Paul Simon
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ENGL 102-007
Paul Simon
November 1st, 2005
Paul Simon single-handedly changed the world of song writing. His songwriting is among the best, if not the best, of all time. It changed the life of millions of young teenagers who felt more connected with Simons introverted style of music rather than with Bob Dylans protest music. Simon was the first to use poetry as a style of songwriting, which has been a prominent feature of current songwriters.
This style started to develop at a young age when Simon teamed up with high school friend, Art Garfunkel. Garfunkel was an excellent writer of songs also, and very well complemented Simons style. Simon was heavy into doo-ops, teen songs, Elvis Pressley, and harmonicizing. He was also deeply into grass roots types of music, and he is the reason that Lady Smith Black Mambazo ever became quasi popular with their type of African tribal when he put them on the album Graceland.
Paul Simon first picked up a guitar at the age of fourteen, and by the age of sixteen, both Simon and his friend Garfunkel were constantly going to their make-shift studio in Simons basement. The pair constantly did this until they had mastered mixing and finally put together a demo tape.
Then, finally, the break Simon and Garfunkel had been waiting for had finally come. One song the boys had written together and tried out at school events had been well received, so they decided to lay it down on track for a demo of it. One day at a local studio the pair recorded the song, “Hey, Schoolgirl.” In the studio waiting for the next recording spot was a song-plugger named Sid Prosen who had overheard the song and saw great potential in it. He told the boys that he would make “great stars out of them!”
(Humphries, Patrick. Paul Simon: Still Crazy After All These Years. New York: Doubleday, copyright 1988.
Simons songwriting is phenomenal, to say the least. He has a crazy style of writing that the only word that can describe is poetry to the ears. Lets take the gorgeous and moving song, “Bridge over Troubled Water.”
“When youre weary, feeling small,
When tears are in your eyes, I will dry them all;
Im on your side. When times get rough
And friends just cant be found,
Like a bridge over troubled water
I will lay me down.
Like a bridge over troubled water
I will lay me down.
When youre down and out,
When youre on the street,
When evening falls so hard
I will comfort you.
Ill take your part.
When darkness comes
And pain is all around,
Like a bridge over troubled water
I will lay me down.
Like a bridge over troubled water
I will lay me down.
Sail on silvergirl,
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
Im sailing right behind.
Like a bridge over troubled water
I will ease your mind.
Like a bridge over troubled water
I will ease your mind.” (Simon, Paul. “A Bridge Over Troubled Water.” 2 Oct. 2005. www.paulsimon.com. 2 Oct. 2005. .)
That is just pure poetry. Most songwriters today couldnt write that if they wanted to. Paul Simon once said this about his songwriting,
“I believe that we are all connected on this very basic emotional level by music — by rhythm and harmony. But how can we begin to communicate if we dont use a wider vocabulary? If we dont speak in someone elses language, then how can they hear you? So, Im someone who speaks broken music.” (Author Unknown. “Paul Simon: American Masters.” 29 Sept. 2005. )
This emotional level is how he connected his songwriting with others peoples emotions, thoughts, and feelings. Most guys couldnt say what “Bridge Over Troubled Waters” says to a girl, they couldnt think of it in the first place. But when guys hear “Bridge Over Troubled Waters,” it expresses exactly what they would want to say to their girlfriend or wife just to know that they will always be there for her no matter what happens. Its like the song is speaking our mind for us. As another example, take the beautifully well-written song, “Father & Daughter.”
“If you leap awake in the mirror of a bad dream
And for a fraction of a second you cant remember where you are
Just open your window and follow your memory upstream
To the meadow in the mountain where we counted