He began performing with his schoolfriend Art Garfunkel in 1956; together the two came to prominence in the 1960s as Simon & Garfunkel. The duo's blend of folk and rock music in hits like "The Sound of Silence", "Mrs. Robinson", "America", and "The Boxer" served as a soundtrack to the counterculture movement. Their career together peaked with their last album, Bridge over Troubled Water (1970), at one point the best-selling album of all time. Throughout his subsequent solo career, Simon has continued to explore an eclectic mixture of genres, including gospel, reggae, soul, and more. His celebrated 1970s output—comprising Paul Simon (1972), There Goes Rhymin' Simon (1973), and Still Crazy After All These Years (1975)—kept him in the public spotlight and saw critical and commercial acclaim, spawning the hits "Mother and Child Reunion", "Me and Julio Down by the Schoolyard", and "50 Ways to Leave Your Lover".
Across his life, Simon has intermittently reunited with Garfunkel for several tours, including the famed Concert in Central Park. The widely lauded Graceland (1986) became Simon's biggest album of his career, melding his rock sound with worldbeat flavors; its single "You Can Call Me Al" became one of Simon's top hits. A sequel of sorts, The Rhythm of the Saints (1990), preceded his own successful Concert in the Park, attended by a half-million fans. That decade, Simon focused his energies on a Broadway musical The Capeman (1997), which was poorly received. In the first quarter of the next century, Simon continued to record and tour; his later albums, such as You're the One (2000), So Beautiful or So What (2011), and Stranger to Stranger (2016), have introduced him to new generations. He retired from touring in 2018. His most recent work, Seven Psalms, will see release in May 2023.
Simon is among the most acclaimed musicians and songwriters in popular music, and one of the world's best-selling music artists, both for his solo work and with Garfunkel. He is a two-time inductee into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, and has been the recipient of sixteen Grammy Awards, including three for Album of the Year. Two of his works, Sounds of Silence and Graceland, have seen induction into National Recording Registry for their cultural significance, and in 2007, the Library of Congress crowned him the inaugural winner of the Gershwin Prize for Popular Song. He is a co-founder of the Children's Health Fund, a nonprofit that provides medical care to children.
In an in-depth interview reprinted in American Songwriter, Simon discusses the craft of songwriting with music journalist Tom Moon. In the interview, Simon explains the basic themes in his songwriting: love, family and social commentary (as well as the overarching messages of religion, spirituality and God in his lyrics). Simon explains the process of how he goes about writing songs in the interview: "The music always precedes the words. The words often come from the sound of the music and eventually evolve into coherent thoughts. Or incoherent thoughts. Rhythm plays a crucial part in the lyric-making as well. It's like a puzzle to find the right words to express what the music is saying."
America
Paul Simon Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I've got some real estate here in my bag
So we bought a pack of cigarettes and Mrs. Wagner's pies
And we walked off to look for America
Cathy, I said as we boarded a Greyhound in Pittsburgh
Michigan seems like a dream to me now
It took me four days to hitchhike from Saginaw
I've gone to look for America
Laughing on the bus, playing games with the faces
She said the man in the gabardine suit was a spy
I said, be careful, his bowtie is really a camera
Toss me a cigarette, I think there's one in my raincoat
We smoked the last one an hour ago
So I looked at the scenery
She read her magazine
And the moon rose over an open field
Cathy, I'm lost, I said though I knew she was sleeping
And I'm empty and aching and I don't know why
Counting the cars on the New Jersey Turnpike
They've all come to look for America
All come to look for America
All come to look for America
The lyrics of Paul Simon's song "America" present the journey of two young lovers who travel by bus from Pittsburgh to Saginaw hoping to find America. The song's first verse sets the song's tone of uncertainty, yet optimistic spirit, as the couple aims to create a better future together while feeling lost and searching for meaning. The couple is eager to leave their existing lives for greener pastures and a hopeful future, symbolized by "marrying their fortunes together."
As they embark on their journey, they share in simple pleasures such as cigarettes and Mrs. Wagner's pies, and observe the world around them, interacting with other passengers and observing the landscape that passes them by. The second verse introduces a more vivid image of America as the bus ride continues. While laughing and playing games with the faces they encounter, the singer notes a man in a gabardine suit who could be a spy. He is warned to be careful by his partner, who recognizes the man's bowtie as a camera.
As the song progresses, it takes on a more somber tone, with the singer admitting to feeling lost and empty. He expresses his loneliness and existential confusion as they count the cars passing them on the New Jersey Turnpike. The song's final verse repeats the line "all come to look for America," implying that the search for meaning is universal and that the couple is not alone in their journey.
Line by Line Meaning
Let us be lovers, we'll marry our fortunes together
The singer is proposing a partnership with someone, vowing to share their wealth and future together.
I've got some real estate here in my bag
The singer owns some property in their possession.
So we bought a pack of cigarettes and Mrs. Wagner's pies
The singer and their companion purchase some basic supplies for their journey.
And we walked off to look for America
The artist and their companion leave on a quest to explore and experience America.
Cathy, I said as we boarded a Greyhound in Pittsburgh
The artist addresses their companion as they board a bus in Pittsburgh.
Michigan seems like a dream to me now
The singer reflects on their past experiences in Michigan.
It took me four days to hitchhike from Saginaw
The singer recalls how long it took them to hitchhike from Saginaw.
I've gone to look for America
The artist repeats their intention to explore and find a true understanding of America.
Laughing on the bus, playing games with the faces
The artist and their companion are having a good time on the bus, playing games and interacting with the other passengers.
She said the man in the gabardine suit was a spy
The artist's companion identifies a man on the bus as a spy due to his attire.
I said, be careful, his bowtie is really a camera
The singer warns their companion that the man with the bow tie is using it as a camera.
Toss me a cigarette, I think there's one in my raincoat
The artist requests a cigarette from their companion, suspecting that there might be one in their coat.
We smoked the last one an hour ago
The singer and their companion finished their last cigarette some time ago.
So I looked at the scenery
The singer takes in the surrounding landscape and environment.
She read her magazine
The singer's companion occupies herself by reading a magazine.
And the moon rose over an open field
The artist describes the beautiful natural scenery as night approaches.
Cathy, I'm lost, I said though I knew she was sleeping
The artist confides in their companion about feeling lost, despite knowing that they are unable to respond since they are asleep.
And I'm empty and aching and I don't know why
The singer expresses feeling unfulfilled and experiencing mysterious physical discomfort.
Counting the cars on the New Jersey Turnpike
The singer passes the time by counting cars on the highway.
They've all come to look for America
The artist reflects on their fellow travelers, all of whom have their own reasons for seeking a deeper understanding of America.
All come to look for America
The artist reemphasizes that everyone on the road is seeking to discover America in their own way.
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: Paul Simon
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@maxit-mw
As a European this song reminds me the emotions of my youth back in the late '70s when we used to cross the continent with train, hitch-hiking and sometimes by car.
It reminds me the frontiers, sometimes not easy to cross, and the different people. Different but very curious to meet and know each others.
I remember the ride that the truckers gave us to reach Amsterdam. Since the documents were checked at the borders, we were always dropped off a few kilometers earlier and always had to cross them on foot.
It was late afternoon when we entered a bar near Emmerich Germany, some boys of our age offered us a beer and when it got late a girl took us to sleep in her home's garage.
The next morning her mother made us breakfast and we set off on foot towards the Dutch border which was only a couple of kilometers away.
We wrote a postcard to the girl on our return, which she returned, and from there we lost contact.
I remember the trip with the Citroen Diane to Berlin. From West Germany at a certain point we had to take a highway that crossed East Germany and it was a corridor bordered by high nets, barbed wire and watch towers.
And when we went to Prague and Budapest, we joked saying "let's go find love beyond the Iron Curtain", using a saying dating back perhaps almost two decades earlier. Oh we did :) i must still have somewhere the photo of me and the girl in front of a Trabant that made me laugh for its size.
In all these trips we met different people, with different habits and ways of living and this gave us curiosity and emotion.
In those years young generations were dreaming of a world without frontiers where all peoples are equal, perhaps a little I believed in it too, but only later I did understand that differences, more than equality, are the most precious asset of the human being.
@AnthonyB2351
"Now the years are rolling by me
They are rocking easily
I am older than I once was
And younger than I’ll be
But that’s not unusual
No, it isn’t strange
After changes upon changes
We are more or less the same
After changes we are
More or less the same"
Paul Simon: The Boxer from Live Rhymin' concert.
@wafldread2770
Paul Simon is one of the greatest song writers ever. Truly brilliant...
@hippiecheezburger5457
Paul Simon has such a gentle and beautiful song writing soul
@TheoreticalString
And Art Garfunkel sings this like an angel.
@cebriggs7135
@@hippiecheezburger5457 @TheoreticalString it was written by Bert Sommers.
@cebriggs7135
Bert Sommer wrote it.
@alexandersmithers4218
No Bert Sommer covered it in 71. What an insult
@timwilkinsongs
I am an Englishman, but once upon a time, long ago, I spent years in the USA on the road looking for America, with my young wife and our baby son. This song says everything.
@dang2443
Chances are, you never found it, only yourself.
@v-town1980
@@dang2443 I'm sure they found it. At the very least an interesting time.
@dang2443
@@v-town1980 um...no