I Zimbra

I Zimbra is a song by Talking Heads, released in 1979 on their second studio album, Fear of Music. It is the opening track of the album, and was released as the second single. This is the only song on a Talking Heads album without any English lyrics, as it uses words from a dada poem by Hugo Ball. The song features guitar from Robert Fripp, leader of King Crimson and a frequent collaborator of producer Brian Eno.

Background and Production

I Zimbra was the final track added to Fear of Music. In 1978, while in Perth, Australia on their tour supporting More Songs About Buildings And Food, the band was listening to a demo version of the song, and realized they really wanted it to be included on the album. This led to Jerry Harrison and David Byrne flying first to New York to finish the song with Brian Eno as producer and Julie Last as engineer. The two band members then caught another flight to meet back up with Chris Frantz and Tina Weymouth in Denmark to continue the tour.