![]() ![]() More pertinently, it’s also a thinly disguised dig at Garfunkel (Tom), who had left Simon alone in New York writing songs for their final album while he filmed Catch-22 in Mexico – one of the catalysts for their eventual split.ĩ. “The Only Living Boy in New York” – Bridge Over Troubled Water, 1970Ī wistful Simon vocal and heavenly backing vocals multi-tracked in an echo chamber illuminate this nostalgic nod to the duo’s teenage beginnings. Simon originally recorded it on his debut solo album, but “April Come She Will” found its true home in another outstanding Garfunkel vocal.ġ0. “April Come She Will” – Sounds of Silence, 1965Ī very short but completely wonderful love song, owing much to traditional English folk ballads, which compares the changing of the seasons with the changeable moods of a young woman. However, with Simon announcing his retirement from live work a couple of years ago, and with their relationship cool to say the least, that looks increasingly unlikely.ġ1. They would get together periodically over the years for some memorable gigs, and if they reunited tomorrow, their concerts would surely sell out overnight. However, just as Simon & Garfunkel reached the summit of their career, the duo broke up, much to the dismay of their legions of fans. The title track from the album was also winging its way up the UK singles charts, and in late March, the duo simultaneously topped the singles and albums charts on both sides of the Atlantic. It would become the best-selling album of the 1970s. Their fifth studio album Bridge Over Troubled Water was No 1 in the UK charts, eventually spending six months in pole position in the UK and 10 weeks at the top in the US. You can also follow him on Twitter at and/or watch his films here.Exactly 50 years ago, Simon & Garfunkel were enjoying unprecedented commercial and critical success. Ted Mills is a freelance writer on the arts who currently hosts the Notes from the Shed podcast and is the producer of KCRW’s Curious Coast. Paul Simon Tells the Story of How He Wrote “Bridge Over Troubled Water” (1970) Watch Simon & Garfunkel Sing “The Sound of Silence” 45 Years After Its Release, and Just Get Hauntingly Better with Time Like The Graduate, with its satire about suburbia, loosening morals, hypocrisy, and “plastics” both as a career choice and a way of describing society, the song is a revelation of a world to come.Īrt Garfunkel Lists 1195 Books He Read Over 45 Years, Plus His 157 Favorites (Many Free) The good thing about writing in this stream of consciousness, Simon tells Cavett, is “You find out what was in your mind was relevant even though at the time it didn’t seem so.” The song sounds chipper, but those lyrics are the story of a society about to come apart, which it would do several months later in 1968. Later, Simon would explain the DiMaggio reference as, “I thought of him as an American hero and that genuine heroes were in short supply.” (Simon was more of a Mickey Mantle fan, but DiMaggio had better syllables). It’s where Joe DiMaggio comes in, called out like a savior (“a nation turns its lonely eyes to you”) when the “Jesus loves you” exhortations don’t work. Robinson remains confused, out of sorts, suffering the alienation of the suburban wife, nostalgic for an imaginary past. Robinson, placing her at the center of a story set…at a sanitarium, perhaps? The story jumps all around, but Mrs. Instead Simon creates an elliptical narrative for Mrs. ![]() Robinson is indeed a character in the film, played by Anne Bancroft, the lyrics rarely reference the film, except for “It’s a little secret just the Robinson’s affair/Most of all you’ve got to hide it from the kids.” (And even here Simon seems to be singing about hiding prescription drugs). Simon describes the writing as stream of consciousness. But true to the original soundtrack version, it keeps its opening verse word-free.Īnd it’s an odd song. ![]() It became their second number one single in 1968 and was the first rock song to win a Grammy for Record of the Year. It was only three months after the film came out that Simon and Garfunkel recorded the full version with the lyrics in the verses. ![]()
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