Yesterday, for some unknown reason, I had Paul Simon’s lyrics to “The Sounds of Silence” running through my head. Don’t know why. I’ve always appreciated that song, both the acoustic version –
and the “electrified” version that we hear on Top 40 radio.
And I kept thinking about how eloquent and versatile the Paul Simon songbook was. Simon and Garfunkel were the bridge between the 1950’s folk music of the Kingston Trio and the Weavers, a bridge to the singer-songwriters of the 1970’s like James Taylor and Gordon Lightfoot. For a while, I started tweeting all the song lyrics I could remember from Paul Simon’s catalog, one after another. That probably confused a lot of my Twitter followers… don’t worry… I can explain.
Where else can you get a song about loneliness and steadfastness, like “I Am A Rock” –
And then follow it with a song that just makes you smile, “The 59th Street Bridge Song (Feelin’ Groovy”):
And the most enigmatic of the Simon and Garfunkel classics…
And the most inspiring of the Simon and Garfunkel classics…
And if you branch out to Paul Simon’s solo work, you get classics about breaking up and dealing with the end of a relationship…
And songs about how missed connections and the minute memories of your life…
And cryptic songs about what someone was doing with Julio down by the schoolyard…
And a song that shows Paul Simon could enjoy inspiration from world culture…
And even when friendship seem to have ended… all it takes is a song like “My Little Town” to show that old friends can reunite like bookends.
It’s not Paul Simon’s birthday today, it isn’t the anniversary of one of Simon and Garfunkel’s albums or anything like that. I just had Paul Simon’s songs in my head yesterday afternoon… and it just reminded me of how great those songs were.
Right?
Chuck The Writer 
Right, Chuck. I now have my playlist for the Droid at work for the day, thank you! 🙂
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I love Simon and Garfunkel. This one is in my top three:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AdKjEHfHINQ
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Hello Darkness my old friend…I’ve come to talk wi…OUCH! Damnit, I stubbed my toe! Someone turn on the frickin lights!
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Thanks Chuck. I hadn’t heard two of these songs before, Slip Slidin’ Away and Call Me Al.
I really enjoyed them both for very different reasons.
“Call me Al” for the African music and the humor and exuberance and “Slip Slidin’ Away” because it’s a universally expressive song and it brought me up to date on just how Paul is gracefully aging while maintaining his vitality.
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Re: “Mrs. Robinson,” I heard an interview with Paul Simon years ago where he said he’d written a song with lyrics about a “Mrs. Eisenhower,” but the film people came calling asking for new material to fit “The Graduate.” It’s essentially about the 1950s in that context: hiding under the cupcakes in the pantry of those simpler, more innocent times was a little secret, “just the Robinson’s affair.” I can’t help thinking of the story of Rosemary Kennedy when I hear it.
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I have a special spot in my heart for “Sounds of Silence” (the album), since I can state categorically that it is what killed the innocence of my childhood . . . http://indiemoines.com/2009/01/06/heart-of-darkness-my-old-friend/
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