Congo (song)

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“Congo”
“Congo” cover
Single by Genesis
from the album Calling All Stations
B-side "Papa He Said" "Banjo Man"
Released September 1997
Format CD, 7", 12"
Recorded The Farm, Surrey;
Genre Rock and Roll
Length 3:58 (single mix)
Label Atlantic
Producer Genesis, Nick Davis
Genesis singles chronology
"Tell Me Why"
(1993)
"Congo"
(1997)
"Shipwrecked"
(1997)
Calling All Stations track listing
"Calling All Stations"
(Track 1)
"Congo"
(Track 2)
"Shipwrecked"
(Track 3)

"Congo" was the debut single from the Genesis album Calling All Stations.

The song is not about the African country, but rather about two people who cannot get along with each other, leaving them to want to be rid of each other and as distant as possible. Musically, the song opens with a Caribbean drum beat while an African-style tribe is heard chanting "Congo the Congo", before the song launches into a darker guitar-driven melody. The album version features an alternative synthesizer ending that fades out, while the single version has an earlier fade-out that excludes the ending. The lyrics were penned by Genesis keyboardist Tony Banks.

The music video, directed by Howard Greenhalgh, features industrialized imagery, with the band playing in a heavily-guarded shipyard manned with slave labour. Massive water cannons are used to control uprisings, and the band is doused with water quite often throughout the video.

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