"Shakin' the Tree" is a 1989 song by

Youssou N'Dour Youssou N'Dour (, ; also known as Youssou Madjiguène Ndour; born 1 October 1959) is a Senegalese singer, songwriter, musician, composer, occasional actor, businessman, and politician. In 2004, ''Rolling Stone'' described him as, "perhaps the m ...

and

Peter Gabriel Peter Brian Gabriel (born 13 February 1950) is an English singer, songwriter, musician, and human rights activist. He came to prominence as the original frontman of the rock band Genesis. He left the band in 1975 and launched a solo career wit ...

from the Youssou N'Dour album '' The Lion''. Released as a single, it reached number 61 on the UK official singles chart on 17 June 1989. The following year, Gabriel released a new version on his greatest hits album '' Shaking the Tree'', altering the title slightly and recording a new vocal take. This version was released as a double A-side single with "

Solsbury Hill Little Solsbury Hill (or simply Solsbury Hill) is a small flat-topped hill and the site of an Iron Age hill fort, above the village of Batheaston in Somerset, England. The hill rises to above the River Avon, which is just over to the sou ...

", which reached number 57 on the UK official singles chart on 29 December 1990.

Background and composition

Gabriel first encountered N'Dour in 1983 at one of his performances in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

. He was impressed with N'Dour's vocals, saying that it was "one of the best I'd heard in my life." Gabriel and N'Dour later became acquainted, with their first performance together occurring in 1985 for the song " Biko", which N'Dour "had a great affinity for." N'Dour sang on "

In Your Eyes In Your Eyes may refer to: Film * ''In Your Eyes'', a 2004 film featuring Michael DeLorenzo * In Your Eyes (2010 film), ''In Your Eyes'' (2010 film), a Philippine romantic drama * In Your Eyes (2014 film), ''In Your Eyes'' (2014 film), a film writt ...

" on Gabriel's '' So'' album that same year and also contributed vocals to his 1989 ''

Passion Passion, the Passion or the Passions may refer to: Emotion * Passion (emotion), a very strong feeling about a person or thing * Passions (philosophy), emotional states as used in philosophical discussions * Stoic passions, various forms of emotio ...

'' soundtrack album. N'Dour had encouraged Gabriel to write a song about women's emancipation, which was a shared goal of theirs. Gabriel said that he wanted the song to encourage women to "shake up the male establishment" in African and American institutions. N'Dour agreed with those sentiments, saying that "a woman shouldn't be tied up to the house. She should be free to go out and work if she wants. The tree and the shaker are symbols of work, of achieving something." He also expressed his belief that religious doctrines should not be weaponized to undermine women's emancipation. "Shaking the Tree" follows a verse-chorus structure, with some of the vocals being sung in N'Dour's native

Wolof language Wolof ( ; , ) is a Niger–Congo language spoken by the Wolof people in much of the West African subregion of Senegambia that is split between the countries of Senegal, The Gambia and Mauritania. Like the neighbouring languages Serer and Fula, ...

Release and versions

To promote the song, an accompanying music video was filmed in Senegal by Isaac Julien over the course of two days. The original mix of the song from N'Dour's '' The Lion'' was released as a single in May 1989, reaching No. 69 in the UK. A remixed version was included on Gabriel's '' Shaking the Tree: Sixteen Golden Greats'' compilation album and issued as a

double A-side The A-side and B-side are the two sides of vinyl records and cassettes, and the terms have often been printed on the labels of two-sided music recordings. The A-side of a single usually features a recording that its artist, producer, or ...

with "

", this time peaking at No. 57 in the UK. During the 1993–1994 Secret World Tour, an eight-foot tree designed by Gabriel and

Robert Lepage Robert Lepage (born December 12, 1957) is a Canadian playwright, actor, film director, and stage director. Early life Lepage was raised in Quebec City. At age five, he was diagnosed with a rare form of alopecia, which caused complete hair lo ...

emerged from the middle of a circular stage. A live recording from this tour was included on Gabriel's '' Secret World Live'' album in 1994. David Bottrill was commissioned to remix the song as a B-side for Gabriel's 1993 "Kiss that Frog" single. Versions with additional vocals by

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appeared on the soundtracks to ''

Jungle 2 Jungle ''Jungle 2 Jungle'' is a 1997 comedy film directed by John Pasquin, produced by Walt Disney Pictures and TF1 Films Production, and starring Tim Allen, Martin Short, Lolita Davidovich, David Ogden Stiers, JoBeth Williams, and introducing Sam Hun ...

'' (1997) and ''

The Wild Thornberrys Movie ''The Wild Thornberrys Movie'' (or just ''The Wild Thornberrys'') is a 2002 American animated adventure film based on the television series of the same name. It was produced by Klasky Csupo and distributed by Paramount Pictures and Nickelodeo ...

'' (2002). The Bottril and ''Jungle 2 Jungle'' remixes were included on Gabriel's 2019 ''

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'' compilation album.

Legacy

Ghanaian writer Meri Nana-Ama Danquah highlighted the song in her book, ''Shaking the Tree'', saying that she drew "a lot of inspiration from the lyrics, which encourage women to challenge the status quo, to be the architects of our future."

Track listing

; 7-inch single (1989) # Youssou N'Dour & Peter Gabriel: "Shakin' the Tree" – 5:38 # Youssou N'Dour: "Old Tucson" – 4:20 ; CD/12-inch single (1989) # Youssou N'Dour & Peter Gabriel: "Shakin' the Tree" – 7:13 # Youssou N'Dour: "Old Tucson" – 4:20 # Youssou N'Dour: "Sweeping the Leaves" – 4:53

Personnel

* Youssou N’Dour – lead and backing vocals *

– lead and backing vocals, Yamaha CP-80,

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Roland D-50 The Roland D-50 is a synthesizer produced by Roland and released in April of 1987. Its features include digital sample-based subtractive synthesis, on-board effects, a joystick for data manipulation, and an analog synthesis-styled layout desig ...

* George Acogny – CMI percussion sequencing, guitars, backing vocals *

Guy Barker Guy Jeffrey Barker, (born 26 December 1957) is an English jazz trumpeter and composer. Early life Barker was born in Chiswick, London, the son of an actress and a stuntman. He started playing the trumpet at the age of twelve, and within a year ...

– trumpet * John Barclay – trumpet * Pete Beachill – trumpet * Roger Bolton – drum programming * Simon Clark – organ, piano, keyboard bass * Habib Faye – guitar, bass *

Manu Katché Manu Katché (born 27 October 1958) is a French drummer and songwriter of Ivorian descent. He has worked extensively as a session musician, notably with Sting and Peter Gabriel, and his solo albums as a bandleader are largely in the jazz fusio ...

– drums * David Rhodes – electric and acoustic guitars * Phil Todd – saxophones

References

{{authority control Peter Gabriel songs 1989 songs 1989 singles 1990 singles Songs written by Peter Gabriel Virgin Records singles