According to Sytze Steenstra in Song and Circumstance: The Work of David Byrne from Talking Heads to the Present, the music draws heavily on the African popular music Byrne was listening to at the time.

[3] The lyrics of "I Zimbra" are an adaptation of Dadaist Hugo Ball's poem Gadji beri bimba.

[4] In an interview, Jerry Harrison named "I Zimbra" as his favorite Talking Heads song, and pointed out that the style of the group's next album, Remain in Light, was indebted to the song's production style.

[6] It is also in Byrne's stage musical American Utopia, also filmed for theatrical release by Spike Lee.

[7] Talking Heads Additional musicians The song was one of three songs (along with "Cities" and "Big Business") that were cut from the theatrical release of the 1984 concert film Stop Making Sense but were restored as a bonus feature for the 1999 DVD release.