“The bomb in the baby carriage was wired to the radio”
That lyric got my attention when I first heard the song. The song sounded so different at the time than anything else that was going on.
Paul Simon wrote the lyrics for this song when he returned to America from South Africa When he was there his concern was recording just the music.
The words had to work with the track that Simon’s producer Roy Halee assembled from the reels of tape they returned with. It took Simon a long time to finish the lyrics, working in phrases like “the boy in the bubble and the baby with the baboon heart” in a way that would mesh with the African rhythm.
This song is credited to Simon and Forere Motloheloa.
There was a United Nations cultural boycott in place that was designed to pressure political leaders into giving up their Apartheid policy. The boycott was to keep popular musicians away from places like Sun City where they played to the white ruling class in South Africa. The problem was that any violation of the boycott could undermine the sanctions, and many locals were not happy with Simon’s visit. Some people still complain about him making this album there.
These South African sanctions didn’t just keep outside musicians away from the country, but it also kept their local music from getting out… Simon only heard it because a friend gave him a bootleg cassette tape.
The song peaked at #86 in the Billboard 100 in 1986. The singles off the album didn’t have huge success in Billboard because they didn’t fit easily into the 80’s radio formats.
Paul Simon: “‘The Boy In The Bubble’ devolved down to hope and dread. That’s the way I see the world, a balance between the two, but coming down on the side of hope.”
The Boy In The Bubble
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
These are the days of miracle and wonder
This is the long distance call
The way the camera follows us in slo-mo
The way we look to us all
The way we look to a distant constellation
That’s dying in a corner of the sky
These are the days of miracle and wonder
And don’t cry, baby, don’t cry
Don’t cry
It was a dry wind
And it swept across the desert
And it curled into the circle of birth
And the dead sand
Falling on the children
The mothers and the fathers
And the automatic earth
These are the days of miracle and wonder
This is the long distance call
The way the camera follows us in slo-mo
The way we look to us all, oh yeah
The way we look to a distant constellation
That’s dying in a corner of the sky
These are the days of miracle and wonder
And don’t cry baby, don’t cry
Don’t cry
It’s a turn-around jump shot
It’s everybody jump start
It’s every generation throws a hero up the pop charts
Medicine is magical and magical is art
Think of the boy in the bubble
And the baby with the baboon heart
And I believe
These are the days of lasers in the jungle
Lasers in the jungle somewhere
Staccato signals of constant information
A loose affiliation of millionaires
And billionaires and baby
These are the days of miracle and wonder
This is the long distance call
The way the camera follows us in slo-mo
The way we look to us all, oh yeah
The way we look to a distant constellation
That’s dying in a corner of the sky
These are the days of miracle and wonder
And don’t cry baby, don’t cry
Don’t cry, don’t cry
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That’s interesting as you point out that the singles didn’t do much yet the album sold huge.
Usually back than If the single didn’t chart high neither would the album for the most part!
No wonder Steve Berlin is pissed
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Oh yea…I should have included that story…he paid the local musicians but not Los Lobos…that was just wrong.
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Yeah that’s just plain brutal
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There’s more to the lyrics than I realized. Smart song but I still must admit, one of the rare Paul simon singles I don’t care much for. I heard it a lot on radio in Toronto back in the day…I think by that time Paul was becoming like Pink Floyd in asmuch as his fans were very diehard and would automatically buy the album and not worry about buying individual singles, because the Graceland album sold well.
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I was in the minority…I believe more people were like you…I liked the word play of this song a lot. It wasn’t as accessible as You Can Call Me Al but I did like it.
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To me “Graceland” is the crown jewel in Paul Simon’s catalog. I just dig the great blend of African music and Western pop.
Even better than the record was to see this music performed live, which I was fortunate to experience back in Germany during Simon’s supporting tour of the album.
Watching these African musicians on stage and their joy and groove was truly priceless.
I also thought it was cool Simon gave them plenty of room. It says a lot about him.
In fact, the African musicians played an opening set without Simon. He then joined for the second (main) set and wrapped things up with a short solo set.
It was definitely one of the best shows I’ve seen to date.
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I like the video.
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It was done well for it’s time.
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“These are the days of lasers in the jungle …” I like the song and also the whole album “Graceland”. Recorded with the group Tao Ea Matsekha from Lesotho.
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My favourite line is “it’s a turn around jump shot, it’s everybody jump start.”
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I love the horns and what sounds like an accordian in here. They elevate the song.
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It’s some instruments I’ve never heard or not familiar with…
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I know this is supposed to have an African beat and, be something new and different. But, listening to it…all I hear is “Call Me Al” with a different title and lyrics.
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It has some of the same instruments but many people loved You Can Call Me Al…but not this one…I liked this one because of the lyrics.
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I’ve always really enjoyed this song, but never paid full attention to the words beyond the catchy chorus as I should have. It’s a serious song, but the title makes you think it’s going to be about something else.
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They really knew how to write catchy choruses…but not syrupy and that is what I would pay attention to…They did it so well that I didn’t pay attention either.
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