Paul Simon, Music Man: "In Restless Dreams"

Prolific singer-songwriter Paul Simon, age 82, is featured in a recent documentary, Alex Gibney‘s In Restless Dreams:The Music of Paul Simon, which streams on MGM+ (a free trial can be accessed via Prime).

“Paul Simon’s music forms a timeline that goes back 60 years. The baby boomer generation can trace their lives by his vibrant songs. Some of the best pop music ever written, by a brilliant and innovative musician,” states film critic Dwight Brown.

In his early career he was half of the duo Simon & Garfunkel, but it was always Paul Simon who wrote the songs. Their friendship and partnership broke up in the midst of their fame together; since then they’ve both been solo acts.

Their last album together was the award-winning Bridge Over Troubled Water (1970), which is also the title of a top single. The opening lyrics are perhaps the most memorable:

When you’re wearyFeeling smallWhen tears are in your eyesI will dry them all

I’m on your sideWhen times get roughAnd friends just can’t be foundLike a bridge over troubled waterI will lay me downLike a bridge over troubled waterI will lay me down

The performance below is from their famed Concert in Central Park. Art Garfunkel‘s voice is the highlight.

According to SecondhandSongs.com, over 700 cover versions exist. Among the best are ones by Elvis Presley, Roberta Flack, and Josh Groban.

Another time-tested Simon & Garfunkel hit has been “The Sound of Silence” (1964). Full lyrics below:

Hello darkness, my old friendI’ve come to talk with you againBecause a vision softly creepingLeft its seeds while I was sleepingAnd the vision that was planted in my brainStill remainsWithin the sound of silence

In restless dreams, I walked aloneNarrow streets of cobblestone‘Neath the halo of a street lampI turned my collar to the cold and dampWhen my eyes were stabbed by the flash of a neon lightThat split the nightAnd touched the sound of silence

And in the naked light, I sawTen thousand people, maybe morePeople talking without speakingPeople hearing without listeningPeople writing songs that voices never sharedAnd no one daredDisturb the sound of silence

“Fools” said I, “You do not knowSilence like a cancer growsHear my words that I might teach youTake my arms that I might reach you”But my words, like silent raindrops fellAnd echoed in the wells of silence

And the people bowed and prayedTo the neon god they madeAnd the sign flashed out its warningIn the words that it was formingThen the sign said, “The words on the prophets are written on the subway wallsIn tenement halls”And whispered in the sound of silence

The Pentatonix version is sublime:

Although “The Boxer” (1969) has always been a fan favorite, I only recently became a convert when I heard this a cappella version by The Whiffenpoofs:

…In the clearing stands a boxerAnd a fighter by his tradeAnd he carries the remindersOf every glove that laid him downOr cut him till he cried outIn his anger and his shame“I am leaving, I am leaving”

But the fighter still remains…

Other best-ranked Paul Simon tunes include “Graceland” (1986), “Mrs. Robinson” (1968), “Still Crazy After All These Years” (1976), “America” (1968), “Loves Me Like a Rock” (1973), “50 Ways to Leave Your Lover” (1975), “Homeward Bound” (1966), and “You Can Call Me Al” (1986)—and this doesn’t even begin to encompass the totality of his songwriting accomplishments.

Paul Simon, Music Man: “In Restless Dreams”

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