Paul Simon is one of the greatest songwriters of all time. By simply using his voice and an acoustic guitar, the Newark, New Jersey-born artist could bring just about any music listener to tears. And when paired with his former classmate Art Garfunkel, the two brought divine harmonies to the forefront and became an indelible performing pair.
Here below, we wanted to explore a trio of the duo’s tunes that continue to wow music fans while at the same time showcasing the art of songwriting at its best. Three songs that make the heart remember the true purpose of music: to captivate and inspire. Indeed, these are three timeless Simon & Garfunkel songs that continue to teach teach art of songwriting.
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[RELATED: Remember When: A Movie Helped Break Up Simon & Garfunkel]
“The Sounds of Silence” from Wednesday Morning, 3 A.M. (1963)
Originally released as an acoustic song on the duo’s debut LP Wednesday Morning, 3 A.M., this tune also found itself on the pair’s 1966 sophomore LP of the same name, altered with a bit of electric guitar and drums. That version hit No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100. As if those two releases weren’t enough, the song later found itself on the seminal 1968 soundtrack for the iconic movie The Graduate, and then again on the Mrs. Robinson EP in 1968. But however one heard it in the percolating creative decade of the 1960s, it sounded just as sweet. Indeed, “The Sounds of Silence” is one of the duo’s most beloved songs—it’s dreamy, surreal, ironic, and poetic. And on it, the two sing in unison,
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
In restless dreams, I walked alone
Narrow streets of cobblestone
‘Neath the halo of a street lamp
I turned my collar to the cold and damp
When my eyes were stabbed by the flash of a neon light
That split the night
And touched the sound of silence
“Mrs. Robinson” from Bookends (1968)
Released on Simon & Garfunkel’s 1968 LP Bookends, this song was also part of the soundtrack for The Graduate, as it got its name from that movie’s co-lead character, the sultry, flirtatious, and dangerous Mrs. Robinson. Originally, Simon had written the song and it had no set name, but he was able to change the name to fit the film when the duo was asked to write for the soundtrack. While the song is addressed to the title figure, it is also about America itself with its celebrities and religion. On the track, the duo sings,
Coo, coo, ca-choo, Mrs. Robinson
Jesus loves you more than you will know
Whoa, whoa, whoa
God bless you, please, Mrs. Robinson
Heaven holds a place for those who pray
Hey, hey, hey
Hey, hey, hey
Sitting on a sofa on a Sunday afternoon
Going to the candidates debate
Laugh about it, shout about it
When you’ve got to choose
Every way you look at this, you lose
Where have you gone, Joe DiMaggio?
Our nation turns its lonely eyes to you
Woo, woo, woo
What’s that you say, Mrs. Robinson?
Joltin’ Joe has left and gone away
Hey, hey, hey
Hey, hey, hey
“The Boxer” from Bridge over Troubled Water (1970)
A beautiful song about a fighter, this track comes from the duo’s fifth and final studio LP. In essence, the song has two meanings. It has the more obvious one, a story about a fighter working to make a name for himself. But it is also at least somewhat about Paul Simon, himself, who was struggling and fighting his way against the world and what, to him, felt like undue criticism in the late 1960s. On the acoustic-driven song, Simon & Garfunkel sing,
I am just a poor boy
Though my story’s seldom told
I have squandered my resistance
For a pocketful of mumbles
Such are promises
All lies and jest
Still a man hears what he wants to hear
And disregards the rest
When I left my home and my family
I was no more than a boy
In the company of strangers
In the quiet of the railway station
Running scared
Laying low, seeking out the poorer quarters
Where the ragged people go
Looking for the places only they would know
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