No one had done anything like this before, even Paul Simon struggled to put lyrics to the African rhythms. By combining the talents of a number of great South African musicians like General MD Shirinda, The Gaza Sisters, Ladysmith Black Mombazo and Stimela the Graceland album has gone down as one of the greatest, if not the greatest of all time. One of the most emotional tracks was the acapella ‘Homeless’ that sings about an African’s struggle about being away from home and using his hands as a pillow.
The Story
The album Graceland was mired with controversy, as many believed Paul Simon stole South Africans music during the height of the country’s apartheid struggle, despite every co-writer receiving royalties and credits on the album.
Although Simon sparked the initial idea for the word ‘Homeless’ to be in the song, the rest of the lyrics are largely written by Joseph Shabalala of Ladysmith Black Mambazo.
Graceland reached number #1 in 7 countries across the world and although ‘Homeless’ was never released as a single, an official video was made and it is considered to be one of the high points of the album.
WATCH // 'Homeless'
The Story
The album Graceland was mired with controversy, as many believed Paul Simon stole South Africans music during the height of the country’s apartheid struggle, despite every co-writer receiving royalties and credits on the album.
Although Simon sparked the initial idea for the word ‘Homeless’ to be in the song, the rest of the lyrics are largely written by Joseph Shabalala of Ladysmith Black Mambazo.
Graceland reached number #1 in 7 countries across the world and although ‘Homeless’ was never released as a single, an official video was made and it is considered to be one of the high points of the album.




