International Thief Thief

Album: I.T.T. (1980)
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • "International Thief Thief" was written by Fela Kuti (1938-97). The Nigerian composer created a new genre of music, Afrobeat, but he was also active in politics. When he appeared on The Andrew Marr Show on August 7, 2011, Sahr Ngaujau explained the origin of the song to stand-in host Mariella Frostrup.

    Ngaujau, who had up until that time been playing Kuti in the musical Fela! for five years, said that when someone is caught stealing in Africa it is customary to shout "thief, thief!" and chase him out of town. "International Thief Thief" is about theft, but on a somewhat larger scale; the fact that it can be abbreviated to ITT - the name of a well-known multinational company - is probably not coincidental.
  • The full version of the song runs to 25 minutes, and is largely instrumental.

Comments

Be the first to comment...

Editor's Picks

Corey Hart

Corey HartSongwriter Interviews

The Canadian superstar talks about his sudden rise to fame, and tells the stories behind his hits "Sunglasses At Night," "Boy In The Box" and "Never Surrender."

Songs About Movies

Songs About MoviesSong Writing

Iron Maiden, Adele, Toto, Eminem and Earth, Wind & Fire are just some of the artists with songs directly inspired by movies - and not always good ones.

Yoko Ono

Yoko OnoSongwriter Interviews

At 80 years old, Yoko has 10 #1 Dance hits. She discusses some of her songs and explains what inspired John Lennon's return to music in 1980.

John Kay of Steppenwolf

John Kay of SteppenwolfSongwriter Interviews

Steppenwolf frontman John Kay talks about "Magic Carpet Ride," "Born To Be Wild," and what he values more than awards and accolades.

Dick Wagner (Alice Cooper/Lou Reed)

Dick Wagner (Alice Cooper/Lou Reed)Songwriter Interviews

The co-writer/guitarist on many Alice Cooper hits, Dick was also Lou Reed's axeman on the Rock n' Roll Animal album.

Judas Priest

Judas PriestSongwriter Interviews

Rob Halford, Richie Faulkner and Glenn Tipton talk twin guitar harmonies and explain how they create songs in Judas Priest.