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.
The Decree
Art Garfunkel Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
"Do not be afraid to make Mary your own
But go to your betrothed and then be married
The child is Heaven sent"
And it came to pass
That there went out a decree
From Caesar Augustus
And each went to be taxed to his own city
So Joseph also went
With his lady innocent
With his lady innocent
The lions in the mountains
Let them pass and followed
Close by night to guard them
From Galilee to Bethlehem
She journeyed with only a donkey to ride
With Joseph walking beside
Came to David's city
While she was great with child
Through a country dark and wild
Through a country dark and wild
And on the far horizon
Rose a strange and brilliant
Star as though to guide them
The Decree by Art Garfunkel tells the story of Mary and Joseph's journey to Bethlehem on the eve of Jesus Christ's birth. Gabriel, the archangel, appears before Joseph in a dream, assuring him that Mary's child is from heaven and he should take her as his wife. This is followed by the decree from Caesar Augustus that requires every citizen to travel to their ancestral hometown to be taxed. Joseph and Mary, who is heavily pregnant, travel to Bethlehem on foot, accompanied by only a donkey. The journey is perilous and treacherous, and the couple have to navigate through the mountains and a country that is described as ‘dark and wild’ with lions following them that only appear to guard.
The lyrics of The Decree draw parallels with the biblical account from the Gospel of Luke, chapter 2. The song captures the urgency and emotions of the journey, from Joseph's reluctance to obey God to the tireless journey and Mary's patience and strength. The song culminates in the arrival of Joseph and Mary at Bethlehem, where Jesus is born.
Overall, The Decree is a powerful and emotional song that captures the essence of the events leading up to the birth of Jesus Christ. The lyrics are insightful and thought-provoking, highlighting the remarkable faith and courage of Joseph and Mary in the face of adversity.
Line by Line Meaning
Then Gabriel came and said to Joseph alone
Gabriel, an angel, appeared to Joseph and spoke to him privately
"Do not be afraid to make Mary your own
Joseph was told not to fear taking Mary as his wife
But go to your betrothed and then be married
Joseph was instructed to go and marry Mary, his fiancée
The child is Heaven sent"
Gabriel informed Joseph that Mary's child was divinely conceived
And it came to pass
A new event occurred
That there went out a decree
An official order was issued
From Caesar Augustus
The order was issued by Caesar Augustus
That all the world would be taxed
Everyone in the world was required to pay a tax
And each went to be taxed to his own city
Each person had to go to their designated city to pay the tax
So Joseph also went
Joseph obeyed the order
With his lady innocent
Mary accompanied Joseph and was innocent of any wrongdoing
The lions in the mountains
Wild animals like lions lived in the mountains
Let them pass and followed
The animals let Joseph and Mary pass and followed them
Close by night to guard them
The animals protected Joseph and Mary from danger at night
From Galilee to Bethlehem
Joseph and Mary traveled from Galilee to Bethlehem
She journeyed with only a donkey to ride
Mary had only a donkey to ride during the journey
With Joseph walking beside
Joseph walked alongside Mary
Came to David's city
They arrived at the city of David, which is Bethlehem
While she was great with child
Mary was heavily pregnant during the journey
Through a country dark and wild
The route they took was through a wild and dangerous countryside
And on the far horizon
In the distance
Rose a strange and brilliant
A bright and unusual
Star as though to guide them
A star appeared that seemed to guide them to their destination
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: JIMMY WEBB
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind