about really good art is that it should be there to evoke.
460
00:37:50,560 --> 00:37:56,040
Paul asked me if I had an image for him.
461
00:37:56,040 --> 00:38:03,120
He wanted something on the song we were going to sing. He asked what I remembered from my childhood.
462
00:38:03,120 --> 00:38:07,560
The thing I love most in Arizona is the St Xavier mission,
463
00:38:07,560 --> 00:38:11,680
which is the most beautiful mission in North America.
464
00:38:11,680 --> 00:38:14,440
I told him about that.
465
00:38:14,440 --> 00:38:21,000
That's why he has "In early mem'ry, mission bells are ringing round my nursery door."
466
00:38:21,000 --> 00:38:27,280
Everybody has their own scenario that can unfold under an African sky.
467
00:38:27,280 --> 00:38:30,960
It's an idea of possibility.
468
00:38:30,960 --> 00:38:35,160
It's a story-telling thing like in the African tradition,
469
00:38:35,160 --> 00:38:39,360
whereby you find that musicians are storytellers.
470
00:38:39,360 --> 00:38:43,000
They've got to document every happening.
471
00:38:43,000 --> 00:38:47,720
His lyrics end up complementing the rhythm,
472
00:38:47,720 --> 00:38:51,720
or the rhythm complementing the lyric.
473
00:38:51,720 --> 00:38:55,760
Also he's got the subject that says, "It's you. It's me."
474
00:38:55,760 --> 00:39:01,040
# In early mem'ry
475
00:39:01,040 --> 00:39:09,240
# Mission music was ringing 'round my nursery door
476
00:39:10,280 --> 00:39:17,400
# I said, "Take this child, Lord, from Tucson, Arizona
477
00:39:17,400 --> 00:39:20,640
# Give her the wings to fly through harmony
478
00:39:20,640 --> 00:39:24,040
# And she won't bother you no more
479
00:39:24,920 --> 00:39:29,040
# This is the story of how we begin to remember
480
00:39:31,680 --> 00:39:36,760
# This is the powerful pulsing of love in the vein
481
00:39:38,200 --> 00:39:44,040
# After the dream of falling and calling your name out
482
00:39:45,480 --> 00:39:50,480
# These are the roots of rhythm And the roots of rhythm remain
483
00:39:51,720 --> 00:39:57,040
- # Kaoomba oomba oomba oh
- O-o-oh
484
00:39:57,040 --> 00:40:04,480
- # Kaoomba oomba oomba oh
- O-o-oh
485
00:40:04,480 --> 00:40:11,520
- # Kaoomba oomba oomba o-o-o-o-o-oh
- O-o-oh
486
00:40:11,520 --> 00:40:18,360
- # Kaoomba oomba oomba o-o-o-o-o-oh
- O-o-o-o-o-oh...
- #
487
00:40:20,160 --> 00:40:26,200
South Africans almost look down upon the music that came from South Africa.
488
00:40:26,200 --> 00:40:33,880
I guess because of the political situation, we were made to, sort of, feel embarrassed about the music.
489
00:40:33,880 --> 00:40:39,080
In South Africa, you grew up with blinkers on.
490
00:40:39,080 --> 00:40:42,960
Take them off, and you could see what was going on.
491
00:40:42,960 --> 00:40:45,440
PENNY WHISTLE MUSIC
492
00:40:45,440 --> 00:40:49,280
I heard penny whistle music on every corner.
493
00:40:49,280 --> 00:40:54,360
Every kid was playing a penny whistle along with a guitar player.
494
00:40:54,360 --> 00:41:00,200
As a teenager, I used to go to the townships. We'd spend hours there.
495
00:41:00,200 --> 00:41:05,000
This is the way I absorbed a lot of the music from there.
496
00:41:08,000 --> 00:41:13,760
It was only when Paul Simon came out with Graceland that people said,
497
00:41:13,760 --> 00:41:17,480
"Wow! We've got all this gold here."
498
00:41:17,480 --> 00:41:20,600
I think somebody used that phrase once.
499
00:41:20,600 --> 00:41:24,200
And, er, then people started realising
500
00:41:24,200 --> 00:41:30,880
that it's such a great fountain of music that comes from South Africa.
501
00:41:42,560 --> 00:41:46,520
MUSIC: "You Can Call Me Al"
502
00:41:54,800 --> 00:41:58,120
BASS GUITAR PLAYS
503
00:42:03,640 --> 00:42:08,200
It took me a long time before I could begin to write.
504
00:42:08,200 --> 00:42:12,240
I loved the track so much for a long time I thought,
505
00:42:12,240 --> 00:42:17,040
"Just put the tracks out because you can't do any better than this.
506
00:42:17,040 --> 00:42:21,760
"Anything I put on here is just going to make it worse."
507
00:42:21,760 --> 00:42:27,040
So it took a while before I had the courage to write over these tracks.
508
00:42:27,040 --> 00:42:31,600
- #
- Shoo-ca do-do-do Shoo-ca de-de-de...
- #
509
00:42:31,600 --> 00:42:35,760
Not that I particularly wanted to solo,
510
00:42:35,760 --> 00:42:43,760
but...a lot of voices, a lot of voices, singing instruments
511
00:42:43,760 --> 00:42:46,480
to create a smoother rhythm sound.
512
00:42:46,480 --> 00:42:49,160
Here comes the bass.
513
00:42:51,520 --> 00:42:54,760
- That's the background sample.
- #
- Mm-mm.
- #
514
00:42:54,760 --> 00:42:59,040
Ladysmith Black Mambazo. The bass, I'll solo it...
515
00:42:59,040 --> 00:43:02,560
HE PLAYS BASS SOLO
516
00:43:08,080 --> 00:43:10,600
That bass solo break...
517
00:43:10,600 --> 00:43:14,880
It was my birthday, May 10th.
518
00:43:14,880 --> 00:43:21,280
I said to Paul, "I don't know what you're going to do to this part, but I have an idea.
519
00:43:21,280 --> 00:43:26,840
"I'd like to play something. It's my birthday today. He said, "Wow! OK."
520
00:43:26,840 --> 00:43:32,040
So, um, then, you know, I came up with this bass line...
521
00:43:40,280 --> 00:43:42,560
And then a...
522
00:43:51,200 --> 00:43:55,000
- There's an overdub on the bass.
- #
- Mwah, mwah.
- #
523
00:43:55,000 --> 00:43:57,320
Two basses happening.
524
00:43:57,320 --> 00:43:59,080
- #
- Mwah.
- #
525
00:44:01,200 --> 00:44:07,120
It sounded conventional, so we took the first bar of the solo...
526
00:44:09,040 --> 00:44:11,240
Spliced it...
527
00:44:12,440 --> 00:44:19,480
Flipped it and made the second half of the solo the backwards tape of the first half of the solo.
528
00:44:21,920 --> 00:44:23,400
Backwards.
529
00:44:26,680 --> 00:44:28,040
OK.
530
00:44:28,040 --> 00:44:31,080
FULL BACKING TRACK
531
00:44:33,080 --> 00:44:34,440
OK.
532
00:44:35,960 --> 00:44:38,400
Here's another backwards...
533
00:44:38,400 --> 00:44:41,600
- #
- If you'll be my bodyguard...
- #
534
00:44:41,600 --> 00:44:48,800
If you leave whistling a tune, or tapping your foot, that's the single. That's what they listen for.
535
00:44:48,800 --> 00:44:53,440
# Oo-oo-oo-ooh Oo-oo-oo-oo-ooh
536
00:44:53,440 --> 00:44:58,280
- #
- I can call you Betty
- Oo-oo-oo-oo-oo-ooh
537
00:45:02,280 --> 00:45:04,720
You Can Call Me Al had the hook.
538
00:45:04,720 --> 00:45:08,200
- And it had the groove.
- #
- Dah-da-da dah.
- #
539
00:45:08,200 --> 00:45:12,160
What a great hook. That's a great hook.
540
00:45:12,160 --> 00:45:17,120
- #
- If you'll be my bodyguard I can be your long-lost pal...
- #
541
00:45:17,120 --> 00:45:19,520
They said, "Make a video."
542
00:45:19,520 --> 00:45:25,360
- #
- I can call you Betty And, Betty, when you call me You can call me Al...
- #
543
00:45:25,360 --> 00:45:28,840
It was bad. It was really bad.
544
00:45:28,840 --> 00:45:35,600
I said, "You can't put this out. This is... You just can't put this out."
545
00:45:35,600 --> 00:45:42,200
Then, Lorne Michaels, the producer of Saturday Night Live, said, "Do one with Chevy.
546
00:45:42,200 --> 00:45:45,680
"Chevy knows the words. Let him sing it."
547
00:45:45,680 --> 00:45:49,520
So we organised it quickly and did that.
548
00:45:52,000 --> 00:45:55,880
- #
- A man walks down the street It's a street in a strange world
549
00:45:55,880 --> 00:45:59,600
- #
- Maybe it's the Third World Maybe it's his first time around
550
00:45:59,600 --> 00:46:03,120
- #
- Doesn't speak the language He holds no currency...
- #
551
00:46:03,120 --> 00:46:06,680
Although I do think the Chevy Chase video,
552
00:46:06,680 --> 00:46:10,400
because it was funny and very light,
553
00:46:10,400 --> 00:46:15,080
you tend to think of the song as funny.
554
00:46:15,080 --> 00:46:19,560
It is, but with something much more to say.
555
00:46:19,560 --> 00:46:26,080
So in a certain sense, it undercut the power of what that song meant.
556
00:46:29,200 --> 00:46:37,160
- #
- I can call you Betty And, Betty, when you call me You can call me Al. Call me...
- #
557
00:46:37,160 --> 00:46:42,800
You Can Call Me Al, I mean, lyrically, if I can remember,
558
00:46:42,800 --> 00:46:49,400
"A man walks down the street." That's a version of "a guy walks into a bar".
559
00:46:49,400 --> 00:46:53,520
"There was a rabbi, a minister and a priest..."
560
00:46:53,520 --> 00:46:57,440
An old set-up - a man walks down the street.
561
00:46:57,440 --> 00:47:00,920
- #
- A man walk down the street He says, "Why am I...?
- #
562
00:47:00,920 --> 00:47:06,960
"Why am I soft in the middle? The rest of my life is so hard." It's a joke.
563
00:47:06,960 --> 00:47:13,160
- #
- ..shot at redemption...
- #
- "Don't want to end up a cartoon in a cartoon graveyard."
564
00:47:13,160 --> 00:47:17,640
That was me. I was writing about myself.
565
00:47:17,640 --> 00:47:21,000
I guess I was saying, like any artist,
566
00:47:21,000 --> 00:47:25,840
"I don't want to be an irrelevancy. I hope I'm not irrelevant."
567
00:47:25,840 --> 00:47:30,280
- #
- Don't want to end up a cartoon in a cartoon graveyard...
- #
568
00:47:30,280 --> 00:47:34,840
And from there, it's associative thinking.
569
00:47:34,840 --> 00:47:39,240
"A cartoon in a cartoon graveyard", bone-diggers.
570
00:47:39,240 --> 00:47:41,680
Graveyard - bones.
571
00:47:41,680 --> 00:47:44,480
Bone-diggers. Bone-diggers - dogs.
572
00:47:47,080 --> 00:47:51,800
"Dogs in the moonlight." Moonlight's in a lot of songs.
573
00:47:51,800 --> 00:47:56,160
- #
- Don't want to end up a cartoon in a cartoon graveyard Bone-digger
574
00:47:56,160 --> 00:47:59,280
- #
- Bone-digger Dogs in the moonlight
575
00:47:59,280 --> 00:48:02,040
- #
- Far away my well-lit door...
- #
576
00:48:02,040 --> 00:48:08,080
It's scary. In my mind, there's a graveyard. I can hear dogs howling at night...
577
00:48:08,080 --> 00:48:13,400
But it's cosy inside with lots of lights. It's not scary here.
578
00:48:13,400 --> 00:48:20,480
"Mr Beerbelly, Beerbelly. Get these mutts away from me. I don't find this stuff amusing any more."
579
00:48:20,480 --> 00:48:25,840
It's like enough of this garbage. I'm afraid. Death is coming. Oh-oh.
580
00:48:25,840 --> 00:48:28,360
Like, OK.
581
00:48:28,360 --> 00:48:30,960
Verse two is a variation on the first.
582
00:48:30,960 --> 00:48:36,680
- #
- "Why am I short of attention?" Got a short little span of attention...
- #
583
00:48:36,680 --> 00:48:44,720
"The short little span of... short little span of attention." That was, er, that was a penis joke.
584
00:48:44,720 --> 00:48:50,960
"Short little span of attention and, oh, my nights are so long.
585
00:48:50,960 --> 00:48:53,560
"Now where's my wife and family?",
586
00:48:53,560 --> 00:48:56,120
which, at the time, I didn't have.
587
00:48:56,120 --> 00:49:01,440
"Where's my wife and family? What if I die here?" A lot of fears.
588
00:49:01,440 --> 00:49:05,840
"Who will be my role model?" Just fears, a guy's fears.
589
00:49:05,840 --> 00:49:08,360
Now he's piling up these fears.
590
00:49:08,360 --> 00:49:16,800
From my perspective as a songwriter, in a sense I had no sympathy for the guy by the second verse.
591
00:49:16,800 --> 00:49:19,360
He has too many complaints.
592
00:49:19,360 --> 00:49:27,200
And by then, I think I had, "If you'll be my bodyguard, I'll be your long-lost pal."
593
00:49:27,200 --> 00:49:33,280
So if we can make an alliance, maybe I won't be in so much trouble.
594
00:49:33,280 --> 00:49:39,520
I'll look out for you. you look out for me. I'll call you Betty. You call me Al.
595
00:49:39,520 --> 00:49:47,040
We'll make a deal. That'll be our deal against all these modern things that we have to fear.
596
00:49:48,040 --> 00:49:50,280
By the third verse,
597
00:49:50,280 --> 00:49:54,240
it's time to say what this is all about.
598
00:49:54,240 --> 00:49:59,680
"A man walks down a street in a strange world. Maybe it's the Third World."
599
00:49:59,680 --> 00:50:03,280
This is obvious - I'm talking about Africa.
600
00:50:03,280 --> 00:50:09,480
- #
- A man walks down the street It's a street in a strange world Maybe it's the Third World...
- #
601
00:50:09,480 --> 00:50:14,360
"Maybe it's his first time around. Doesn't speak the language." Me.
602
00:50:14,360 --> 00:50:18,200
"He holds no currency. He's a foreign man.
603
00:50:18,200 --> 00:50:22,720
"Surrounded by the sound." It was an amazing place.
604
00:50:22,720 --> 00:50:27,720
- #
- Cattle in the marketplace Scatterlings and orphanages...
- #
605
00:50:27,720 --> 00:50:31,360
"Cattle in the marketplace." It's a faraway place.
606
00:50:31,360 --> 00:50:35,840
You can imagine cattle in the streets and the marketplace.
607
00:50:35,920 --> 00:50:40,360
- #
- He looks around, around Sees angels in the architecture...
- #
608
00:50:40,360 --> 00:50:44,520
"He looks around, sees angels in the architecture."
609
00:50:44,520 --> 00:50:49,640
It has become a spiritual journey now, a spiritual adventure.
610
00:50:49,640 --> 00:50:52,160
That's what that song was about.
611
00:50:52,160 --> 00:50:56,720
And that was a pretty accurate description of my journey.
612
00:50:58,280 --> 00:51:02,360
- #
- A man walks down the street It's a street in a strange world
613
00:51:02,360 --> 00:51:05,960
- #
- Maybe it's the Third World Maybe it's his first time around
614
00:51:05,960 --> 00:51:09,200
- #
- Doesn't speak the language Holds no currency
615
00:51:09,200 --> 00:51:13,840
- #
- He is a foreign man He is surrounded by the sound
616
00:51:13,840 --> 00:51:18,760
- #
- The sound There's cattle in the marketplace Scatterlings and orphanages
617
00:51:18,760 --> 00:51:23,400
- #
- He looks around, around He sees angels in the architecture
618
00:51:23,400 --> 00:51:27,040
- #
- They're spinning in infinity He says, "Amen! Hallelujah!"
619
00:51:27,040 --> 00:51:31,880
- #
- If you'll be my bodyguard I can be your long-lost pal
620
00:51:34,120 --> 00:51:41,240
- #
- I can call you Betty And, Betty, when you call me You can call me Al...
- #
621
00:51:41,240 --> 00:51:48,920
The whole process of this writing came from a deep analysis of what was going on in the tracks.
622
00:51:51,200 --> 00:51:56,720
Because the African musicians were playing what they'd normally play
623
00:51:56,720 --> 00:52:05,120
in a way that was different from the way American musicians that I was familiar with would play.
624
00:52:07,720 --> 00:52:12,360
I was coming out of folk-rock. That was pretty symmetrical.
625
00:52:12,360 --> 00:52:15,920
It didn't change from verse to verse.
626
00:52:15,920 --> 00:52:24,560
Their patterns altered in some subtle way and I was either playing in the studio when that happened,
627
00:52:24,560 --> 00:52:31,280
or in the control room, and wasn't aware of what the pattern was at all.
628
00:52:31,280 --> 00:52:38,920
I didn't realise there had been a variation in the pattern, either intentional or unintentional
629
00:52:38,920 --> 00:52:42,520
until many months later when I was writing.
630
00:52:42,520 --> 00:52:49,040
I'd work on songs and say it's good. The first verse is good, the second is not so good,
631
00:52:49,040 --> 00:52:53,600
The third verse, that's good. Things are good, except...
632
00:52:54,840 --> 00:52:57,360
Why doesn't the second verse work?
633
00:52:57,360 --> 00:53:02,880
I mean, OK, now I'm really going to listen to the second verse.
634
00:53:02,880 --> 00:53:09,680
Now... Putting aside my assumption that it's exactly the same and should work,
635
00:53:09,680 --> 00:53:14,760
which I stayed with for a long time. It should work, so that's it.
636
00:53:14,760 --> 00:53:19,360
I'm not going to change because it's supposed to work.
637
00:53:19,360 --> 00:53:26,520
Then I would begin to listen and I'd say, "Sure enough, there's a variation in here.
638
00:53:26,520 --> 00:53:31,160
"There's a variation that I'm not taking into account."
639
00:53:34,000 --> 00:53:36,520
And that degree of listening...
640
00:53:37,960 --> 00:53:40,320
was my education.
641
00:53:40,320 --> 00:53:43,160
That's... That's what I learned.
642
00:53:43,160 --> 00:53:47,680
I learned to listen on a level I had never experienced before.
643
00:53:47,680 --> 00:53:50,400
He pulled it off. He did it.
644
00:53:50,400 --> 00:53:54,360
He slaved over it. He sweated blood over it.
645
00:53:54,360 --> 00:53:56,800
My gums bled over it.
646
00:53:56,800 --> 00:53:59,440
Unbelievable. Just unbelievable.
647
00:54:03,240 --> 00:54:08,240
- #
- People say she's crazy She got diamonds on the soles of her shoes
648
00:54:09,160 --> 00:54:13,520
- #
- Well, that's one way to lose these walking blues
649
00:54:13,520 --> 00:54:16,040
- #
- Diamonds on the soles of her shoes...
- #
650
00:54:16,040 --> 00:54:22,040
Diamonds on the soles of her shoes was a phrase I had written down, but hadn't used.
651
00:54:22,040 --> 00:54:26,400
Diamonds On The Soles Of Her Shoes was the last song we recorded.
652
00:54:26,400 --> 00:54:29,440
It was never intended to be on the album.
653
00:54:29,440 --> 00:54:33,920
The album was originally supposed to come out in June 1986
654
00:54:33,920 --> 00:54:38,720
and we were going to play Saturday Night Live.
655
00:54:40,720 --> 00:54:45,680
Everybody was here, the whole band. We were all going to do the show.
656
00:54:45,680 --> 00:54:50,800
Then Warner Brothers said they'd prefer to release this in the fall.
657
00:54:50,800 --> 00:54:55,120
So Roy and I said, "Why don't we try another song?"
658
00:54:55,120 --> 00:54:59,320
RAY PHIRI: It was more a jam than a song.
659
00:54:59,320 --> 00:55:03,400
Then the following day we were at the Hit Factory.
660
00:55:03,400 --> 00:55:06,360
After two takes, it was in.
661
00:55:06,360 --> 00:55:14,200
Because we were having such fun, we'd developed a working relationship that said something.
662
00:55:14,200 --> 00:55:20,640
You find that even by # Zoh ba-dibbi-dibbi-dibbi do-ba dibbi-duh bib-ba zah ba-dum bo
663
00:55:20,640 --> 00:55:24,240
# Bi-dum boom-boom beh. # It is in reply to...
664
00:55:28,000 --> 00:55:30,120
He answers...
665
00:55:47,720 --> 00:55:51,000
That's how... That's what makes it very exciting.
666
00:55:51,000 --> 00:55:54,000
The singing is very relaxed, too.
667
00:55:54,000 --> 00:55:57,760
It just feels like everybody was very comfortable.
668
00:55:57,760 --> 00:56:00,440
I tried to write a part here in words.
669
00:56:05,360 --> 00:56:10,320
I couldn't think of anything, so we left it as a horn solo.
670
00:56:10,320 --> 00:56:15,240
Not even a horn solo, I probably wrote this part as a background.
671
00:56:22,200 --> 00:56:24,320
- #
- Oo-ooh-oo...
- #
672
00:56:24,320 --> 00:56:27,440
Nothing here. Just letting it go, I guess.
673
00:56:27,440 --> 00:56:29,800
- #
- Oo-ooh-oo...
- #
674
00:56:29,800 --> 00:56:32,160
Letting the band play.
675
00:56:36,240 --> 00:56:41,080
- #
- She makes the sign of the teaspoon He makes the sign of the wave...
- #
- 'Domesticity.'
676
00:56:41,080 --> 00:56:46,000
- #
- The poor boy changes clothes and puts on aftershave...
- #
677
00:56:46,000 --> 00:56:49,360
- #
- To compensate for his ordinary shoes...
- #
678
00:56:49,360 --> 00:56:53,400
I love that. "He compensates for his ordinary shoes."
679
00:56:53,400 --> 00:56:56,720
- #
- She said, "Honey, take me dancing" But they...
- #
680
00:56:56,720 --> 00:57:01,640
Finishing the record and going to play it back for Warner Brothers,
681
00:57:01,640 --> 00:57:06,880
having them look at each other and wonder what this was all about!
682
00:57:06,880 --> 00:57:09,560
It was a lot of fun.
683
00:57:09,560 --> 00:57:12,680
Then to see the success, man... Woo!
684
00:57:12,680 --> 00:57:18,840
What if it hadn't worked? I've thought that at the first night of an opera.
685
00:57:18,840 --> 00:57:23,000
What if they laugh? What if it doesn't work?
686
00:57:23,000 --> 00:57:29,160
And you've put all this into it. And you have to have that confidence in the work.
687
00:57:29,160 --> 00:57:33,240
Even though, in fact, you don't really know.
688
00:57:33,240 --> 00:57:39,720
I think that was particularly true for Graceland. In retrospect, it was an instant classic.
689
00:57:39,720 --> 00:57:44,440
So what was to worry about? But I don't think Paul knew that.
690
00:57:44,440 --> 00:57:50,560
Graceland was going to college for me. Rhythmically. Everything.
691
00:57:50,560 --> 00:57:54,240
But also just in the sense of...
692
00:57:54,240 --> 00:57:58,240
in a sense of playing the world, a larger world.
693
00:57:59,600 --> 00:58:03,720
- #
- Ta na na-na na
- Ta na na-na...
- #
694
00:58:03,720 --> 00:58:06,640
The ability to interweave the cultures,
695
00:58:06,640 --> 00:58:11,080
to me, it's obvious to interweave them musically.
696
00:58:11,080 --> 00:58:16,200
We're just taking songs and having a musical discussion
697
00:58:16,200 --> 00:58:20,680
across a language barrier without any problems.
698
00:58:20,680 --> 00:58:23,760
And understanding each other.
699
00:58:23,760 --> 00:58:27,000
- #
- Ta na na-na na Ta na na-na...
- #
700
00:58:27,000 --> 00:58:29,600
And that was, like, Graceland.
701
00:58:29,600 --> 00:58:35,280
That's what that album had - an unusual degree of understanding
702
00:58:35,280 --> 00:58:38,040
amongst people who had just met.
703
00:59:11,760 --> 00:59:15,760
Subtitles by Alison Dilly BBC - 199762543
Can't find what you're looking for?
Get subtitles in any language from opensubtitles.com, and translate them here.