"Taking Islands In Africa" r.e. SWING

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Postby Bern on Sat Aug 16, 2008 12:49 pm

"Heart of David" Methods of Dance was inspired by a documentary on Choreography Sylvian watched
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Postby Bern on Sat Aug 16, 2008 1:02 pm

On the "Taking Islands" front I always presumed the title was just an abstract line inspired by the slow african talking drum rhythm, doesn't it give you a sense of travel on water?
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Postby Bern on Sat Aug 16, 2008 1:07 pm

Swing however ( you know.... relax and swing) is obviously about playing golf, read the lyrics and you will see what I mean.....god I wish it was true
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Postby heartofdavid on Sat Aug 16, 2008 3:42 pm

Bern wrote:"Heart of David" Methods of Dance was inspired by a documentary on Choreography Sylvian watched

Yes, a BBC documentary. I was aware of that. I was making a joke with my previous comment.
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Postby heartofdavid on Sat Aug 16, 2008 3:43 pm

Bern wrote:Swing however ( you know.... relax and swing) is obviously about playing golf, read the lyrics and you will see what I mean.....god I wish it was true

"Shout if someone gets too near..." Fore! Yeah, it could work, lol.
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Postby sisterlondon on Sun Aug 17, 2008 4:26 am

Bern wrote:Swing however ( you know.... relax and swing) is obviously about playing golf, read the lyrics and you will see what I mean.....god I wish it was true


I know of someone that would be happy if that was the case! :lol:
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Postby Pagoda on Fri Nov 14, 2008 11:11 pm

I thought that 'Taking islands in Africa' was a vague post-colonial reference, a sort of loose analogy for idly excercising power without really thinking about it (a la colonial empires blah blah)

Gosh I sound pretentious. I don't mean to be.

But I find the whole song confusing, actually.

Here's a question, though I'm not sure if it belongs here...All the references to 'the heart of the bushland' and 'Southern Heat' on tin drum/gentlemen take polaroids; are they referring to Australia? Australia is southern and hot and bushy, but I didn't think David Sylvian had ever seriously been there.
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Re: "Taking Islands In Africa" r.e. SWING

Postby davidnostalgia on Sat May 02, 2009 8:25 am

I've been wondering about that "taking islands in Africa" line from Japan's song "Swing"...

Tell me when the work is done
Tell me when the day is through
And I'll drive safely inside my car
Taking islands in Africa

Shout if someone gets too near
I'll know just what I ought to do
And I'll arrive safely in my car
Taking islands in Africa

Now your feet are back on the ground again
She'll say the weather's dim
But relax my love
Relax and swing

Things you say are not too clear
I'm someone you'll neither know nor care
But I'll sit here and watch from afar
Taking islands in Africa

Now your feet are back on the ground again
She'll say the weather's dim
But relax my love
Relax and swing

(Whisper in the wind)



I think it's funny how the lyrics say "things you say are not too clear" when the lyrics themselves are not too clear...

Things you say are not too clear
I'm someone you'll neither know nor care
But I'll sit here and watch from afar
Taking islands in Africa


...and it's definitely still not too clear what that "taking islands in Africa" line means. :lol:


Maybe we should look for clues in the song called " Taking Islands In Africa"?

Taking islands in Africa
Watch the slow boat hit and run

Outside there's a world waiting
I'll take it all by storm
And when the sunset finds me
I'm coming home

Taking islands in Africa
Watch the slow boat hit and run

Every day the sun beats down
I pull away from shore
The wind blows hard into my sails
Now I know I'm out of touch
And times they could get tough
But I'll move on so how could I fail?

Taking islands in Africa
Watch the slow boat hit and run

When the evening fires burn
The daylight dead and gone
With you beside me we can run

Outside there's a world waiting
I'll take it all by storm
And when the sunset finds me
I'm coming home

Taking islands in Africa
Watch the slow boat hit and run
Every day the sun beats down
I pull away from shore
The wind blows hard into my sails...



At that point in his career, David Sylvian would write lyrics that were not always very direct. It's possible that he was just dreaming away while writing the lyrics and wrote down whatever came into his mind. At the time, he loved making geographical references in his lyrics anyway. It was not until "Ghosts" that he would finally start writing lyrics that had a deeper meaning and people could relate to more. The references about "taking islands in Africa" came out of a time when his lyrics were still very obscure. And the lyrics are usually never so much about locations themselves or specific events connected to them as they are basically more about the emotions that accompanied the thoughts of the locations and events connected. So, maybe we shouldn't look for a clear answer to what the line means and just let our thoughts wander (and not wonder too much) while listening to the music and lyrics.


By the way, interestingly enough, David Bowie had written something about an island in Africa in his song "African Night Flight". He wrote about a "Mombassa night flight" and Mombasa (which used to be called "Mombassa") is located on Mombasa Island, which is one of the islands in Kenya and Kenya is in Africa, so, that part of the sing is actually also about "islands in Africa"... :P

Getting in mood for a Mombassa night flight
Pushing my luck, gonna fly like a mad thing


So, maybe David Sylvian got inspired by David Bowie's song "African Night Flight"? It may be a far-fetched theory, but it was not uncommon for David Sylvian to get inspired by things that were created by people he admired and work them into his lyrics.


Anyway, I guess that we'll never really know what the line "taking islands in Africa" means and that we can leave it open to our own interpretation. Maybe that's the way it was meant to be anyway... :D
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Re: "Taking Islands In Africa" r.e. SWING

Postby triskadekaphobia on Sun May 10, 2009 1:10 pm

having been with Japan since the Rock Garden gig and followed them then on, this line has always meant for me - small victories, achievements, advances, but whatever anyone else thinks thats true as well.
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