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MUSIC FOR THE GOOD  PEOPLE  
THE GREAT  AMERICAN SONG TRADITION  

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PAUL SIMON

Kingston, Victoria (1996). Simon and Garfunkel: the definitive biography. London: Sidgwick & Jackson. p. 308. ISBN 9780283062674.

Jackson, Laura. Paul Simon: The Definitive Biography, 

Ruhlmann, William. "Paul Simon: Biography"AllMusic. Retrieved December 8, 2009.

Paul Simon"Rolling Stone. November 23, 2011.

Bonca, Cornel (October 10, 2014). "Paul Simon: An American Tune". Rowman & Littlefield. March 19, 2018 – via Google Books.

"Bob Dylan and Paul Simon: A mismatch made in heaven? by Seth Rogovoy". Berkshireweb.com. Archived from the original on July 20, 2011. 

Dwyer, Jim (June 28, 2016). "Could This Be the End of Paul Simon's Rhymin'?". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. November 21, 2016.

Jackson, Laura. Paul Simon: The Definitive Biography (Citadel Press, 2004), ISBN 978-0-8065-2539-6, p.65.

 "The Paul Simon biography". paul-simon.info. March 19, 2018.

Paul Frederic Simon (born October 13, 1941) is an American musician, singer, songwriter and actor.

 

Simon's musical career has spanned seven decades. He reached fame and commercial success as half of the duo Simon & Garfunkel, formed in 1956 with Art Garfunkel. Simon was responsible for writing nearly all of their songs, including US number-one singles "The Sound of Silence", "Mrs. Robinson", and "Bridge over Troubled Water".

After Simon & Garfunkel split up in 1970 at the height of their popularity, Simon began a successful solo career. He recorded three acclaimed albums over the next five years. 

 

In 1986, following a career slump, he released Graceland, an album inspired by South African township music, which sold 14 million copies worldwide and remains his most popular solo work. 

 

Simon also wrote and starred in the film One-Trick Pony (1980) and co-wrote the Broadway musical The Capeman (1998) with the poet Derek Walcott. On June 3, 2016, Simon released his 13th solo album, Stranger to Stranger, which debuted at number one on the Billboard Album Chart and the UK Albums Chart.

Simon has earned sixteen Grammy awards for his solo and collaborative work, including three for Album of the Year (Bridge Over Troubled Water, Still Crazy After All These Years, and Graceland), and a Lifetime Achievement Award. 

 

In 2001, he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and in 2006 was selected as one of the "100 People Who Shaped the World" by Time.

 

In 2011, Rolling Stone named Simon one of the 100 greatest guitarists, and in 2015 named him one of the 100 Greatest Songwriters of All Time.

 

Simon was the first recipient of the Library of Congress's Gershwin Prize for Popular Song in 2007.

Kathy's song  (Paul Simon)

I hear the drizzle of the rain Like a memory it falls
Soft and warm continuing Tapping on my roof and walls

And from the shelter of my mind Through the window of my eyes
I gaze beyond the rain-drenched streets To England, where my heart lies

My mind's distracted and diffused My thoughts are many miles away
They lie with you when you're asleep And kiss you when you start your day

And a song I was writing is left undone I don't know why I spend my time
Writing songs I can't believe With words that tear and strain to rhyme

And so you see, I have come to doubt All that I once held as true
I stand alone without beliefs The only truth I know is you

And as I watch the drops of rain Weave their weary paths and die
I know that I am like the rain There but for the grace of you go I

The Sound of silence  (Paul Simon)

Hello darkness, my old friend I've come to talk with you again
Because a vision softly creeping Left its seeds while I was sleeping
And the vision that was planted in my brain Still remains
Within the sound of silence


In restless dreams I walked alone Narrow streets of cobblestone
'Neath the halo of a street lamp I turned my collar to the cold and damp
When my eyes were stabbed by the flash of a neon light
That split the night
And touched the sound of silence

And in the naked light I saw Ten thousand people, maybe more
People talking without speaking People hearing without listening
People writing songs that voices never share And no one dare
Disturb the sound of silence

"Fools" said I, "You do not know Silence like a cancer grows
Hear my words that I might teach you Take my arms that I might reach you"
But my words like silent raindrops fell And echoed
In the wells of silence

And the people bowed and prayed To the neon god they made
And the sign flashed out its warning In the words that it was forming
And the sign said, "The words of the prophets

Are written on the subway walls And tenement halls"
And whisper'd in the sounds of silence

SELECTED DISCOGRAPHY

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April come she will  (Paul Simon)

April, come she will
When streams are ripe and swelled with rain
May, she will stay
Resting in my arms again

June, she'll change her tune
In restless walks she'll prowl the night
July, she will fly
And give no warning to her flight

August, die she must
The autumn winds blow chilly and cold
September, I'll remember
A love once new has now grown old

The Boxer  (Paul Simon, Annie Gawenda)

I am just a poor boy
Though my story's seldom told
I have squandered my resistance
For a pocketful of mumbles
Such are promises
All lies and jest
Still, a man hears what he wants to hear
And disregards the rest

When I left my home and my family
I was no more than a boy
In the company of strangers
In the quiet of a railway station
Running scared
Laying low, seeking out the poorer quarters
Where the ragged people go
Looking for the places only they would know

Lie-la-lie...

Asking only workman's wages
I come looking for a job
But I get no offers
Just a come-on from the whores on Seventh Avenue
I do declare there were times when I was so lonesome
I took some comfort there

Lie-la-lie...

Then I'm laying out my winter clothes
And wishing I was gone
Going home
Where the New York City winters aren't bleeding me
Leading me
Going home

In the clearing stands a boxer
And a fighter by his trade
And he carries the reminders
Of every glove that laid him down
OR cut him 'til he cried out
In his anger and his shame
"I am leaving, I am leaving"
But the fighter still remains

Lie-la-lie...

Late in the evening  (Paul Simon)

The first thing I remember I was lying In my bed
I couldn't of been no more Than one or two
I remember there's a radio Comin' from the room next door
And my mother laughed The way some ladies do
When it's late in the evening And the music s seeping through

The next thing I remember I am walking down the street
I'm feeling all right I'm with my boys
I'm with my troops, yeah And down along the avenue
Some guys were shootin pool And I heard the sound
Of a cappella groups, yeah 
Singing late in the evening And all the girls out on the stoops, yeah

Then I learned to play some lead guitar I was underage In this funky bar
And I stepped outside to smoke myself a "J"
And when I came back to the room Everybody just seemed to move
And I turned my amp up loud and I began to play
And it was late in the evening
And I blew that room away


The first thing I remember When you came into my life
I said I'm gonna get that girl No matter what I do
Well I guess I'd been in love before And once or twice I been on the floor
But I never loved no one The way that I loved you
And it was late in the evening And all the music seeping through

INTERVIEWS / DOCUMENTARY

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