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
Enlarge
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.
Homeward Bound
Art Garfunkel Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Einsam bleib' ich auf dem Bahnhof stehen
Tausend Meilen sind's nach Haus
Ich schaue in die Nacht hinaus
Die Taschen leer, kein Penny mehr
Wo nehm' ich nur ein Ticket her?
Wieder daheim
Wieder daheim
Dort, bei den grünen Wäldern
Dort, bei den weiten Feldern
Dort, bei dem einen Mädchen
Das ich so liebe
Auf meinem Koffer sitz' ich hier
Das Heimweh, das sitzt neben mir
Warum sagt niemand: „Komm, steig' ein
Du möchtest doch zu Hause sein“
Ich warte jeden Tag darauf
Und gebe nie die Hoffnung auf
Wieder daheim
Ich wollt', ich wär'
Wieder daheim
Dort, bei den grünen Wäldern
Dort, bei den weiten Feldern
Dort, bei dem einen Mädchen
Das ich so liebe
Die Nacht ist um, der Tag beginnt
Mein Traum verweht im Morgenwind, hm-hm
Der letzte Zug fuhr längst hinaus
Der Bahnhof sieht verlassen aus
Doch einmal kommt, das fühle ich
Der Tag, da heißt es auch für mich:
„Wieder daheim“
Ich wollt', ich wär'
Wieder daheim
Dort, bei den grünen Wäldern
Dort, bei den weiten Feldern
Dort, bei dem einen Mädchen
Das ich so liebe
Wieder daheim
Ich wollt', ich wär'
Wieder daheim
Dort, bei den grünen Wäldern
Dort, bei den weiten Feldern
Dort, bei dem einen Mädchen
Das ich so liebe
Wieder daheim
Whoa oh
The lyrics of Art Garfunkel's Homeward Bound describe the feeling of homesickness and the longing to return to a familiar and loved place. The singer is at a train station, watching the trains coming and going, feeling alone and with no money for a ticket. He sits on his suitcase, waiting for someone to invite him to go home, but no one does. He dreams of the green forests, vast fields, and the one girl he loves who is waiting for him at home. As the night passes and the day begins, he realizes that his dream has faded, and that he'll have to wait for another day to finally be able to return home.
The song is a poignant expression of the universal human experience of homesickness and the desire to belong. The empty train station and the singer's loneliness evokes a feeling of transience and the longing for permanence and stability. The repetition of the words "wieder daheim" (meaning "back home" in English) and the simple melody create a sense of yearning and melancholy that touches the hearts of listeners.
Line by Line Meaning
Die Züge kommen und sie gehen
Trains come and go
Einsam bleib' ich auf dem Bahnhof stehen
I stand alone on the station
Tausend Meilen sind's nach Haus
It's a thousand miles home
Ich schaue in die Nacht hinaus
I look out into the night
Die Taschen leer, kein Penny mehr
Empty pockets, no penny left
Wo nehm' ich nur ein Ticket her?
Where can I find a ticket?
Wieder daheim
Home again
Ich wollt', ich wär'
I wish I were
Dort, bei den grünen Wäldern
There, by the green forests
Dort, bei den weiten Feldern
There, by the wide fields
Dort, bei dem einen Mädchen
There, by the one girl
Das ich so liebe
That I love so much
Auf meinem Koffer sitz' ich hier
I sit here on my suitcase
Das Heimweh, das sitzt neben mir
Homesickness sits next to me
Warum sagt niemand: „Komm, steig' ein
Why doesn't anyone say: 'Come on, get in
Du möchtest doch zu Hause sein“
You want to be home'
Ich warte jeden Tag darauf
I wait every day for it
Und gebe nie die Hoffnung auf
And never give up hope
Die Nacht ist um, der Tag beginnt
The night is over, the day begins
Mein Traum verweht im Morgenwind, hm-hm
My dream fades away in the morning wind
Der letzte Zug fuhr längst hinaus
The last train already left
Der Bahnhof sieht verlassen aus
The station looks deserted
Doch einmal kommt, das fühle ich
But it will come, I feel it
Der Tag, da heißt es auch für mich:
The day when it is also for me:
„Wieder daheim“
Home again
Whoa oh
Whoa oh
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
Written by: Fini Busch, Paul Simon
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Marlon Cháves
I'm sittin' in the railway station
Got a ticket to my destination
On a tour of one-night stands
My suitcase and guitar in hand
And every stop is neatly planned
For a poet and a one-man band
Homeward bound
I wish I was
Homeward bound
Home where my thought's escapin'
Home where my music's playin'
Home where my love lies waitin'
Silently for me
Every day's an endless stream
Of cigarettes and magazines
And each town looks the same to me
The movies and the factories
And every stranger's face I see
Reminds me that I long to be
Homeward bound
I wish I was
Homeward bound
Home where my thought's escapin'
Home where my music's playin'
Home where my love lies waitin'
Silently for me
Tonight I'll sing my songs again
I'll play the game and pretend
But all my words come back to me
In shades of mediocrity
Like emptiness in harmony
I need someone to comfort me
Homeward bound
I wish I was
Homeward bound
Home where my thought's escapin'
Home where my music's playin'
Home where my love lies waitin'
Silently for me
Silently for me
musicfanBRA
I'm sitting in the railway station
Got a ticket to my destination
On a tour of one-night stands
My suitcase and guitar in hand
And every stop is neatly planned
For a poet and one-man band
Homeward bound
I wish I was
Homeward bound
Home, where my thought's escaping
Home, where my music's playing
Home, where my love lies waiting
Silently for me
Every day's an endless stream
Of cigarettes and magazines
And each town looks the same to me
The movies and the factories
And every stranger's face I see
Reminds me that I long to be
Homeward bound
I wish I was
Homeward bound
Home, where my thought's escaping
Home, where my music's playing
Home, where my love lies waiting
Silently for me
Tonight I'll sing my songs again
I'll play the game and pretend
But all my words come back to me
In shades of mediocrity
Like emptiness in harmony
I need someone to comfort me
Homeward bound
I wish I was
Homeward bound
Home, where my thought's escaping
Home, where my music's playing
Home, where my love lies waiting
Silently for me
Silently for me
Lyrics by Paul Simon
Paul Gonzales
I remember as a young 19 year old in 1967 on my way to Vietnam in a U.S. Navy ship. Singing this new song and already wishing I was homeward bound. Finally in 1968 when my tour of duty ended came back to America, San Francisco, I kissed the ground when I got off the ship. I was home. Here I am age 75 and how this song brings back memories. Where did the last 55 years go to. One moment I'm a kid and the next moment I'm an elderly man.
Michael O connor
At least your here to tell the tail
Steve Keenan
God bless you soldier
Atul Deshpande
Time flies
Letizia Leoncini
So happy you came home. God bless you. From Italy.
Tom Thompson
respect to you sir..
youve had a life , that's the main thing.. 👍❤️
Superman
I was there in Central Park. What a memory and nostalgia. I 'm now 73. Timeless.
charles w
I was there too! My first concert. I was 14. I went there with my brothers. I was lucky to have this as my first live show!
Jaroslav Ševčík
Mně se taky stýská!
The Legend Songs
I Love This Song! The music is catchy and the lyrics are interesting!💗💗💗💗