Paul Simon
Paul Frederic Simon is an American singer-songwriter and guitarist, half of the folk-singing duo Simon and Garfunkel who continues a successful solo career. In 2006, Time Magazine called him one of the "100 people who shape our world". Husband of Edie Brickell.
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- And the war rages on in a land called somewhere
And Generals order their men to kill
And to fight for a cause theyve long ago forgotten
While a little cloud weeps on the side of a hill.- "The Side of a Hill" (written under the pseudonym "Paul Kane" out of his admiration for the film Citizen Kane) on The Paul Simon Song Book (1965)
- I wanted to sing other types of songs that Simon and Garfunkel wouldn't do. "Mother and Child Reunion" for example, is not a song that you would have normally thought that Simon and Garfunkel would have done. It's possible that they might have. But it wouldn't have been the same, and I don't know if I would have been so inclined in that direction. So for me it was a chance to break out and gamble a little bit ... The breakup had to do with a natural drifting apart as we got older and the separate lives that were more individual. We weren't so consumed with recording and performing. We had other activities ... there was no great pressure to stay together other than money, which exerted very little influence upon us. ... We didn't need the money.
- On the breakup of Simon and Garfunkel as a musical team. Interview with Jon Landau for Rolling Stone (1972); republished in The Rolling Stone Interviews: 1967-1980 (1989) edited by Peter Herbst, p. 210
- There was always some kind of strain, but it was workable. The bigger you get, the more of a strain it is, because in your everyday life, you're less used to compromising. As you get bigger, you have your own way. But in a partnership you always have to compromise. ... When you get into a partnership, you're not the boss. There's no boss. That makes it hard.
- Interview with Jon Landau for Rolling Stone (1972); republished in The Rolling Stone Interviews: 1967-1980 (1989) edited by Peter Herbst, p. 211
- Instead of thinking in terms of chords, I think of voice-leading; that is, melody line and bass line, and where the bass line goes. If you do that, you'll have the right chord. [These voices] will give you some alternatives, and you can play those different alternatives to hear which one suits your ear... Keep the bass line moving so you don't stay in one spot: if you have an interesting bass line and you roll it against the melody, the chords are going to come out right.
- As quoted in "Paul Simon's Workshop at the Guitar Study Center" by Richard Albero and Fred Styles in Guitar Player (April 1975), p. 20
- I didn't want to repeat the same notes in the second verse that I used in the first, so I wrote out all the notes of the song and all the notes that were missing in the scale, given that there are twelve notes from octave to octave. All those notes that weren't in the scale were the ones I wanted in for the next verse. The listener isn't aware that they are new notes, but the sound is pleasing to the ear. I change the key, and somehow it's fresh because you haven't heard those notes before.
- As quoted in "Paul Simon's Workshop at the Guitar Study Center" by Richard Albero and Fred Styles in Guitar Player (April 1975), p. 21
- Well its great to do a neighborhood concert. I hope everyone can hear us. I hope that the sound is good. I hope we are blasting Central Park West and Fifth avenue pretty much away. I just want to thank the police department and the fire department and the parks commissioner, and Ed Koch [Audience boos] — and particularly, you know, people that never get recognized for doing good things for the city, a group of people that have donated half of the proceeds that they're making tonight — the guys who are selling loose joints are giving the city half of their income tonight.
- During the Concert At Central Park (19 September 1981)
- I have gone through different phases in my music writing. There was a time when I used a little exercise — incorporating all of the twelve notes in the chromatic scale — to get me going. I used this technique for a while, but I don't any longer because I am going back to simpler melodies. Originally I moved away from the simple songs because I thought they were too simple.
- "Songwriting" in Making Music (1983) edited by George Martin, p. 70
- I write from instinct, from inexplicable sparkle. I don't know why I'm writing what I'm writing. Usually, I sit and I let my hands wander on my guitar. And I sing anything. I play anything. And I wait till I come across a pleasing accident. Then I start to develop it. Once you take a piece of musical information, there are certain implications that it automatically contains — the implication of that phrase elongated, contracted, or inverted or in another time signature. So you start with an impulse and go to what your ear likes.
- Interview with Tony Schwartz in Playboy (February 1984) p. 166
- [Rock 'n' roll] really is not given to thinking — and resents thinking. Which I believe is the big error of rock 'n' roll. It's always aspired to be the music of the working class. And it's never been looked upon as a vocabulary for art and artistic thinking... We have to be able to expand the vocabulary to express more complex thoughts.
- Interview in Musician (March 1984), p. 66-68
- This is near enough true bliss.
- "Look at That" on You're the One (2000)
Wednesday Morning, 3 A.M. (1964)
- Hello darkness, my old friend
I've come to talk with you again
Because a vision softly creeping
Left its seeds while I was sleeping
And the vision that was planted in my brain
Still remains
Within the sound of silence.- The Sound of Silence Full lyrics online
- And in the naked light I saw
Ten thousand people maybe more
People talking without speaking
People hearing without listening
People writing songs that voices never shared
No one dared
Disturb the sound of silence- The Sound of Silence
- "Fools," said I, "you do not know
Silence like a cancer grows
Hear my words that I might teach you
Take my arms that I might reach you"
But my words like silent raindrops fell
And echoed in the wells of silence.- The Sound of Silence
- And the people bowed and prayed
To the neon god they made
And the sign flashed out its warning
In the words that it was forming
And the sign said "The words of the prophets
Are written on the subway walls
And tenement halls
And whispered in the sound of silence"- The Sound of Silence
Sounds of Silence (1966)
- A winter’s day
In a deep and dark December
I am alone.- I Am a Rock
- I am a rock.
I am an island.- I Am a Rock
- I’ve built walls,
A fortress deep and mighty,
That none may penetrate.
I have no need of friendship;
friendship causes pain.
It’s laughter and it’s loving I disdain.- I Am a Rock
- If I never loved
I never would have cried.- I Am a Rock
- I am shielded in my armor
Hiding in my room safe within my womb
I touch no one and no one touches me.
I am a rock.
I am an island.
And a rock feels no pain.
And an island never cries.- I Am a Rock
Bookends (1968)
- Let us be lovers, we'll marry our fortunes together,
I've got some real-estate here in my bag.
So we bought a pack of cigarettes and Mrs Wagner pies,
And walked off to look for America.- America
- Laughing on the bus, playing games with the faces,
She said the man in the gaberdine suit was a spy,
I said, 'Be careful, his bowtie is really a camera.'- America
- Preserve your memories, they're all that's left you.
- Bookends
- Time, time, time, see what's become of me,
While I looked around for my possibilities,
I was so hard to please,
But look around, the leaves are brown,
And the sky is a hazy shade of winter.- A Hazy Shade of Winter
- Someone told me
It's all happening at the zoo.
I do believe it,
I do believe it's true.- At The Zoo
- The monkeys stand for honesty,
Giraffes are insincere,
And the elephants are kindly but
They're dumb.
Orangutans are skeptical
Of changes in their cages,
And the zookeeper is very fond of rum.- At The Zoo
- Zebras are reactionaries,
Antelopes are missionaries,
Pigeons plot in secrecy,
And hamsters turn on frequently.- At The Zoo
Bridge over Troubled Water (1970)
- I get all the news I need from the weather report.
- The Only Living Boy in New York — released as a single in 1969
- When you're weary
Feeling small
When tears are in your eyes
I will dry them all
I'm on your side
When times get rough
And friends just can't be found
Like a bridge over troubled water
I will lay me down.- Bridge over Troubled Water
- I'll take your part
When darkness comes
And pain is all around.- Bridge over Troubled Water
- Sail on Silver Girl,
Sail on by
Your time has come to shine
All your dreams are on their way
See how they shine
If you need a friend
I'm sailing right behind...- Bridge over Troubled Water
- I'd rather be a sparrow than a snail
Yes I would, if I could, I surely would
I'd rather be a hammer than a nail
Yes I would, if I only could, I surely would- El Condor Pasa (If I Could)
Paul Simon (1972)
- No I would not give you false hope
On this strange and mournful day
But the mother and child reunion
Is only a motion away,
Oh, little darling of mine
I can't for the life of me
Remember a sadder day
I know they say let it be
But it just don't work out that way...- Mother and Child Reunion
- When the papa found out, he began to shout, and he started the investigation
It's against the law, it was against the law
What the mama saw, it was against the law.- Me and Julio Down by the Schoolyard
- I'm on my way, I don't know where I'm goin',
I'm on my way, I'm takin' my time, but I don't know where.
Goodbye to Rosie, the Queen of Corona
See you, me and Julio down by the schoolyard.- Me and Julio Down by the Schoolyard
There Goes Rhymin' Simon (1973)
- When I look back on all the crap I learned in high school,
It's a wonder I can think at all,
And though my lack of education hasn't hurt me none,
I can read the writing on the wall.- Kodachrome
- Kodachrome,
They give us those nice bright colours,
Give us the greens of summers,
Makes you think all the world's a sunny day,
Oh, yeah, I got a Nikon camera,
I love to take a photograph,
So Mama, don't take my Kodachrome away.- Kodachrome
- Come on, take me to the Mardi Gras,
Where the people sing and play,
Where the music is elite and there's dancing in the street,
Both night and day.- Take Me To The Mardi Gras
Still Crazy After All These Years (1975)
- I met my old lover on the street last night,
She seemed so glad to see me, I just smiled,
And we talked about some old times, and we drank ourselves some beers,
Still crazy after all these years,
Oh, still crazy after all these years.- Still Crazy After All These Years
- I fear I’ll do some damage
One fine day
But I would not be convicted
By a jury of my peers
Still crazy
Still crazy
Still crazy after all these years.- Still Crazy After All These Years
- The problem is all inside your head, she said to me
The answer is easy if you take it logically
I'd like to help you in your struggle to be free
There must be fifty ways to leave your lover.- 50 Ways to Leave Your Lover
- Just slip out the back, Jack, make a new plan, Stan
Don't need to be coy, Roy, just listen to me
Hop on the bus, Gus, don't need to discuss much
Just drop off the key, Lee, and get yourself free.- 50 Ways to Leave Your Lover
- She said, why don't we both just sleep on it tonight
And I believe, in the morning you'll begin to see the light
And then she kissed me and I realized she probably was right
There must be fifty ways to leave your lover, fifty ways to leave your lover- 50 Ways to Leave Your Lover
Hearts and Bones (1983)
- One and one half wandering Jews,
Free to wander wherever they choose,
Are travelling together in the Sangre de Christo,
The blood of Christ mountains over Mexico,
On the last leg of a journey they started a long time ago,
The arc of a love affair,
Rainbows in the high desert air.- Hearts and Bones
- Mountain passes slipping into stones,
Hearts and bones.- Hearts and Bones
- Everybody loves the sound of a train in the distance
Everybody thinks its true.- Train In The Distance
- Two disappointed believers
Two people playing the game
Negotiations and love songs
Are often mistaken for one and the same.- Train In The Distance
- And what is the point of this story?
What information pertains?
The thought that life could be better
Is woven indelibly into our hearts and our brains.- Train In The Distance
Graceland (1986)
- These are the days of miracle and wonder,
This is the long distance call,
The way the camera follows us in slo-mo,
The way we look to us all,
The way we look to a distant constellation
That's dying in a corner of the sky,
These are the days of miracle and wonder
And don't cry, baby, don't cry, don't cry.- The Boy In The Bubble
- It's a turn-around jump-shot,
It's everybody jump-start, it's,
Every generation throws a hero up the pop-charts,
Medicine is magical and magical is art,
Think of the boy in the bubble and the baby with the baboon heart...- The Boy In The Bubble
- The Mississippi Delta was shining like a National guitar,
I am following the river down the highway
Through the cradle of the Civil War.- Graceland
- I'm going to Graceland, Graceland,
Memphis, Tennessee,
Well, I'm going to Graceland.
Poor boys and pilgrims with families
And we are going to Graceland,
And my travelling companion is nine years old,
He is the child of my first marriage,
But I've reason to believe
We both will be received in Graceland.- Graceland
- And she said 'Losing love is like a window in your heart,
Everybody sees you're blown apart,
Everybody feels the wind blow.'- Graceland
- She said, 'Don't I know you from the cinematographer's party?'
I said, 'Who am I to blow against the wind?'- I Know What I Know
- She's a rich girl,
She don't try to hide it,
Diamonds on the soles of her shoes,
He's a poor boy,
Empty as a pocket,
Empty as a pocket with nothing to lose,
Sing ta-na-na, ta-na-na-na,
She got diamonds on the soles of her shoes.- Diamonds on the Soles of Her Shoes
- A man walks down the street
He says why am I soft in the middle now
Why am I soft in the middle
The rest of my life is so hard
I need a photo opportunity
I want a shot at redemption
Don’t want to end up a cartoon
In a cartoon graveyard.- You Can Call Me Al
- If you’ll be my bodyguard
I can be your long lost pal
I can call you Betty
And Betty when you call me
You can call me Al.- You Can Call Me Al
- A man walks down the street
He says why am I short of attention
Got a short little span of attention
And woe my nights are so long- You Can Call Me Al
- There were incidents and accidents
There were hints and allegations...- You Can Call Me Al
- A man walks down the street
It’s a street in a strange world
Maybe it’s the third world
Maybe it’s his first time around ...
He looks around around
He sees angels in the architecture
Spinning in infinity
He says Amen and Hallelujah- You Can Call Me Al
- Homeless, homeless,
Moonlight sleeping on a midnight lake.- Homeless
The Rhythm of the Saints (1990)
- Well I'm accustomed to a smooth ride,
Or maybe I'm a dog that's lost its bite,
I don't expect to be treated like a fool, no, no,
I don't expect to sleep long nights,
Some people say a lie is just a lie but I say,
Why deny the obvious child?- The Obvious Child
- Sonny sits by his window and thinks to himself,
How it's strange that some rooms are like cages,
Sonny's yearbook from high school is down from the shelf,
And he idly thumbs through the pages,
Some have died, some have fled from themselves,
On a struggle from here to get there,
Sonny wanders beyond his interior walls,
Runs his hands through his thinning brown hair.- The Obvious Child
- Never been lonely,
Never been lied to,
Never had to scuffle in fear,
Nothing to dive to,
Born at the instant,
The church bells chime,
The whole world whispering,
You're born at the right time.- Born at the Right Time
- Moves like a fist through traffic,
Anger and no-one can kill it,
Shoves a little bump to the momentum,
It's just a little lump but you feel it
In the creases and the shadows,
With a rattling deep emotion.
The cool, cool river
Sweeps the wild, wide ocean.- The Cool, Cool River
- And sometimes even music
Cannot substitute for tears.- The Cool, Cool River
Surprise (2006)
- How can you live in the Northeast? How can you live in the South? How can you build on the banks of a river when the flood water pours from the mouth?
How can you be a Christian? How can you be a Jew? How can you be a Muslim, a Buddhist, a Hindu?
How can you?- How Can You Live In The Northeast?
- If the answer is infinite light, why do we sleep in the dark?
- How Can You Live In The Northeast?
- Locked in a struggle for the right combination — of words in a melody line, I took a walk along the riverbank of my imagination. Golden clouds were shuffling the sunshine.
- Everything About It Is a Love Song
- We don't mean to mess things up, but mess them up we do. And then it's "Oh, I'm sorry." Here's a smiling photograph of love when it was new. At a birthday party.
Make a wish and close your eyes; surprise, surprise, surprise.- Everything About It Is a Love Song
- I shoot a thought into the future, and it flies like an arrow, through my lifetime. And beyond.
If I ever come back as a tree, or a crow, or even the wind-blown dust; find me on the ancient road in the song when the wires are hushed. Hurry on and remember me, as I'll remember you. Far above the golden clouds, the darkness vibrates.
The earth is blue.
And everything about it is a love song. Everything about it.- Everything About It Is a Love Song
- It's outrageous to line your pockets off the misery of the poor. Outrageous, the crimes some human beings must endure. It's a blessing to wash your face in the summer solstice rain. It's outrageous a man like me stand here and complain. But I'm tired.
- Outrageous
- Who's gonna love you when your looks are gone? Tell me, who's gonna love you when your looks are gone?
- Outrageous
- God will. Like He waters the flowers on your window sill. Take me. I'm an ordinary player in the key of C. And my will was broken by my pride and my vanity. Who's gonna love you when your looks are gone? God will. Like He waters the flowers on your window sill.
- Outrageous
- I registered to vote today. Felt like a fool. Had to do it anyway. Down at the high school.
- "Sure Don't Feel Like Love"
- Maybe I'm wrong again. Wrong again. I could be wrong again. I remember once in August 1993, I was wrong, and I could be wrong again. I remember one of my best friends turned enemy. So, I was wrong, and I could be wrong again.
- "Sure Don't Feel Like Love"
- It sure. Don't feel.
Like love.- "Sure Don't Feel Like Love"
- Prayers offered in times of peace are silent conversations. Appeals for love, or love's release. In private invocations. But all that is changed now. Gone like a memory from the day before the fires. People hungry for the voice of God hear lunatics and liars. Wartime prayers. Wartime prayers in every language spoken. For every family scattered and broken.
Because you cannot walk with the holy if you're just a halfway decent man. I don't pretend that I'm a mastermind with a genius marketing plan. I'm trying to tap into some wisdom. Even a little drop will do. I want to rid my heart of envy, and cleanse my soul of rage before I'm through.- "Wartime Prayers"
- Snowman sittin' in the sun doesn't have time to waste.
- "Beautiful"
- Little kid dancin' in the grass, legs like rubber band. It's summertime, summertime. There's a line at the candy stand. Keep an eye on them children, eye on them children in the pool. You'd better keep an eye on them children, eye on them children in the pool.
- "Beautiful"
- "The universe loves a drama," you know. And ladies and gentlemen this is the show.
- " I Don't Believe" — Simon here quotes a comment by his wife, Edie Brickell, on the 2004 US presidential election.
- I got a call from my broker. The broker informed me I'm broke. I was dealing my last hand of poker. My cards were useless as smoke.
- " I Don't Believe"
- Maybe the heart is part of the mist.
And that's all that there is or could ever exist.
Maybe and maybe and maybe some more.
Maybe's the exit that I'm looking for.- " I Don't Believe"
- There is a moment, a chip in time, when leaving home is the lesser crime.
When your eyes are blind with tears, but your heart can see: another life, another galaxy.- "Another Galaxy" on Surprise (2006)
- Once upon a time there was an ocean. But now it's a mountain range. Something unstoppable put into motion. Nothing is different, but everything's changed.
- "Once Upon a Time There Was an Ocean"
- I'm easy, I'm open — that's my gift. I can flow with the traffic, I can drift with the drift.
- "Once Upon a Time There Was an Ocean"
- The light through the stained glass was cobalt and red. And the frayed cuffs and collars were mended by haloes of golden thread. The choir sang, "Once Upon a Time There Was An Ocean." And all the old hymns and family names came fluttering down as leaves of emotion.
As nothing is different, but everything's changed.- "Once Upon a Time There Was an Ocean"
- Well I'll just skip the boring parts chapters one, two, three and get to the place where you can read my face and my biography.
- "That's Me"
- Well I never cared much for money, and money never cared for me. I was more like a land-locked sailor, searching for the emerald sea.
- "That's Me"
- I am walking up the face of the mountain. Counting every step I climb. Remembering the names of the constellations. Forgotten is a long, long time.
- "That's Me"
- I'm gonna watch you shine, gonna watch you grow. Gonna paint a sign so you'll always know. As long as one and one is two.
There could never be a father who loved his daughter more than I love you.- "Father and Daughter"
- Trust your intuition. It's just like goin' fishin'. You cast your line and hope you get a bite.
But you don't need to waste your time worrying about the marketplace, try to help the human race. Struggling to survive its harshest night.- "Father and Daughter"