Paul Simon on Mandela's Role in "Graceland" Anna Zieminski/LGI Nelson Mandela and Paul Simon in 1992. Bring back Nelson Mandela, Bring him back home to Soweto. We want to see him walking down the streets Of South Africa, tomorrow. After the bomb-sniffing dogs checked out the arena, after the band walked past the protesters with their placards, after the sound check and the opening numbers of the 1987 "Graceland" tour through Europe and the United States, when the audience was on its feet, dancing and singing - somewhere about midway through one of those first astonishing shows - Hugh Masekela approached the microphone and sang the opening lines of his song "Bring Him Back Home." For a moment, there was silence in the hall, as everyone understood the pain and suffering of South Africa and the longing for the return of the man imprisoned on Robben Island, Nelson Mandela. Then, when Hugh finished the opening verse, he put his trumpet to his lips and played a solo of irresistible rhythmic intensity, and the crowd burst into cheers and started to dance again to the joyous music from the sad land of South Africa. This week, as we mourn Mr. Mandela and celebrate his life, I am thinking once again of my life-altering experiences with "Graceland." There was the almost mystical affection and strange familiarity I felt when I first heard South African music. Later, there was the visceral thrill of collaborating with South African musicians onstage. Add to this potent mix the new friendships I made with my band mates, and the experience becomes one of the most vital in my life. Most, but not all, of the "Graceland" troupe were fervent supporters of the African National Congress, and many had known Mr. Mandela personally or had meaningful memories of him. Hugh, exiled from his homeland since the early 1960s, recalled growing up with the Mandela family as close friends. Hugh's former wife, Miriam Makeba, also a South African exile, was a longtime friend of Mr. Mandela and his second wife, Winnie. Bakithi Kumalo, our bassist and the man responsible for that magical and impossible-to-play bass lick on "You Can Call Me Al," recalled growing up in a house in Soweto not far from where the Mandelas lived. He remembered standing outside their home, singing freedom songs and, using Mr. Mandela's clan name, chanting, "Madiba come home!" Ray Phiri, our extraordinary guitarist, was a friend and follower of the anti-apartheid leader Steven Biko. Barney Rachabane, who played sax and pennywhistle, had to move his family from their home in Soweto to a nearby hotel every night, while his brother and cousins defended their goods from looters and anti-A.N.C. blacks. On long bus rides after gigs, passionate political debate alternated with music talk. But then there was Ladysmith Black Mambazo. Its founder and leader, Joseph Shabalala, was from the Township of Ladysmith in KwaZulu, governed by the Inkhatha Freedom Party, led by the Zulu chief Mangosuthu Buthelezi. Mr. Shabalala was a proud Zulu and essentially apolitical, but there was a long history of tribal animosity, dating back centuries, between the Zulus and the Xhosa peoples. Most of the African National Congress leadership, including Oliver Tambo and Thabo Mbeki, were Xhosa, as were both Mr. Mandela and Miriam, who wouldn't speak to the members of Black Mambazo. But the backstage tension was never revealed to the outside world. Hugh, as gifted a diplomat as he was a musician, protected the image of the "Graceland" performers as a unified troupe, and, despite centuries of old tribal wounds, made sure that we were united. In fact, the music of the "Graceland" album represented a unified black South African culture, even though it came from many different tribal heritages. "The Boy in the Bubble" is an example of the modal accordion music of the Sotho people. "I Know What I Know" is Shangaan in origin. "Homeless" is Zulu choral music, while "Diamonds on the Soles of Her Shoes," "Gumboots" and "You Can Call Me Al" were township jive songs, urban grooves that were straight from the streets of Soweto, where people of different ethnic origins coexisted under the boot of a racist South African government. "Graceland" was united by the joy of shared music and the sorrow of apartheid. On Feb. 11, 1990, Mr. Mandela was finally released from prison, and, in 1992, the "Graceland" tour went to South Africa. This was an enormously emotional event for all of us, but particularly for Hugh and Miriam, who were free at last to go home. A reception in our honor was given by the A.N.C. and hosted by Mr. Mandela, where I introduced him to Mr. Shabalala. One was a Xhosa and one a Zulu, but the men embraced, and Mr. Mandela called Ladysmith Black Mambazo "South Africa's cultural ambassadors." In 1993, they accompanied Madiba when he received the Nobel Peace Prize. Paul Simon is a singer and songwriter.