DJ Allyn – The Soundtrack for my Life

A Poem on the Underground Wall ~ Simon and Garfunkel  

The duo of Paul Simon and Art Garfunkel are American popular musicians known collectively as Simon & Garfunkel. They met in elementary school in 1953, when they both appeared in the school play Alice in Wonderland (Simon as the White Rabbit, Garfunkel as the Cheshire Cat). They formed the group Tom and Jerry in 1957, and had their first taste of success with the minor hit “Hey Schoolgirl”. As Simon and Garfunkel, the duo rose to fame in 1965 backed by the hit single “The Sounds of Silence”. Their music was featured on the landmark film The Graduate, propelling them further into the public consciousness. They are well known for their close harmonies and sometimes unstable relationship. Their last album, Bridge Over Troubled Water, was marked with several delays caused by artistic disagreements.

A Poem on the Underground Wall

“A Poem on the Underground Wall” is a song written by Paul Simon, first released as a recording on the Simon and Garfunkel album Parsley, Sage, Rosemary and Thyme. The Simon and Garfunkel boxed set Old Friends includes a live version of the song, prefaced by an anecdote from Garfunkel about its origin: he explains that a photo shoot for the cover of the album Wednesday Morning, 3 A.M. was ruined because the subway wall they had intended to use as a backdrop had obscenities written on it.

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.

Other Songs Posted for this Artist

• September 26, 2009 -- America ~ Simon and Garfunkel
• June 15, 2009 -- Keep the Customer Satisfied ~ Simon and Garfunkel
• March 28, 2009 -- Punky’s Dilemma ~ Simon and Garfunkel
• March 22, 2009 -- The Big Bright Green Pleasure Machine ~ Simon and Garfunkel
• March 8, 2009 -- Hazy Shade of Winter ~ Simon and Garfunkel
• December 1, 2008 -- The Sounds of Silence ~ Simon and Garfunkel
• November 30, 2008 -- The Boxer ~ Simon and Garfunkel
• November 27, 2008 -- A Simple Desultory Philippic (Or How I Was Robert McNamara’d into Submission) ~ Simon and Garfunkel
• November 23, 2008 -- The Dangling Conversation ~ Simon and Garfunkel
• November 19, 2008 -- Homeward Bound ~ Simon and Garfunkel
• November 17, 2008 -- Kathys Song ~ Simon and Garfunkel
• August 3, 2008 -- American Tune ~ Simon and Garfunkel
• May 22, 2008 -- Scarborough Fair/Canticle ~ Simon and Garfunkel