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."
The Boy in the Bubble
Paul Simon Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
And the sun was beating
On the soldiers by the side of the road
There was a bright light
A shattering of shop windows
The bomb in the baby carriage
Was wired to the radio
This is the long distance call
The way the camera follows us in slo-mo
The way we look to us all
The way we look to a distant constellation
That's dying in a corner of the sky
These are the days of miracle and wonder
And don't cry, baby, don't cry
Don't cry
It was a dry wind
And it swept across the desert
And it curled into the circle of birth
And the dead sand
Falling on the children
The mothers and the fathers
And the automatic earth
These are the days of miracle and wonder
This is the long distance call
The way the camera follows us in slo-mo
The way we look to us all, oh yeah
The way we look to a distant constellation
That's dying in a corner of the sky
These are the days of miracle and wonder
And don't cry baby, don't cry
Don't cry
It's a turn-around jump shot
It's everybody jump start
It's every generation throws a hero up the pop charts
Medicine is magical and magical is art
Think of the boy in the bubble
And the baby with the baboon heart
And I believe
These are the days of lasers in the jungle
Lasers in the jungle somewhere
Staccato signals of constant information
A loose affiliation of millionaires
And billionaires and baby
These are the days of miracle and wonder
This is the long distance call
The way the camera follows us in slo-mo
The way we look to us all, oh yeah
The way we look to a distant constellation
That's dying in a corner of the sky
These are the days of miracle and wonder
And don't cry baby, don't cry
Don't cry, don't cry
The lyrics of "The Boy in the Bubble" by Paul Simon take us on a journey through the chaotic times of the 1980s. The song starts with a description of soldiers on the roadside, representing the turmoil of war that plagued the decade. This is followed by the bomb in the baby carriage, which shows the reality of the increasing terrorism that was happening around the world during that time. The lines "These are the days of miracle and wonder" may seem ironic given the description of our tumultuous times, but may also be perceived as an observation that even in the midst of chaos, there are still miracles and wonders, even if they are small and fleeting.
The song's chorus repeats the phrase "These are the days of miracle and wonder", which highlights how strange and unprecedented the world seemed during that time. Simon continues with "the way the camera follows us in slo-mo," which captures the feeling of how much technology was changing the world and how those changes were being recorded. He then describes how people looked up to the sky, to a dying constellation, a metaphorical representation of the fading dreams of the time.
The bridge of the song talks about a "boy in the bubble," who was a real-life person used as an example of how medicine and science had advanced in the 1980s. The boy was born without an immune system and had to live inside a plastic bubble to protect him from germs. The lyric, "And the baby with a baboon heart" is also a reference to Baby Fae, the first successful infant heart transplant recipient, in 1984.
Overall, The Boy In The Bubble reflects on a world in turmoil, while acknowledging the incredible breakthroughs that were happening at the same time, in all aspects of life.
Line by Line Meaning
It was a slow day
The day was boring and uneventful.
And the sun was beating
The sun was shining bright and hot on everything below it.
On the soldiers by the side of the road
The soldiers were stationed by the side of a road, exposed to the elements and danger.
There was a bright light
An intense flash of light was seen.
A shattering of shop windows
Windows of nearby shops were immediately broken.
The bomb in the baby carriage
There was a bomb hidden in a baby carriage.
Was wired to the radio
The bomb was connected to a radio as part of its detonation mechanism.
These are the days of miracle and wonder
This is a time of incredible progress and amazement.
This is the long distance call
This is a message being sent to the future.
The way the camera follows us in slo-mo
The way we are closely watched and carefully observed, like in a slow-motion film.
The way we look to us all
The way we see ourselves as a whole as well as individual parts.
The way we look to a distant constellation
The way we look to something far off, like a constellation in the sky, for guidance or inspiration.
That's dying in a corner of the sky
Even these guiding lights are not permanent and must fade away eventually.
And don't cry, baby, don't cry
Don't be upset or despondent about the world and the things that happen.
It was a dry wind
The wind was arid and parched.
And it swept across the desert
The wind moved over the desert expanses, pushing sand and dirt with it.
And it curled into the circle of birth
The wind whipped about and changed the terrain, changing the landscape of life.
And the dead sand
The sand of the desert, a place largely without life.
Falling on the children
The children of the world, who must endure the harshness of their surroundings.
The mothers and the fathers
The parents who must care for their youth despite the difficulties of the environment.
And the automatic earth
The world around us and its many natural, automatic processes.
It's a turn-around jump shot
It's a sports analogy, for bouncing back from adversity.
It's everybody jump start
It's a saying that means to get things going, to be proactive and inspired.
It's every generation throws a hero up the pop charts
Each era has their collective hero to look up to, whether in music or other means.
Medicine is magical and magical is art
The art of medicine is impressive and powerful, sometimes seeming like magic.
Think of the boy in the bubble
Remember the child who lived in a bubble, and the challenges he faced.
And the baby with the baboon heart
Remember the child who received a baboon's heart as a transplant, and the ethical debates that surrounded that procedure.
And I believe
The singer is making a personal statement of belief.
These are the days of lasers in the jungle
These are days of scientific progress and advancement in unlikely places.
Lasers in the jungle somewhere
Scientists are making discoveries and innovations out in the wild, where you might not expect it.
Staccato signals of constant information
Information is coming in rapid-fire, at such a pace it can be overwhelming.
A loose affiliation of millionaires
A group of wealthy people who are not formally connected or bound by anything greater than their own wealth.
And billionaires and baby
Even those who are incredibly wealthy are still subject to the personal vulnerabilities of childhood.
Don't cry, baby, don't cry
Things are difficult, but we must persevere and keep our heads held high.
Don't cry
Things are difficult but we must keep going, against all odds.
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: Forere Motlhoheloa, Paul Simon
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@halfaday1
It was a slow day
And the sun was beating
On the soldiers by the side of the road
There was a bright light
A shattering of shop windows
The bomb in the baby carriage
Was wired to the radio
These are the days of miracle and wonder
This is the long distance call
The way the camera follows us in slo-mo
The way we look to us all
The way we look to a distant constellation
That's dying in a corner of the sky
These are the days of miracle and wonder
And don't cry baby, don't cry
Don't cry
It was a dry wind
And it swept across the desert
And it curled into the circle of birth
And the dead sand
Falling on the children
The mothers and the fathers
And the automatic earth
These are the days of miracle and wonder
This is the long distance call
The way the camera follows us in slo-mo
The way we look to us all
The way we look to a distant constellation
That's dying in a corner of the sky
These are the days of miracle and wonder
And don't cry baby, don't cry
Don't cry
It's a turn-around jump shot
It's everybody jump start
It's every generation throws a hero up the pop charts
Medicine is magical and magical is art
The Boy in the Bubble
And the baby with the baboon heart
And I believe
These are the days of lasers in the jungle
Lasers in the jungle somewhere
Staccato signals of constant information
A loose affiliation of millionaires
And billionaires and baby
These are the days of miracle and wonder
This is the long distance call
The way the camera follows us in slo-mo
The way we look to us all
The way we look to a distant constellation
That's dying in a corner of the sky
These are the days of miracle and wonder
And don't cry baby, don't cry
Don't cry
@leokimvideo
One of the greatest lyrical songs ever
@borisos9832
I like the groove though ;)
@arleneT99
You need to get out more
@borisos9832
Who does?
@saraliza3137
For real! The whole album's an absolute gem!
@dondamon4669
You can't be serious?? Its not a song you listen to lyrics to, its the African beat. Have you seen him sing it live 😂😂 and people wonder why youth stopped listening to guitar music. Just look at paul simon with his wig and blazer dancing trying to sing and you get your answer!!! Terrible terrible!!!!!
@lefranglais1155
'Graceland' is one of my Top 5 Greatest Albums of all time. Every track is a gem.
@awboat
And it so well recorded too. Definitely top 10 for me.
@kendallcoleman839
You are so right about that.
@AlbertKimMusic
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