A Poem On The Underground Wal
Simon & Garfunkel Lyrics


Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴  Line by Line Meaning ↴

The last train is nearly due
The underground is closing soon
And in the dark deserted station
Restless in anticipation
A man waits in the shadows

His restless eyes leap and scratch
At all that they can touch or catch
And hidden deep within his pocket
Safe within its silent socket
He holds a colored crayon

Now from the tunnel's stony womb
The carriage rides to meet the groom
And opens wide and welcome doors
But he hesitates, then withdraws
Deeper in the shadows

And the train is gone suddenly
On wheels clicking silently
Like a gently tapping litany
And he holds his crayon rosary
Tighter in his hand

Now from his pocket quick he flashes
The crayon on the wall he slashes
Deep upon the advertising
A single-worded poem comprised of four letters

And his heart is laughing, screaming, pounding
The poem across the tracks rebounding
Shadowed by the exit light




His legs take their ascending flight
To seek the breast of darkness and be suckled by the night, ooh

Overall Meaning

The lyrics of "A Poem on the Underground Wall" by Simon & Garfunkel tell the story of a man waiting in a deserted underground train station. He holds a colored crayon in his pocket, and as the train arrives, he hesitates and withdraws into the shadows. The train leaves the station quietly, and the man takes out his crayon and starts a graffiti on the wall - a single-worded poem comprising of four letters. His heart is racing with excitement as he watches his creation rebounding across the track. The man then disappears into the darkness of the night, seeking solace away from the prying eyes of the world.


This song creates a sense of mystery and intrigue as to the motivation behind the man's behavior. It could be viewed as an act of rebellion or a quest for artistic expression. The lyrics also touch upon the themes of isolation and anonymity, highlighting the power of people's actions, no matter their impact or size, to create a change in the world.


Line by Line Meaning

The last train is nearly due
The train is about to arrive soon


The underground is closing soon
The subway station is about to close soon


And in the dark deserted station
The station is empty and dark


Restless in anticipation
He is feeling restless while waiting for the train


A man waits in the shadows
He is waiting in the shadows


His restless eyes leap and scratch
His eyes are moving and searching around the place


At all that they can touch or catch
His eyes are trying to see anything that is within reach


And hidden deep within his pocket
He has something hidden in his pocket


Safe within its silent socket
The thing in his pocket is safe and sound


He holds a colored crayon
The thing he has in his pocket is a colored crayon


Now from the tunnel's stony womb
The train is coming out of the tunnel


The carriage rides to meet the groom
The train is coming to pick up its passengers


And opens wide and welcome doors
The train doors open to let the passengers in


But he hesitates, then withdraws
He hesitates and moves back


Deeper in the shadows
He moves deeper into the shadows


And the train is gone suddenly
The train disappears from the station suddenly


On wheels clicking silently
The train makes a clicking sound as it moves away


Like a gently tapping litany
The sound of the train is like a gentle tapping of a prayer


And he holds his crayon rosary
He holds his colored crayon like a rosary


Tighter in his hand
He holds the crayon tighter in his hand


Now from his pocket quick he flashes
He takes out the crayon quickly


The crayon on the wall he slashes
He draws something on the wall using the crayon


Deep upon the advertising
He draws on the advertisement board


A single-worded poem comprised of four letters
He draws a four-letter word on the wall


And his heart is laughing, screaming, pounding
He is feeling joy, excitement, and nervousness at the same time


The poem across the tracks rebounding
The word he drew on the wall echoes across the tracks


Shadowed by the exit light
He is standing in the shadow of the exit light


His legs take their ascending flight
He runs upstairs to the street level


To seek the breast of darkness and be suckled by the night, ooh
He heads into the dark night with excitement and anticipation




Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: PAUL SIMON

Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
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Comments from YouTube:

@marcosadrianochicatto6476

1978: Fantastic song!!!
2019: Fantastic song!!!
2020: Fantastic song!!!
3095: Fantastic song!!!

@v.muralidharan3238

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V.Murali dharan loco

@davidlungu5215

It's fantastic anytime , all the time,,🎷🎷🎷

@vloreport2930

I'm writing from year 7520 , we are still listening this :D

@saintdenis3238

End of universe : best song

44 More Replies...

@MrNopot2pn

I was in this audience during this performance...I was stationed in Germany and my friend asked If
would come with him to Poland top see this festival.... I had no Idea who they were...From that night on I have I have loved this group to this day....Thank you You Toob....I will turn 70 in 10 days...

@michaelrosendahl5770

In the audience... I'm 15 years younger, and I wish I was not. Hats of...

@Balzdeepinurmama

You are one of the luckiest humans alive. How awesome it must’ve been to have been there!

@amjadmustafa78

You are one lucky man

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