Si on veut connaître un peuple, il faut écouter sa musique. Platon
Under African Skies : Un documentaire relatant le 25ème anniversaire du voyage de Paul Simon en Afrique du Sud pour son album Graceland.
Joe Berlinger’s UNDER AFRICAN SKIES begins with Paul Simon’s 2011 emotional journey back to South Africa and the roots of his seminal album Graceland – but it unfolds into a kaleidoscopic portrait of the turbulent birth and ever-shifting life of a work of art.
25 years ago, Simon released Graceland to equal parts acclaim and controversy. The album broke open musical boundaries and brought together diverse cultures, but it split public opinion as Simon was accused of breaking the United Nations’ cultural boycott of South Africa, then a linchpin in the strategy to fight the nation’s intolerable system of apartheid. While the album went on to be widely celebrated for its revolutionary fusion of musical styles, for bringing the extraordinary gifts of under-exposed South African musicians to the fore, and for sparking a brave new musical world of mixes, mash-ups and globe-hopping collaborations to come, the questions Graceland raised in 1986 remain.
What is the role of the artist when society is in upheaval? Who does music belong to? Whose rules, if any, should artists play by? Do cultural collaborations matter? And what will be the legacy of Graceland’s indelible songs in a world that has since been politically, and musically, transformed? […]
Songwriters: SIMON, PAUL
Joseph’s face was black as night
The pale yellow moon shone in his eyes
His path was marked
By the stars in the southern hemisphere
And he walked his days
Under African skies
This is the story of how we begin to remember
This is the powerful pulsing of love in the vein
After the dream of falling and calling your name out
These are the roots of rhythm
And the roots of rhythm remain
In early memory
Mission music
Was ringing ’round my nursery door
I said take this child, Lord
From Tucson, Arizona
Give her the wings to fly through harmony
And she won’t bother you no more
This is the story of how we begin to remember
This is the powerful pulsing of love in the vein
After the dream of falling and calling your name out
These are the roots of rhythm
And the roots of rhythm remain
Joseph’s face was black as night
And the pale yellow moon shone in his eyes
His path was marked
By the stars in the southern hemisphere
And he walked the length of his days
Under African skies
