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.
Watermark
Art Garfunkel Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Like the moonlight lacetops of the evening pines
Like a song half heard through a closed door
Like an old book when you cannot read the writing anymore
How innocent her visage as my child lover lies
Pressed against the rainswept windy windows of my eyes
Like an antique etching glass design
I keep looking through old varnish
At my late lover's body
Caught on ancient canvas
And decaying...disappearing
Even as I sing this song
How secretly and silently my sorrow disappears
You can't see it with your eyes or hear it with your ears
It's like a Watermark that's never there and never really gone
I keep looking through old varnish
At my late lover's body
Caught on ancient canvas
And decaying...disappearing
Even as I sing this song
Even as I sing this song
Even as I sing this song
The song "Watermark" by Art Garfunkel is a deeply introspective and melancholic reflection on the experience of loss and the passing of time. The opening lines immediately set the tone with the imagery of delicate tracery, comparing the lyrical subject to the moonlit lace tops of evening pines. This is then followed by further comparisons, including an old book with illegible writing, a song half-heard through a closed door, and an antique etching glass design that turned out wrong. These metaphors all point towards the same idea of beauty that has been lost or obscured, leaving only traces or shadows behind.
The second verse then introduces the idea of a late lover, who is captured on an ancient canvas, and whose body is decaying and disappearing even as the singer sings this song. The image of the lover pressed against the rainswept, windy windows of the singer's eyes is particularly powerful, evoking a sense of longing and distance. The varnish is also a poignant metaphor, representing the ways in which time dulls and distorts our memories and perceptions. Despite this, the singer still looks through the old varnish, seemingly unable to let go of the past.
The final verse brings the theme of water into the mix, describing the singer's sorrow as a watermark that is never there and never really gone. This is a hauntingly beautiful image, suggesting that even though the singer may outwardly appear to have moved on, the feelings of loss and grief are always present, just beneath the surface. The repetition of the final line, "Even as I sing this song," drives home this point, underscoring the ongoing nature of the singer's emotional journey.
Line by Line Meaning
How delicate the tracery of her fine lines
The details of my lover's face are fragile and intricate, like the delicate patterns created by moonlit trees.
Like the moonlight lacetops of the evening pines
My lover's face is as intricate and beautiful as the patterns created by the shadows of trees at night.
Like a song half heard through a closed door
My memory of my lover is fleeting, like a song that I can only half-remember, heard from behind a closed door.
Like an old book when you cannot read the writing anymore
My memories of my lover are like an old book that has faded over time and the writing is no longer legible.
How innocent her visage as my child lover lies
My lover looks so innocent, like a child, as she lies next to me.
Pressed against the rainswept windy windows of my eyes
Her innocence is overwhelming and moves me, like the feeling of being pressed against a window during a stormy, windy day.
Like an antique etching glass design
My memory of her is like an antique etching on glass; a beautiful work of art.
That somehow turned out wrong
Despite the beauty, something isn't quite right and the memory feels tainted.
How secretly and silently my sorrow disappears
My sorrow is hidden deep inside of me, fading away silently and unnoticed.
You can't see it with your eyes or hear it with your ears
My sorrow is so deep that it cannot be seen or heard by others.
It's like a Watermark that's never there and never really gone
My sorrow is like a watermark on paper that is both present and not present, hiding just beneath the surface.
Even as I sing this song
My sorrow continues to exist and shape my memories, even as I sing this song.
I keep looking through old varnish
Despite the decay and fading of my memories, I keep looking at the image of my lover, preserved in my mind like an old painting covered in varnish.
At my late lover's body
I am remembering the physical form of my deceased lover, as she was when she was alive.
Caught on ancient canvas
My memories of my lover are like an ancient painting, capturing a moment in time that no longer exists.
And decaying...disappearing
Despite my efforts to hold onto my memories, they are slowly fading away and disappearing.
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: JIMMY WEBB
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@lonefoxcub
How delicate the tracery of her fine lines
Like the moonlight lacetops of the evening pines
Like a song half heard through a closed door
Like an old book when you cannot read the writing anymore
How innocent her visage as my child lover lies
Pressed against the rainswept windy windows of my eyes
Like an antique etching glass design
That somehow turned out wrong
I keep looking through old varnish
At my late lover's body
Caught on ancient canvas
And decaying...disappearing
Even as I sing this song
How secretly and silently my sorrow disappears
You can't see it with your eyes or hear it with your ears
It's like a Watermark that's never there and never really gone
I keep looking through old varnish
At my late lover's body
Caught on ancient canvas
And decaying...disappearing
Even as I sing this song
Even as I sing this song
Even as I sing this song
@lesleycrum8763
After nearly 40 years, Artie still makes my heart sing. His voice has no equal, IMO. He and Paul are and were the soundtrack for my life. I feel sorry for the kids today who have never known the likes of 60's & 70's music.
@bbordelon2
Jimmy Webb wrote musical poetry, and Art had the beautiful pipes to meld with it so perfectly. One of my favorite numbers,
@RobertJohnson-zg6bc
Such an accurate and true comment. Its a match made in heaven. 43 years on and this beautiful song is a classic suspended in time.
@danielv62
Truth!
@lonefoxcub
How delicate the tracery of her fine lines
Like the moonlight lacetops of the evening pines
Like a song half heard through a closed door
Like an old book when you cannot read the writing anymore
How innocent her visage as my child lover lies
Pressed against the rainswept windy windows of my eyes
Like an antique etching glass design
That somehow turned out wrong
I keep looking through old varnish
At my late lover's body
Caught on ancient canvas
And decaying...disappearing
Even as I sing this song
How secretly and silently my sorrow disappears
You can't see it with your eyes or hear it with your ears
It's like a Watermark that's never there and never really gone
I keep looking through old varnish
At my late lover's body
Caught on ancient canvas
And decaying...disappearing
Even as I sing this song
Even as I sing this song
Even as I sing this song
@jeffreypolzin9399
I bought this album when it first came out. Fell instantly in love with it! 1 of the most beautiful and melodic albums ever made! Thank you, Art!
@litalsumu188
yes 🌺
@debralynnpaxton5238
His voice is pure magic ♡
@josephhassett6505
Beautiful,ethereal,and like most of Garfunkels solo work,greatly underrated.
@sherlockholmeslives.1605
The finest album of all time!