Paul Simon is an American singer-songwriter, known for his success beginning in 1965 as part of the duo Simon & Garfunkel, with musical partner Art Garfunkel. Simon wrote most of the pair’s songs, including “The Sound of Silence”, “The Boxer”, “Mrs. Robinson”, and “Bridge Over Troubled Water”. In 1970, at the height of their popularity, the duo split and Simon began a successful solo career, highlighted by his 1986 experiment with African music on the album Graceland, which was decisive in the introduction of world music into the mainstream. Simon’s work has been generally praised by critics and the public, and has enjoyed notable commercial success for over four decades of production. In 2006, Time magazine called him one of the 100 “people who shape our world.”
Around 1985, while he was driving his car, Simon listened to a cassette of the Boyoyo Boys’ instrumental “Gumboots”. Inspired by the unusual sound, he wrote lyrics to sing over a re-recording of the song, which became the first song of his next musical project, Graceland, an eclectic mixture of musical styles including pop, a cappella, isicathamiya, rock, and mbaqanga. Much of the album was recorded in South Africa and featured many South African musicians and groups, particularly Ladysmith Black Mambazo. Warner Bros. Records had serious doubts about releasing an album of this category, but when it did, in August of 1986, Graceland was praised by critics and the public and became Simon’s most successful album. It reached No. 1 in many countries, including Australia and the UK, and peaked at No. 3 in the U.S. It was the second-best-selling album of 1987 there, and eventually reached a 5x Platinum certification, recognizing five million copies sold only in America. Another seven million copies were sold internationally, becoming his best-selling album. The singles “You Can Call Me Al” (a British Top 5 hit), “Graceland”, “The Boy in the Bubble” and “Diamonds on the Soles of Her Shoes” became standards and were highly praised. Simon, at age 45, back in the forefront of introducing popular music, received the Grammy Award for Album of the Year for Graceland, and embarked on the successful “Graceland Tour”.
Graceland
The lyrics deal with the singer’s thoughts during a road trip to Graceland after the failure of his marriage to actress and author Carrie Fisher.
http://djallyn.org/media/paul-simon-graceland.flvThe Mississippi Delta was shining
Like a National guitar,
I am following the river
Down the highway
Through the cradle of the civil war,I’m going to Graceland
Graceland
In Memphis Tennessee
I’m going to Graceland,Poorboys and Pilgrims with families
And we are going to Graceland,
My traveling companion is nine years old
He is the child of my first marriage,
But I’ve reason to believe
We both will be received
In Graceland,She comes back to tell me she’s gone,
As if I didn’t know that
As if I didn’t know my own bed,
As if I’d never noticed,
The way she brushed her hair from her forehead,
And she said losing love
Is like a window in your heart,
Everybody sees you’re blown apart,
Everybody sees the wind blow,I’m going to Graceland,
Memphis Tennessee
I’m going to Graceland,
Poorboys and Pilgrims with families
And we are going to Graceland,And my traveling companions
Are ghosts and empty sockets
I’m looking at ghosts and empties,
But I’ve reason to believe
We all will be received
In Graceland,There is a girl in New York City,
Who calls herself the human trampoline,
And sometimes when I’m falling flying
Or tumbling in turmoil I say
Whoa so this is what she means,
She means we’re bouncing into Graceland,
And I see losing love
Is like a window in your heart,
Everybody sees you’re blown apart,
Everybody feels the wind blow,In Graceland Graceland,
I’m going to Graceland,
For reasons I cannot explain
There’s some part of me wants to see
Graceland,
And I may be obliged to defend
Every love every ending
Or maybe there’s no obligations now,
Maybe I’ve a reason to believe
We all will be received
In GracelandWoah in graceland graceland graceland
i’m going to graceland
- Audio from the 1986 album, Graceland:
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