A man walks down the street
He says, "Why am I soft in the middle now?
Why am I soft in the middle?
The rest of my life is so hard."
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| Cover Art for Paul Simon's Graceland |
As I get older I see more than the funny video with Chevy Chase for "You Can Call Me Al" that was made. I always found this song on the funny side and the video even funnier, but now I see it closer to a man getting older and wondering what happened to him and his life and having to travel to figure it out.
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| Inner sleeve, so many lyrics, so many |
I think that getting soft in the middle is something that most people can relate to. It is a literal getting old and doughy "Mr Beerbelly Beerbelly" and maybe it is a spiritual softness from growing soft in convictions. I do not have the answers I did not write the song. Then again maybe it is just a funny little story with a super catch hook... Who wouldn't want a bodyguard named Betty that can call you Al?
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| Back cover artwork and Thanks |
Side one
No.
1. "The Boy in the Bubble"
2. "Graceland"
3. "I Know What I Know"
4. "Gumboots"
5. "Diamonds on the Soles of Her Shoes"
Side two
No.
6. "You Can Call Me Al"
7. "Under African Skies"
8. "Homeless"
9. "Crazy Love, Vol. II"
10. "That Was Your Mother"
11. "All Around the World or the Myth of Fingerprints" Simon
Additional tracks on the digital download
No.
12. "Homeless" (demo version)
13. "Diamonds on the Soles of Her Shoes" (alternate version)
14. "All Around the World or the Myth of Fingerprints" (early version)
That inner sleeve speaks volumes to me. So many words. When I turn on the radio today there are seemingly only 2 lines of words repeated over and over and over and over....... Now one tells a story, they just tell you It's Igggy Iz or something like that. NOW GET OFF MY LAWN!
I am sure that there are better song writers and wordsmiths, but for my money Paul Simon is probably the best. I will take his words over Dylan and McCartney any day. But that is the beautiful thing about art and music, it is subjective and you don't always have to agree. Please leave some of your favorites in the comment section below. I am always on the look out for new stuff to try.
today's song of the day is a double live treat:
Paul Simon - "Graceland" and "You Can Call Me Al"
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| That is one big poster! |
Diamonds on the Soles of her Shoes is one of my favorite songs of all time.
ReplyDeleteIs that because you're a rich girl and don't try to hide it?
DeleteOr he's a poor boy empty as a pocket?
I learned something new today about you :-)
Saw Paul Simon with Sting about a year ago. Paul was in incredible voice, and I agree he's an amazing song writer all the way back to Simon & Garfunkel days. "America" is one of my favorites.
ReplyDelete@jessov That would have been one heck of a show! was that up in Minneapolis?
ReplyDeleteI love listening to Paul Simon & Simon & Garfunkel in a dark room with headphones. A lot of music benefits from this approach, but Simon & Garfunkel really get a boost from the quiet concentration.
ReplyDeleteI can totally see that Mike.... as you sit there listing to "hello darkness my old friend......"
ReplyDeleteSimon and garfunkel on headphones can't be beat. It helped me make it through my wisdom teeth removal at a Russian dental school in LA (don't ask) where I was awake for the whole thing. I have a personal tie to bridge over troubled water.
ReplyDeleteJess that sounds like an episode of Always Sunny or something..... eek
ReplyDeleteSound of Silence is one of my absolute favorite songs. Has been since middle school. The S&G album "concert in central park" always reminds me of driving around in the eagle premier with Zac. -cas
ReplyDelete