“7 Seconds” by Neneh Cherry (ft. Youssou N’Dour)

“7 Seconds” is a song presented to us in three different languages. Youssou N’Dour’s verses in French and his native West African are filled with general-ideological symbols. They espouse ideas such as colorblindness (i.e. a world without racism), unity and positivity in general (as in shunning negativity).  Meanwhile Neneh Cherry’s solo verse is a bit rougher around the edges. That is to say she comes off somewhere along the lines of supporting the idea of doing onto others in response to unwarranted negativity. 

But the concept all these sentiments are intended to point back to is that of the world being an inherently troublesome place. Neneh has stated explicitly that this song “is about the first positive 7 seconds in the life of a child”. According to her, in this special period of the child’s life they are saved from “not knowing about the problems and violence” present in the world. So for instance the prevailing subtheme of racism is brought up within the context of it being an unavoidable issue for a lot of people, even virtually from the moment they enter the world. 

Conclusion

And conclusively, it can be said that in this song the Youssou and Neneh are addressing the naïve and the innocent. And what the artists are telling them is basically that they need to be on guard for unwarranted acts of cruelty.

Facts about “7 Seconds”

• There are three languages featured in this song – English, French and Wolof, with the latter being native to Senegal, the country Youssou N’Dour comes from.
• The music video to the song was directed by Stéphane Sednaoui.
• “7 Seconds” was released by Columbia Records on 7 June 1994.  It was originally featured on Youssou N’Dour’s album “The Guide (Wommat)”.  Then in 1996 Neneh Cherry also put it on her own project, “Man”.
• “7 Seconds” was a monumental hit, topping music charts in Finland, France, Iceland, Italy and Switzerland.
• It held the top position in France for 16 weeks straight and thus set a record in the process. 
• It also peaked at number 3 on the UK Singles Chart, broke the top 5 in over 10 other countries and has been certified Gold in 6 countries.
• “7 Seconds” also won a MTV Europe Music Award in 1994 in the category of Best Song.

Who wrote “7 Seconds”?

It was written by Youssou  and Neneh wrote this song along with the below writers:

• Jonathan Sharp
• Cameron McVey (aka Booga Bear)

It is noteworthy to state that songwriter McVey is Neneh’s husband.

Regarding the production of “7 Seconds”, it was handled by Booga Bear alongside Jonny Dollar.

Dido & Youssou N’dour perform “7 Seconds”

Below is one of the most notable live performances of “7 Seconds”. This version of the song was performed by Youssou N’dour and British singer Dido. The performance took place at the Live 8 benefit concert in London.