Paul Simon was wandering through South Africa during a time when he probably shouldn't have been there. It was the mid-1980s. Apartheid was a brutal, suffocating reality. The United Nations had a cultural boycott in place. But Simon went anyway, driven by a bootleg cassette of Mbaqanga music—street music, basically—that he couldn't stop playing in his car. One of the tracks that emerged from those controversial sessions was Diamonds on the Soles of Her Shoes. It isn’t just a catchy tune with a world-beat rhythm. It’s a masterclass in how a single metaphor can anchor a global masterpiece.
It’s weird.
The song starts with that haunting, a cappella intro by Ladysmith Black Mambazo. They’re singing in Zulu. Joseph Shabalala, the group's leader, worked closely with Simon to create that wall of vocal sound. When the drums finally kick in, the transition feels like stepping out of a dark room into blinding sunlight. It’s joyous. It’s also deeply complicated.
The Story Behind the Diamond Metaphor
People often ask if the song is about a real person. Not exactly. While many of the songs on Graceland feel like they’re grappling with Simon’s failing marriage or his internal mid-life crisis, Diamonds on the Soles of Her Shoes functions more like a short story. It’s about a wealthy girl and a poor boy. Classic trope, right? But Simon twists it.
He describes a woman who is so incredibly wealthy that she doesn't even realize she’s treading on precious stones. Or maybe she does realize it and just doesn't care. That’s the "diamonds" part. It’s ostentatious. It’s ridiculous.
Think about the physical act of walking. Your feet touch the dirt. The soles of your shoes are the most "common" part of your wardrobe. Putting diamonds there is the ultimate flex of indifference toward wealth. Simon sings about her being "physically forgotten" by some and "mentally abandoned" by others. He’s painting a picture of someone who has everything and yet, somehow, nothing that actually matters.
Then you have the protagonist. He’s "empty as a pocket." He has nothing. Yet, they’re dancing.
Recording Under the Shadow of Apartheid
The technical side of this track is where it gets really interesting for music nerds. Most of Graceland was recorded at Ovation Studios in Johannesburg. However, Diamonds on the Soles of Her Shoes was actually a late addition to the album. Simon wrote it after he had already returned to New York.
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He realized the album needed something more. Something that bridged the gap between his New York folk-rock sensibilities and the South African sounds he’d fallen in love with. He flew Ladysmith Black Mambazo to London to record the vocals. The interplay between Simon’s thin, melodic voice and the deep, resonant bass notes of the group created a texture that hadn't really been heard on mainstream American radio before 1986.
The bass player, Bakithi Kumalo, is the unsung hero here.
Listen to that bass line. It’s fretless. It slides. It pops. Kumalo didn't even have a proper case for his bass when he first met Simon; he arrived with the instrument wrapped in a plastic bag. Yet, his contribution defines the song’s groove. If you take that bass out, the song falls apart. It’s the engine.
Why the Controversy Still Matters
You can't talk about this song without acknowledging the elephant in the room. The African National Congress (ANC) wasn't happy with Simon at first. They felt he was breaking a boycott that was meant to isolate the South African government. Critics accused him of "musical colonialism." They said he was "stealing" the sounds of the oppressed to revive his own flagging career.
Simon’s defense was basically that music transcends politics.
Did he have a point? Maybe.
What’s indisputable is that he didn't just sample these artists. He gave them co-writing credits. He put them on stage. He shared the royalties. For Ladysmith Black Mambazo, Diamonds on the Soles of Her Shoes was a ticket to international fame that they likely never would have achieved under the restrictive laws of their home country at the time. They went from being local legends to global icons.
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The Sound of 1986 vs. Today
When you listen to the track now, it doesn't sound dated. Not really. A lot of 80s music is trapped in a cage of gated-reverb drums and cheesy synthesizers. But because Graceland relied so heavily on organic instruments—guitars, accordions, and human voices—it feels timeless.
The lyrics are still weirdly relatable too.
We live in an era of hyper-visible wealth. Instagram is essentially a digital version of having diamonds on the soles of your shoes. We see people flaunting "quiet luxury" or "loud budget" lifestyles every day. Simon was tapping into that disconnect between the "haves" and the "have-nots" decades before the term "one percent" became a political slogan.
The song captures a specific kind of loneliness. The "rich girl" isn't the villain. She’s just... there. She’s drifting through a world where her feet don't even touch the ground because of the jewels beneath them.
Technical Nuance: The "Stutter" and the Horns
Check out the horn section. That’s the Saturday Night Live band, actually. They brought a punchy, brassy New York energy to the track that contrasts with the fluid South African rhythms.
And then there's that "stutter."
"She-a, she-a... she-a-da-da-da."
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It’s a rhythmic device Simon uses to mimic the feeling of a skipping heartbeat or a nervous breath. It’s a tiny detail, but it’s what makes the vocal performance feel "human" rather than clinical. It’s those imperfections that AI-generated music usually misses.
What Most People Get Wrong About the Lyrics
A common misconception is that the song is purely a celebration. It's not. There’s an undercurrent of sadness.
"And I could say oo-oo-oo, as if everybody knows what I'm talking about."
That line is incredibly telling. It suggests a lack of communication. It implies that even when we’re singing together, we’re often totally misunderstood. The boy and the girl in the song are together, but they are worlds apart. He’s sleeping on a "stone cold floor" while she’s walking on diamonds. The juxtaposition is jarring if you actually stop to think about the words while you're dancing to the upbeat rhythm.
Actionable Insights for the Modern Listener
If you want to truly appreciate the depth of Diamonds on the Soles of Her Shoes, don't just stream it on crappy laptop speakers. Do these three things to hear what Simon was actually trying to do:
- Listen to the Mono Mix if You Can Find It: Or at least use high-quality headphones to track the panning. You’ll notice how Ladysmith Black Mambazo is positioned in the "stereo field" to create a sense of being surrounded by voices.
- Watch the 1986 SNL Performance: It’s on YouTube. Seeing the physical joy on the faces of the South African musicians as they performed in New York for the first time adds a layer of emotional context that the studio recording can't fully capture.
- Compare it to "Gumboots": Listen to the track "Gumboots" right before "Diamonds." You’ll hear the evolution of the South African influence. "Gumboots" is raw; "Diamonds" is the polished, sophisticated evolution of that sound.
Basically, the song is a bridge. It’s a bridge between New York and Johannesburg, between folk and mbaqanga, and between wealth and poverty. It shouldn't work. On paper, it’s a mess of conflicting ideas and political baggage. But because of the sincerity of the collaboration—and let’s be honest, that killer bass line—it remains one of the most important recordings of the 20th century.
Next time you hear it, don't just hum along to the chorus. Listen for the space between the notes. Listen for the Zulu responses in the intro. There’s a whole world tucked into the bottom of those shoes.
To truly dive deeper into this era of music history, look into the following resources:
- The Documentary "Under African Skies": This film follows Paul Simon back to South Africa 25 years after the album's release and directly addresses the boycott controversy with interviews from political leaders and musicians.
- Bakithi Kumalo’s Bass Tutorials: If you’re a musician, looking up Kumalo’s own explanation of the "Diamonds" bass line will change how you perceive rhythm. He explains how he used "wrong" notes to create the "right" feel.
- The Lyrics of Joseph Shabalala: Take the time to find translations of the Zulu portions of the song. They aren't just phonetic sounds; they carry their own poetic weight that complements Simon's English verses.