Art Garfunkel (born Arthur Ira Garfunkel on 5 November 1941 in Forest Hills… Read Full Bio ↴Art Garfunkel (born Arthur Ira Garfunkel on 5 November 1941 in Forest Hills, Queens, NYC, USA) is an American singer and actor, best known as half of the folk duo Simon & Garfunkel. He is of Romanian Jewish ancestry.

He met his future singing partner, Paul Simon, in the sixth grade. Between 1956 and 1962, the two had performed together as Tom & Jerry. Garfunkel ("Tom Graph") chose his nickname because he liked to track, or "graph" hits, on the pop charts. Garfunkel attended Columbia University in the early sixties, where he sang with the Kingsmen, an all-male a cappella group. While at Columbia, he was also a Brother of the Alpha Epsilon Pi Fraternity. In 1962 Garfunkel earned a Bachelor of Arts degree majoring in art history, followed eventually by a Master's degree in mathematics.

In 1963 he and Simon reformed the duo under their own names as Simon and Garfunkel and released their first album, Wednesday Morning, 3 A.M. on Columbia Records in October 1964. It was not a critical success, and the duo effectively split again after recording. The next year their producer Tom Wilson lifted the song "The Sound of Silence" from the record, redubbed an electric backing onto it, and released it as a single, which eventually went to #1 on the Billboard pop charts. They reunited and went on to become two of the most popular artists of the 1960s, releasing a total of five studio albums. However, citing personal differences and divergence in career interests, they split following the release of their most critically acclaimed album, Bridge Over Troubled Water, in 1970.

Solo career

In the 1970s, Garfunkel released a few solo albums, and although he did not reach the heights that Simon and Garfunkel had reached, he still scored hits with "I Only Have Eyes For You" (a 1934 song originally written by Harry Warren [1]) and "Bright Eyes" (both British #1 hit singles), and "All I Know" (#9 in the United States). A version of "Bright Eyes" also appeared in the movie Watership Down. He briefly reunited with Paul Simon in the 1975 hit "My Little Town".
Art Garfunkel (centre) with his band after the show at Liseberg fairground on June 4 1998
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Art Garfunkel (centre) with his band after the show at Liseberg fairground on June 4 1998

In between, he also acted in a few movies, including Catch-22 and Carnal Knowledge (1971) with Jack Nicholson, Candice Bergen, and Ann-Margret.

Following disappointing sales of his 1981 album Scissors Cut, Garfunkel reunited with Paul Simon for the famous concert in Central Park. The subsequent world tour went well musically, but they had disagreements during the tour, with the disappointment for Art Garfunkel that Paul Simon excluded Art's voice from the new album that was announced as a S&G album and came out as a new Paul Simon solo album Hearts and Bones. The reason for that was that Paul Simon's songs were very personal. After this, Garfunkel left the music scene for several years, but returned in 1988 with the album Lefty. None of these projects garnered much critical success, and Garfunkel did not release another album until 1993's Up 'til Now. Perhaps his most noteworthy recent release is his live 1996 concert Across America, recorded live at the registry hall on Ellis Island. The concert features several musical guests, including James Taylor, Garfunkel's wife, Kim, and his son James Arthur.

Garfunkel also performed the theme song for the 1991 television series, "Brooklyn Bridge", and in 1998 Garfunkel sang "The Ballad of Buster Baxter" for an episode of the PBS Kids cartoon Arthur.

Recent events

In 2003, Garfunkel made his debut as a songwriter on his well-received Everything Waits to Be Noticed album. Teaming up with singer-songwriters Maia Sharp and Buddy Mondlock, the album represented some of Garfunkel's strongest solo performances to date, and contained several songs whose origins were poems penned by Garfunkel. Everything Waits to Be Noticed is recognized as his first true effort at songwriting, save his teenage years with Paul Simon in Tom and Jerry.

In 2003, Art Garfunkel and Paul Simon reunited one more time and buried their disagreements once and for all. The world tour in 2003 and 2004 that followed was this time very joyful and was a big success. After the tour, they went their own ways.

Garfunkel made news in early 2004 when he was arrested for possession of cannabis.

The only new recording on the collection The Art Garfunkel Album (1984), the song "Sometimes When I'm Dreaming" (written by Mike Batt), was re-recorded in 2005 by ex ABBA singer Agnetha Fältskog on her comeback album My Colouring Book.

In August 2005, Garfunkel received his second cannabis possession charge after a state police trooper found a joint in the ashtray of his car while in New York State. [2]

In 2006, Garfunkel signed with Rhino Records (revived Atco Records,) and his first Rhino/Atco album Some Enchanted Evening was released in America on January 30, 2007. [3] In late February 2007 during a German television interview to promote his new album Some Enchanted Evening, Garfunkel expressed interest in reuniting with Paul Simon on a new album.

Grateful
Art Garfunkel Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

I've got a roof over my head
I've got a warm place to sleep
Some nights I lie awake counting gifts
Instead of counting sheep

I've got a heart that can hold love
I've got a mind that can think
There may be times when I lose the light

And let my spirits sink
But I can't stay depressed
When I remember how I'm blessed

Grateful, grateful
Truly grateful I am
Grateful, grateful
Truly blessed
And duly grateful

In a city of strangers
I got a family of friends
No matter what rocks and brambles fill the way
I know that they will stay until the end

I feel a hand holding my hand
It's not a hand you can see
But on the road to the promised land
This hand will shepherd me
Through delight and despair
Holding tight and always there

Grateful, grateful
Truly grateful I am
Grateful, grateful
Truly blessed
And duly grateful

It's not that I don't want a lot
Or hope for more, or dream of more
But giving thanks for what I've got
Makes me happier than keeping score

In a world that can bring pain
I will still take each chance
For I believe that whatever the terrain
Our feet can learn to dance
Whatever stone life may sling
We can moan or we can sing

Grateful, grateful
Truly grateful I am
Grateful, grateful
Truly blessed
And duly grateful

Truly blessed
And duly grateful.

Overall Meaning

The first verse of Art Garfunkel's song "Grateful" reflects on the blessings that the singer has in his life. He has a roof over his head and a comfortable place to sleep. Instead of counting sheep when he has trouble sleeping, he counts his blessings. He acknowledges his ability to love (with his heart) and to think (with his mind). There may be moments when he feels lost and depressed, but he finds comfort in knowing how blessed he is. In the chorus, he expresses his gratitude for what he has and how blessed he feels.

In the second verse, the singer talks about his family of friends who stick with him through life's challenges. He compares this relationship to that of feeling a hand holding his hand to guide him through thick and thin. He believes that, whatever the challenges life throws at him, he can face them knowing he is blessed to have his friends and a hand to guide him.

The final verse conveys that the singer still has dreams and hopes, but he is grateful for what he already has. He understands that the world can be full of pain and suffering, but he chooses to take every chance because he believes that whatever may come his way, he can learn to dance through it. He expresses the idea that life will always have obstacles, but we have the ability to respond to them with a positive outlook.

Line by Line Meaning

I've got a roof over my head
I have a safe place to live

I've got a warm place to sleep
My basic needs are met

Some nights I lie awake counting gifts
Sometimes I reflect on my blessings

Instead of counting sheep
Rather than worrying or stressing

I've got a heart that can hold love
I am capable of feeling love

I've got a mind that can think
I have the ability to think and reason

There may be times when I lose the light
There may be times when I feel lost or uncertain

And let my spirits sink
And feel down or discouraged

But I can't stay depressed
But I cannot let myself be consumed by negativity

When I remember how I'm blessed
When I focus on my blessings

In a city of strangers
In a place where I may not know many people

I got a family of friends
I have supportive and loving friends

No matter what rocks and brambles fill the way
Despite any obstacles or challenges that may arise

I know that they will stay until the end
I know my friends will remain by my side

I feel a hand holding my hand
I sense a presence guiding me and offering support

It's not a hand you can see
This support may not be visible

But on the road to the promised land
During my journey through life

This hand will shepherd me
This presence will guide and protect me

Through delight and despair
Through joyful and difficult times

Holding tight and always there
Offering constant support and encouragement

It's not that I don't want a lot
I still have aspirations and goals

Or hope for more, or dream of more
I still have hopes and dreams for the future

But giving thanks for what I've got
But focusing on gratitude for what I have

Makes me happier than keeping score
Brings me greater happiness than focusing on achievements or progress

In a world that can bring pain
In a world where there can be suffering

I will still take each chance
I will still seize opportunities

For I believe that whatever the terrain
Because I have faith that no matter the circumstances

Our feet can learn to dance
We can still find joy and happiness

Whatever stone life may sling
Whatever challenges or struggles I may face

We can moan or we can sing
I can choose how to respond - with despair or with hope

Truly blessed
I am truly fortunate

And duly grateful
And I feel appropriately thankful

Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: JUDITH ABBOTT, BRUCE DUNSTAN, PAUL GRECO, DARREN HAMER, NIGEL HUNTER, ALICE NUTTER, LOUISE WATTS, ALLEN WHALLEY

Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind

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01Grateful

Art Garfunkel

02Bridge Over Troubled Water4:43

03I Only Have Eyes For You3:42

04Crying in the Rain3:39

05Interview13:29

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Most interesting comment from YouTube:

Vicki Skinner

10y↑14

LOVE THIS REMINDER!! THANX!!

I found the lyrics:

"Grateful"
I've got a roof over my head
I've got a warm place to sleep
Some nights I lie awake counting gifts
Instead of counting sheep
I've got a heart that can hold love
I've got a mind that can think
There may be times when I lose the light
And let my spirits sink
But I can't stay depressed
When I remember how I'm blessed
Grateful, grateful
Truly grateful I am
Grateful, grateful
Truly blessed
And duly grateful
In a city of strangers
I got a family of friends
No matter what rocks and brambles fill the way
I know that they will stay until the end
I feel a hand holding my hand
It's not a hand you can see
But on the road to the promised land
This hand will shepherd me
Through delight and despair
Holding tight and always there
Grateful, grateful
Truly grateful I am
Grateful, grateful
Truly blessed
And duly grateful
It's not that I don't want a lot
Or hope for more, or dream of more
But giving thanks for what I've got
Makes me happier than keeping score
In a world that can bring pain
I will still take each chance
For I believe that whatever the terrain
Our feet can learn to dance
Whatever stone life may sling
We can moan or we can sing
Grateful, grateful
Truly grateful I am
Grateful, grateful
Truly blessed
And duly grateful
Truly blessed
And duly grateful.

All comments from YouTube:

Sarah Saydee

8y↑8

Thanks Art, love this song. Remind me of how God loves us so much, even with all the confusions, heartachs & pains in this world, some we bring on ourselves, God's love never fails. He makes a way where there seems to be no way and works in ways we can not see. I"m greatful to God & to u atie for these songs & S&G days. God"s never too late he's always on time when ever we call on him & he gives us our needs, making peace & forgiving is one of them.

John Reitan

13y↑10

What a fantastic voice both high and low.

Vicki Skinner

10y↑14

Heather Lowrie

Thank you for finding the lyrics! I watched this special program Across America come on PBS( Public Broadcasting Station) in the 90's. My Dad & I loved all types of music. I grew up listening to Simon & Garfunkle. thru him. I found the cd ( in a record store😀) I will have to track down the video. It showed Art & his wife & son. James Taylor was also a guest. Miss these type of programs. Needed to hear this song & thanks again for posting the lyrics. It means alot & gives meaning to life at anytime for what we have been blessed with..