tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7824464142604361129.post4439026689373481497..comments2024-03-24T12:25:13.240-07:00Comments on Every Single Paul Simon Song*: I Know What I KnowAnother Paulhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17490204558031016152noreply@blogger.comBlogger11125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7824464142604361129.post-34908016164684803502021-02-14T13:10:09.879-08:002021-02-14T13:10:09.879-08:00Anon-- Fair enough! For a song that is more plainl...Anon-- Fair enough! For a song that is more plainly about... that, try Springsteen's "Girls in their Summer Clothes."<br />Another Paulhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17490204558031016152noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7824464142604361129.post-42135376794126850262021-02-10T12:38:31.126-08:002021-02-10T12:38:31.126-08:00Didn't Paul say somewhere that he asked M.D. S...Didn't Paul say somewhere that he asked M.D. Shirinda what the song was about and he responded (and I'm paraphrasing here) "You know how in warm weather women wear those short skirts? It's about that". The explanation on this page is way better, but I kinda like that one more lolAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7824464142604361129.post-39074981738359485482020-10-02T12:54:59.642-07:002020-10-02T12:54:59.642-07:00Unknown-- Sorry, I just did another search and tur...Unknown-- Sorry, I just did another search and turned up nothing. If it helps, you are not the only one seeking to know the meaning of those African lyrics.Another Paulhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17490204558031016152noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7824464142604361129.post-68595181738897166792020-09-28T12:13:13.094-07:002020-09-28T12:13:13.094-07:00Did you ever find an answer to this question? I am...Did you ever find an answer to this question? I am curious. Thanks.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12815339433615958414noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7824464142604361129.post-2504464230890673322018-07-29T17:56:41.146-07:002018-07-29T17:56:41.146-07:00Jeff-- Great question, and one I should have addre...Jeff-- Great question, and one I should have addressed (I did get the translation to the Portuguese lyrics in Spirit Voices, for instance). <br />From the liner notes:<br />The music from I Know What I Know comes from an album by General M.D. Shirinda and the Gaza Sisters, a Shangaan group from Gazankulu, a small town near Petersburg in northern South Africa. As more and more Shangaan people have migrated to Johannesburg, their music has grown increasingly popular, and several Shangaan records have recently become hits. An unusual style of guitar playing and the distinctive sound of the women's voices were what attracted me to this group in the first place.<br />My own research:<br />The female backing vocals are by the Gaza Sisters, in the Shangaan language. What can be identified as the Shangaan tribe only forms a small fraction of the entire Tsonga ethnic group who came to existence during the 1800s. The Tsonga, in turn, are a Bantu ethnic group native mainly to South Africa and southern Mozambique.<br />However, the answer to your question, "What are they saying?" is still something I am looking into. I will see if there is anything in either of Simon's recent bios. If another reader could shed some light...?Another Paulhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17490204558031016152noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7824464142604361129.post-23931916778798097782018-07-29T17:54:18.419-07:002018-07-29T17:54:18.419-07:00This comment has been removed by the author.Another Paulhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17490204558031016152noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7824464142604361129.post-73861963164416439692018-07-24T16:23:13.861-07:002018-07-24T16:23:13.861-07:00Now what I want to know is what the background sin...Now what I want to know is what the background singers are singing in what must be some dialect from the South African region.<br /><br />I know what I know, and I do not know that.Jeff Sharonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10630162612737644907noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7824464142604361129.post-88532312278918353862018-07-16T18:56:20.998-07:002018-07-16T18:56:20.998-07:00Rosemary-- Thanks for your comment. I agree that t...Rosemary-- Thanks for your comment. I agree that they are verbally sparring, but I don't think either is trying to draw blood. Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04827729006540550719noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7824464142604361129.post-42382869207427119732018-07-12T17:34:09.563-07:002018-07-12T17:34:09.563-07:00No, it's much more cutting than that. The sing...No, it's much more cutting than that. The singer is Paul Simon. She is eying him up as a 'You'll do...barely.' She is looking for connections, and maybe a gold digger. Surely someone did once say to this millionaire...'You really remind me of money!' Maybe he just wanted to be himself, not this rich man. She reminds him of a clever acquaintance. He asks if she is this Fulbright scholar...she doesn't deny it! It is like fencing...he is taken by her beauty...she brings him back to the problem of being himself, maybe rich [and maybe lonely]. Then he draws on the universal...We come and...then we go!The fleeting experience of life, and tangled relationships. Rosemary Rimmer-Clayhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16258153343628582213noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7824464142604361129.post-50185450831922421692018-01-21T20:40:40.042-08:002018-01-21T20:40:40.042-08:00Unknown-- Well, if you want to compliment me, who ...Unknown-- Well, if you want to compliment me, who am I to blow against the wind?<br />Another Paulhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17490204558031016152noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7824464142604361129.post-41607404738065893832018-01-20T15:43:34.381-08:002018-01-20T15:43:34.381-08:00Good analysis. I've listened this track many t...Good analysis. I've listened this track many times and never really sussed it. So simple now after reading your blog. Paul Simon is a lyrical genius and does it so naturally/effortlessly.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11631839621714495953noreply@blogger.com