The Essential Paul Simon

Paul Simon The Essential Paul Simon Lyrics
1.Mother And Child Reunion

Lyricist:Paul Simon
Writer(s):Paul Simon

No I would not give you false hope
On this strange and mournful day
But the mother and child reunion
Is only a motion away, oh, little darling of mine.
I can't for the life of me
Remember a sadder day
I know they say let it be
But it just don't work out that way
And the course of a lifetime runs
Over and over again

No I would not give you false hope
On this strange and mournful day
But the mother and child reu-nion
Is only a motion away, oh, little darling of mine.

I just can't believe it's so,
and though it seems strange to say
I never been laid so low
In such a mysterious way
And the course of a lifetime runs
Over and over again

But I would not give you false hope
On this strange and mournful day
When the mother and child reunion
Is only a motion away,
Oh, oh the mother and child reunion
Is only a motion away
Oh the mother and child reunion
Is only a moment away


2.Loves Me Like A Rock

Lyricist:Paul Simon
Writer(s):Paul Simon

When I was a little boy, when I was just a boy
And the devil would call my name, when I was just a boy
I say now who do, who do you think your fooling?
When I was just a boy.

I'm a consecrated boy, when I was just a boy and a singer
In a sunday choir, oh, my mama loves me, she loves me,
She gets down on her knees and hug me
Oh, she loves me like a rock.

She rocks me like a rock of ages and love me,
She love me, love me, love me, love me,
When I was grown to be a man,
Grown to be a man and the devil would call my name,
Grown to be a man, I'd say now who do,
Who do you think your fooling?

I'm a consummated man,
Grown to be a man,
I can snatch a little purity,
Oh, my mama loves me, she loves me
She get down on her knees and hug me,
She loves me like a rock.

She rocks me like a rock of ages and love me,
She love me, love me, love me, love me,
And if I was president,, if I was preseident,
The minute Congress call my name,
If I was president I'd say who do,
Who do you think your fooling?

Who do you think your fooling?
I've got the president you see, was the president,
I'm up on the Presidential Podium,
My mama loves me, she loves me,
She gets down on her knees and hugs me,
Like she loves me like a rock.

She rocks me like a rock of ages and love me,
She love me, love me, love me, love me,
She love me, love me, love me, love me,
She love me, love me, love me, love me,
She love me, love me, love me, loves me


3.Me And Julio Down By The Schoolyard

Lyricist:Paul Simon
Writer(s):Paul Simon

The mama pajama rolled out of bed
And she ran to the police station
When the papa found out he began to shout
And he started the investigation
It's against the law
It was against the law
What the mama saw
It was against the law

The mama looked down and spit on the ground
Everytime my name gets mentioned
The papa said, 'Oy, if I get that boy
I'm gonna stick him in the house of detention.'
Well I'm on my way
I don't know where I'm going
I'm on my way

I'm taking my time
But I don't know where
Goodbye to Rosie the queen of Corona
See you, me and Julio
Down by the schoolyard
See you, me and Julio
Down by the schoolyard
Me and Julio down by the schoolyard

In a couple of days they come and take me away
But the press let the story leak
And when the radical priest
Come to get me released
We was all on the cover of Newsweek
And I'm on my way
I don't know where I'm going
I'm on my way

I'm taking my time
But I don't know where
Goodbye to Rosie the queen of Corona
See you, me and Julio
Down by the schoolyard
See you, me and Julio
Down by the schoolyard
Me and Julio down by the schoolyard


4.Duncan

Lyricist:Paul Simon
Writer(s):Paul Simon

Couple in the next room
Bound to win a prize
They've been going at it all night long
Well, I'm trying to get some sleep
But these motel walls are cheap
Lincoln Duncan is my name
And here's my song, here's my song.

My father was a fisherman
My mama was the fisherman's friend
And I was born in the boredom
And the chowder
So when I reached my prime
I left my home in the Maritimes
Headed down the turnpike for
New England, sweet New England

Holes In my confidence
Holes In the knees of my jeans
I was left without a penny in my pocket
Oo-we I was about destituted
As a kid could be
And I wished I wore a ring
So I could hock it, I'd like to hock it.

A young girl in a parking lot
Was preaching to a crowd
Singing sacred songs and reading
From the Bible
Well, I told her I was lost
And she told me all about the Pentecost
And I seen that girl as the road
To my survival

Just later on the very same night
When I crept to her tent with a flashlight
And my long years of innocence ended
Well, she took me to the woods
Saying here comes something and it feels so good
And just like a dog I was befriended, I was befriended.

Oh, oh, what a night
Oh what a garden of delight
Even now that sweet memory lingers
I was playing my guitar
Lying underneath the stars
Just thanking the Lord
For my fingers,
For my fingers


5.Kodachrome

Lyricist:Paul Simon
Writer(s):Paul Simon

When I think back
On all the crap I learned in high school
It's a wonder
I can think at all
And though my lack of education
Hasn't hurt me none
I can read the writing on the wall

Kodachrome
You give us those nice bright colors
You give us the greens of summers
Makes you think all the world's a sunny day, oh yeah!
I got a Nikon camera
I love to take a photograph
So Mama, don't take my Kodachrome away

If you took all the girls I knew
When I was single
And brought them all together for one night
I know they'd never match
My sweet imagination
And everything looks worse in black and white

Kodachrome
You give us those nice bright colors
You give us the greens of summers
Makes you think all the world's a sunny day, oh yeah!
I got a Nikon camera
I love to take a photograph
So Mama, don't take my Kodachrome away

Mama, don't take my Kodachrome away

Mama, don't take my Kodachrome away

Mama, don't take my Kodachrome away

Mama, don't take my Kodachrome
Mama, don't take my Kodachrome
Mama, don't take my Kodachrome(away)

Mama, don't take my Kodachrome
Mama, don't take my Kodachrome
Mama, don't take my Kodachrome(away)

Mama, don't take my Kodachrome
(Leave your boy so far from home)
Mama, don't take my Kodachrome(away)


6.50 Ways To Leave Your Lover

Lyricist:Paul Simon
Writer(s):Paul Simon

The problem is all inside your head she said to me
The answer is easy if you take it logically
I'd like to help you in your struggle to be free
There must be fifty ways to leave your lover

She said it's really not my habit to intrude
Furthermore I hope my meaning won't be lost or misconstrued
But I'll repeat myself, at the risk of being crude
There must be fifty ways to leave your lover
Fifty ways to leave your lover

Just Slip out the back, Jack
Make a new plan, Stan
You Don't need to be coy, Roy
Just get yourself free.
Oh, Hop on the bus, Gus
Don't need to discuss much
Just drop of the key, Lee
And get yourself free

Oeh, Slip out the back, Jack
Make a new plan, Stan
You Don't need to be coy, Roy
Y' just listen to me.
Hop on the bus, Gus
You Don't need to discuss much.
Just drop of the key, Lee
And get yourself free

She said it grieves me so to see you in such pain
I wish there was something I could do to make you smile again
I said I appreciate that, and would you please explain about the
fifty ways

She said why don't we both just sleep on it tonight
And I believe in the morning you'll begin to see the light
And then she kissed me and I realised she probably was right
There must be fifty ways to leave your lover
Fifty ways to leave your lover


7.Slip Slidin' Away

Lyricist:P. Simon
Writer(s):P. Simon

Slip slidin' away
Slip slidin' away
You know the nearer your destination
The more you're slip slidin' away

I know a man
He came from my home town
He wore his passion for his woman
Like a thorny crown
He said Delores
I live in fear
My love for you's so overpowering
I'm afraid that I will disappear

know a woman
Became a wife
These are the very words she uses
To describe her life
She said a good day
Ain't got no rain
She said a bad day's when I lie in bed
And think of things that might have been

And I know a father
Who had a son
He longed to tell him all the reasons
For the things he'd done
He came a long way
Just to explain
He kissed his boy as he lay sleeping
Then he turned around and headed home again

God only knows
God makes his plan
The information's unavailable
To the mortal man
We work our jobs
Collect our pay
Believe we're gliding down the highway
When in fact we're slip slidin' away


8.Gone At Last

Lyricist:Paul Simon
Writer(s):Paul Simon

The night was black, the roads were icy
Snow was fallin', drifts were high
And I was weary, from my driving
And I stopped to rest for a while
I sat down at a truck stop
I was thinking about my past
I've had a long streak of bad luck
But I'm praying it's gone at last

Gone, gone at last, gone at last
Gone at last, gone at last
I had a long streak of that bad luck
But I'm prayin' it's gone at last
00, oo, oo, oo, oo

I ain't dumb
I kicked around some
I don't fall too easily
But that boy looked so dejected
He just grabbed my sympathy
Sweet little soul now, what's your problem?
Tell me why you're so downcast
I've had a long streak of bad luck
But I'm praying it's gone at last

Gone, gone at last, gone at last
Gone at last, gone at last
I had a long streak of that bad luck
But I'm prayin' it's gone at last
00, oo, oo, oo, oo

Once in a while from out of nowhere
When you don't expect it, and you're unprepared
Somebody will come and lift you higher
And your burdens will be shared
Yes I do believe, if I hadn't met you
I might still be sinking fast
I've had a long streak of bad luck
But I'm praying it's gone at last

Gone, gone, gone at last
Gone at last, gone at last
I had a long streak of that bad luck
But I'm prayin' it's gone at last
Gone, gone, gone gone gone gone
Gone, gone, gone, gone, gone, gone, gone
I had a long streak of that bad luck
But I'm prayin' it's gone at last


9.Something So Right

Lyricist:Quincy JonesPaul Simon
Writer(s):Quincy JonesPaul Simon

you got the cool water, when the fever runs high
you got that look of love light in your eye
n'i was in crazy motion, till you calmed me down
took a little time, but you calmed me down

something goes wrong, im the first to admit it,
im the first to admit it, and the last one to know
when somethin goes right, oh its likely to lose me,
its out to confuse me, its such an unusual sight,
oh i cant get used to something so right, something so right

they got a wall in china, its a thousand miles long
to keep out the foreigners they made it strong
and i got a wall around me, that you cant even see
it took a little time to get next to me

something goes wrong, im the first to admit it
im the first to admit it, the last one to know
when somethin goes right, oh its likely to lose me
its out to confuse me, cuz its such an unusual sight
i cant get used to something so right, something so right

some people never say the words i love you,
its not their style, to be so bold
some people never say those words i love you
but like a child, theyre longing to be told

somethin goes wrong, i'm the first to admit it
the first to admit it, the last one to know
something goes right, oh its likely to lose me,
its out to confuse me, cuz its such an unusual site
i cant get used to something so right, something so right


10.Late In The Evening

Lyricist:Dave GrusinPaul Simon
Writer(s):Dave GrusinPaul Simon

First thing I remember, I was lying in my bed
Couldn't have been no more than 1 or 2
And I remember there was a radio
Coming from the room next door
And my mother laughed the way some ladies do
Well it's late in the evening
And the music's seeping through

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
Down along the avenue some guys are shootin' pool
And I heard the sound of acapella grooves, yeah
Singin' late in the evening
And all the girls out on the stoops, yeah

And I learned to play some mean guitar
I was underage in this funky bar
And I stepped outside and smoked myself a J
And when I come back to the room everybody just seemed to move
And I turned my amp up loud and I began to play
It was late in the evening
And I blew that room away

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've been in love before
Once or twice I've been on the floor
But I never loved no one the way that I love you
And it was late in the evening
And all the music seeping through.


11.Hearts And Bones

Lyricist:Paul Simon
Writer(s):Paul Simon

One and one-half wandering Jews
Free to wander wherever they choose
Are traveling together
In the Sangre de Christo
The Blood of Christ Mountains
Of New Mexico
On the last leg of a journey
They started a long time ago
The arc of a love affair
Rainbows in the high desert air
Mountain passes
Slipping into stone
Hearts and bones
Hearts and bones
Hearts and bones

Thinking back to the season before
Looking back through the cracks in the door
Two people were married
The act was outrageous
The bride was contagious
She burned like a bride
These events may have had some effect
On the man with the girl by his side
The arc of a love affair
His hands rolling down her hair
Love like lightning shaking till it moans
Hearts and bones
Hearts and bones
Hearts and bones

And whoa whoa
She said why?
Why don't we drive through the night
And we'll wake up down in
Mexico
Oh I
Oh, I I don't know nothin' about nothin'
About Mexico
And tell me why
Why won't you love me
For who I am
Where I am

He said: cause that's not the way the world is baby
This is how I love you baby
This is how I love you baby

One and one-half wandering Jews
Returned to their natural coasts
To resume old acquaintances
Step out occasionally
And speculate who had been damaged the most
Easy time will determine if these consolations
Will be their reward
The arc of a love affair
Waiting to be restored
You take two bodies and you twirl them into one
Their hearts and their bones
And they won't come undone
Hearts and bones
Hearts and bones
Hearts and bones


12.Take Me To The Mardi Gras

Lyricist:Paul Simon
Writer(s):Paul Simon

C'mon take me to the Mardi Gras
Where the people sing and play
Where the dancing is elite
And there's music in the street
Both night and day

Hurry take me to the Mardi Gras
In the city of my dreams
You can legalize the lows
You can wear your summer clothes
In the New Orleans

And I will lay my burden down
Rest my head upon that shore
And when I wear that starryn crown
I won't be wanting anymore

Take your burdens to the Mardi Gras
Let the music wash your soul
You can mingle in the street
You can jingle to the beat
Of Jelly Roll


13.That Was Your Mother

Lyricist:Paul Simon
Writer(s):Paul Simon

A long time ago, yeah
Before you was born dude
When I was still single
And life was great
I held this job as a traveling salesman
That kept me moving from state to state
Well, I'm standing on the corner of Lafayette
State of Louisiana
Wondering where a city boy could go
To get a little conversation
Drink a little red wine
Catch a little bit of those Cajun girls
Dancing to Zydeco

Along come a young girl
She's pretty as a prayerbook
Sweet as an apple on Christmas day
I said good gracious can this be my luck
If that's my prayerbook
Lord let us pray

Well, I'm standing on the corner of Lafayette
State of Louisiana
Wondering where a city boy could go
To get her in a conversation
Drink a little red wine
Dance to the music of Clifton Chenier
The King of the Bayou

Well, that was your mother
And that was your father
Before you was born dude
When life was great
You are the burden of my generation
I sure do love you
But let's get that straight

Well, I'm standing on the corner of Lafayette
Arcoss the street from The Public
Heading down to the Lone Star Cafe
Maybe get a little conversation
Drink a little red wine
Standing in the shadow of Clifton Chenier
Dancing the night away


14.American Tune

Lyricist:Del NewmanPaul Simon
Writer(s):Del NewmanPaul Simon

Many's the time I've been mistaken
And many times confused
Yes, and often left forsaken
And certainly misused
But I'm all right, I'm all right
I'm just weary to my bones
Still, you don't expect to be
Bright and bon vivant
So far away from home, so far away from home

And I don't know a soul who's not been battered
I don't have a friend who feels at ease
I don't know a dream that's not been shattered
or driven to its knees
But it's all right, it's all right
We've live so well so long
Still, when I think of the road
We're travelling on
I can't help it, I wonder what went wrong

And I dreamed I was dying
And I dreamed that my soul rose unexpectedly
And looking down at me
Smiled reassuringly
And I dreamed I was flying
And high up above my eyes could clearly see
The Statue of Liberty
Sailing away to sea
And I dreamed I was flying

We come on the ship they call the Mayflower
We come on the ship that sailed the moon
We come in the age's most uncertain hour
and sing an American tune
But it's all right, it's all right
you can't be forever blessed
Still, tommorow's going to be another working day
And I'm trying to get some rest
That's all I'm trying to get some rest


15.Peace Like A River

Lyricist:Paul Simon
Writer(s):Paul Simon

Ah, peace like a river ran through the city
Long past the midnight curfew
We sat starry-eyed
Ooh, oh,we were satisfied
O-o-oh, when I remember
Misinformation followed us like a plague
Nobody knew from time to time
If the plans were changed
Oh, oh, oh, if the plans were changed.

You can beat us with wires
You can beat us with chains
You can run out your rules
But you know you can't outrun the history train
I seen a glorious day, aiee Ah, four in the morning
I woke up from out of my dreams
Nowhere to go but back to sleep
But I'm reconciled
Oh, oh, oh, I'm going to be up for a while
Oh, oh, oh, I'm going to be up for a while

Oh, oh, oh, I'm going to be up for a while


16.Stranded In A Limosine

Lyricist:Paul Simon
Writer(s):Paul Simon

He was a mean individual,
He had a heart like a bone,
He was a naturally crazy man,
And better off left alone,
He stopped one nite, at a traffic lite,
And when that lite turned green,
He was a mean individual, stranded in a limousine.

Hey, hey, hey,hey,
All the children on the street,
Come running out their front doors,
Running out their back doors,
Flying on their feet,
They said mama oh, papa oh,
See what i have seen,
Theres a mean individual,
Stranded in a limousine.

Then everybody come running,
Everybody said, lordy lord,
Everybody was gunning,
Gonna divvy up the re-ward,
Then wah wah wah wah wah wah wah,
A siren,
A flashing lite,
But the mean individual, had vanished in the black of nite.

Hey hey hey
They wondered where to begin,
Cos he left that neighborhood,
Just like a rattlesnake, sheds its skin,
Then they searched the roofs, and checked out the groups,
And they photographed the scene,
Of the mean individual,
Stranded in a limousine.


17.Train In The Distance

Lyricist:Paul Simon
Writer(s):Paul Simon

She was beautiful as southern skies
the night he met her
she was married to someone
he was doggedly determined
that he would get her
he was old he was young
from time to time he would tip his heart
but each time she withdrew

everybody loves the sound of a train in the distance
everybody thinks its true

well eventually the boy the girl get married
sure enough they have a son
and although both were occupied with the child she carried
disagreements had begun
and in a while it just fell apart
it wasn't hard to do

two disapointed believers
two people playing the game
negotiations and love songs
are often mistaken for one and the same

well the man and the woman
they remain in contact
let us say it's for the child
with disagrements about the meaning of a marriage contract
conversations hard and wild
from time to time he would make her laugh
she'd cook him a meal or two

what is the point of this story?
what information pertains?
the thought that life could be better
is woven indelibly into our hearts and our brains
like a train in the distance


18.The Late Great Johnny Ace

Lyricist:Paul SimonPhilip Glass
Writer(s):Paul SimonPhilip Glass

I was reading a magazine
And thinking of a rock and roll song
The year was 1954
And I hadn't been playing that long
When a man came on the radio
And this is what he said
He said I hate to break it to his fans
But Johnny Ace is dead, yeah, yeah, yeah

Well, I really wasn't
Such a Johnny Ace fan
But I felt bad all the same
So I sent away for his photograph
And waited 'till it came
It came all the way from Texas
With a sad and simple face
And they signed it on the bottom
From the late, great Johnny Ace, yeah, yeah, yeah

It was the year of the Beatles
It was the year of the Stones
It was 1964
I was living in London
With the girl from the summer before

It was the year of the Beatles
It was the year of the Stones
A year after J.F.K
We were staying up all night
And giving the days away
And the music was flowing amazing
And blowing my way

On a cold December evening
I was walking through the Christmas tide
When a stranger came up and asked me
If I'd heard John Lennon had died
And the two of us went to this bar
And we stayed to close the place
And every song we played was for
The Late, Great Johnny Ace, yeah, yeah, yeah


19.Still Crazy After All These Years

Lyricist:Bob JamesPaul Simon
Writer(s):Bob JamesPaul Simon

I met my old lover on the street last night
She seemed so glad to see me, I just smiled
And we talked about some old times and drank ourselves some
beers.
Still crazy after all these years.
Oh! Still crazy after all these years.

I'm not the kind of man who tends to socialize
I seem to lean on old familiar ways
And I ain't no fool for love songs that whisper in my ears
Still crazy after all these years
Oh! Still crazy after all these years.

Four in the morning
Cramped out, yawning
Longing my life away
I've never worried, why should I?
It's all gonna fade.

Now I sit by my window and I watch the cars.
I fear I'll do some damage one fine day
But I would not be convicted by a jury of my peers
Still crazy after all these years
Woah! Still crazy
Still crazy
Still crazy after all these years


20.Graceland

Lyricist:Paul Simon
Writer(s):Paul Simon

The 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
Oh, 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 sees the wind blow

In graceland, in 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 graceland


21.Diamonds On The Soles Of Her Shoes

Lyricist:Joseph ShahalalaPaul Simon
Writer(s):Joseph ShahalalaPaul Simon

(a-wa) O kodwa u zo-nge li-sa namhlange
(a-wa a-wa) Si-bona kwenze ka kanjani
(a-wa a-wa) Amanto mbazane ayeza

She's a rich girl
She don't try to hide it
Diamonds on the soles of her shoes

He's a poor boy
Empty as a pocket
Empty as a pocket with nothing to lose
Sing Ta na na
Ta na na na
Ta na na na
She got diamonds on the soles of her shoes
Ta na na
Ta na na
Ta na na
She got diamonds on the soles of her shoes
Diamonds on the soles of her shoes(rich girl)
Diamonds on the soles of her shoes(poor boy)
Diamonds on the soles of her shoes
Diamonds on the soles of her shoes

People say she's crazy
She got diamonds on the soles of her shoes
Well that's one way to lose these
Walking blues
Diamonds on the soles of her shoes

She was physically forgotten
Then she slipped into my pocket
With my car keys
She said you've taken me for granted
Because I please you
Wearing these diamonds

And I could say Oo oo oo oo oo oo oo oo ooo
As if everybody knows
What I was talking about
As if everybody here would know
Exactly what I was talking about
Talking about diamonds on the soles of her shoes

Oo ooo
Oo-oo
Oo ooo
She makes the sign of a teaspoon
He makes the sign of a wave
The poor boy changes clothes
And puts on after-shave
To compensate for his ordinary shoes

She said honey take me dancing
But they ended up by sleeping
In a doorway
By the bodegas and the lights on
Upper Broadway
Wearing diamonds on the soles of their shoes

And I could say Oo oo oo oo oo oo oo oo ooo
And everybody here would know
What I was talking about
I mean everybody here would know exactly
What I was talking about
Talking about diamonds
Oo oo oo ooo
Oo oo o o ooo

People say I'm crazy
I got diamonds on the soles of my shoes
Well that's one way to lose
These walking blues
Diamonds on the soles of our shoes

Ta Na Na Na


22.The Boy In The Bubble

Lyricist:Forere Motloheloa Paul Simon
Writer(s):Forere Motloheloa Paul Simon

It was a slow day
And the sun was beating
On the soldiers by the side of the road
There was a bright light
A shattering of shop windows
The bomb in the baby carriage
Was wired to the radio
These are the days of miracle and wonder
This is the long distance call
The way the camera follows us in slo-mo
The way we look to us all
The way we look to a distant constellation
That's dying in a corner of the sky
These are the days of miracle and wonder
And don't cry baby, don't cry
Don't cry

It was a dry wind
And it swept across the desert
And it curled into the circle of birth
And the dead sand
Falling on the children
The mothers and the fathers
And the automatic earth
These are the days of miracle and wonder
This is the long distance call
The way the camera follows us in slo-mo
The way we look to us all
The way we look to a distant constellation
That's dying in a corner of the sky
These are the days of miracle and wonder
And don't cry baby, don't cry
Don't cry

It's a turn-around jump shot
It's everybody jump start
It's every generation throws a hero up the pop charts
Medicine is magical and magical is art
The boy in the bubble
And the baby with the baboon heart

And I believe
These are the days of lasers in the jungle
Lasers in the jungle somewhere
Staccato signals of constant information
A loose affiliation of millionaires
And billionaires and baby
These are the days of miracle and wonder
This is the long distance call
The way the camera follows us in slo-mo
The way we look to us all
The way we look to a distant constellation
That's dying in a corner of the sky
These are the days of miracle and wonder
And don't cry baby, don't cry
Don't cry


23.You Can Call Me Al

Lyricist:Paul SimonChikapa
Writer(s):Paul SimonChikapa

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!
I need a photo-opportunity,
I want a shot at redemption!
Don't want to end up a cartoon,
In a cartoon graveyard .....

Bonedigger, Bonedigger,
Dogs in the moonlight.
Far away, my well-lit door.
Mr. Beerbelly, Beerbelly,
Get these mutts away from me!
You know, I don't find this stuff amusing anymore ....

If you'll be my bodyguard,
I can be your long lost pal!
I can call you Betty,
And Betty, when you call me,
You can call me Al!

A man walks down the street,
He says, Why am I short of attention?
Got a short little span of attention,
And whoa, my nights are so long!
Where's my wife and family?
What if I die here?
Who'll be my role-model?
Now that my role-model is ....
Gone ...... gone,
He ducked back down the alley,
With some roly-poly, little bat-faced girl.
All along .... along ....
There were incidents and accidents,
There were hints and allegations .....

If you'll be my bodyguard,
I can be your long lost pal!
I can call you Betty,
And Betty, when you call me,
You can call me Al!
Call me Al ......

Instrumental

A man walks down the street,
It's a street in a strange world.
Maybe it's the Third World.
Maybe it's his first time around.
He doesn't speak the language,
He holds no currency.
He is a foreign man,
He is surrounded by the sound, sound ....
Cattle in the marketplace.
Scatterlings and orphanages.
He looks around, around .....
He sees angels in the architecture,
Spinning in infinity,
He says, Amen! and Hallelujah!

If you'll be my bodyguard,
I can be your long lost pal!
I can call you Betty,
And Betty, when you call me,
You can call me Al!
You can call me Al ......

na, na, na, na, na etc


24.Under African Skies

Lyricist:Paul SimonChikapa
Writer(s):Paul SimonChikapa

Joseph's face was black as night, the pale yellow moon shone in
his eyes
His path was marked by the stars in the southern hemisphere
and he walked his days under African skies

This is the story of how we begin to remember
This is the powerful pulsing of love in the veins
After the dream of falling and calling your name out
These are the roots of rythm and the roots of rythm and rain

In early memory, mission music was ringing around my nursury
door
I said take this child, Lord, from Tucson Arizona
Give her the wings to fly from harm
and she won't bother you no more

This is the story of how we begin to remember
This is the powerful pulsing of love in the veins
After the dream of falling and calling your name out
These are the roots of rythm and the roots of rythm and rain

Chant-like duet with harmony:
A-oom-ba-oom-ba-oom-ba-Oooooooooooooh

Josephs face was as black as the night
and the pale yellow moon shone in his eyes
His path was marked by the stars in the southern hemisphere
and he walked the length of his days under African skies.


25.The Obvious Child

Lyricist:Paul Simon
Writer(s):Paul Simon

Well, I'm accustomed to a smooth ride
Or maybe I'm a dog who's lost its bite
I don't expect to be treated like a fool no more
I don't expect to sleep through the night
Some people say a lie's a lie's a lie
But I say why
Why deny the obvious child?
Why deny the obvious child?
And in remembering a road sign
I am remembering a girl when I was young
And we said These songs are true
These days are ours
These tears are free
And hey
The cross is in the ballpark
The cross is in the ballpark
We had a lot of fun
We had a lot of money
We had a little son and we thought we'd call him Sonny
Sonny gets married and moves away
Sonny has a baby and bills to pay
Sonny gets sunnier
Day by day by day by day
Doh, doh, doh, doh
Doh, doh, doh, doh
Well, I've been waking up at sunrise
I've been following the light across my room
I watch the night receive the room of my day
Some people say the sky is just the sky
But I say
Why deny the obvious child?
Why deny the obvious child?
Sonny sits by his window and thinks to himself
How it's strange that some rooms are like cages
Sonny's yearbook from high school
Is down from the shelf
And he id-ly thumbs through the pages
Some have died
Some have fled from themselves
Or struggled from here to get there
Sonny wanders beyond his interior walls
Runs his hand through his thinning brown hair
Well, I'm accustomed to a smooth ride
Or maybe I'm a dog who's lost its bite
I don't expect to be treated like a fool no more
I don't expect to sleep through the night
Some people say a lie's is just a lie
But I say
the cross is in the ballpark
Why deny the obvious child?


26.Born At The Right Time

Lyricist:Paul Simon
Writer(s):Paul Simon

Down among the reeds and rushes
A baby boy was found
His eyes as clear as centuries
His silky hair was brown

Never been lonely
Never been lied to
Never had to scuffle in fear
Nothing denied to
Born at the instant
The church bells chime
And the whole world whispering
Born at the right time

Me and my buddies we are travelling people
We like to go down to restaurant row
Spend those Euro-dollars
All the way from Washington to Tokyo
I see them in the airport lounge
Upon their mother's breast
They follow me with open eyes
Their uninvited guest

Never been lonely
Never been lied to
Never had to scuffle in fear
Nothing denied to
Born at the instant
The church bells chime
And the whole world whispering
Born at the right time

Too many people on the bus from the airport
Too many holes in the crust of the earth
The planet groans
Every time it registers another birth

But among the reeds and rushes
A baby girl was found
Her eyes as clear as centuries
Her silky hair was brown

Never been lonely
Never been lied to
Never had to scuffle in fear
Nothing denied to
Born at the instant
The church bells chime
And the whole world whispering
Born at the right time


27.The Cool, Cool River

Lyricist:Paul Simon
Writer(s):Paul Simon

Moves like a fist through the traffic
Anger and no one can heal it
Shoves a little bump into the momentum
Its just a little lump
But you feel it
In the creases and the shadows
With a rattling deep emotion
The cool, cool river
Sweeps the wild, white ocean

Yes boss. the government handshake
Yes boss. the crusher of language
Yes boss. mr. stillwater,
The face at the edge of the banquet
The cool, the cool river
The cool, the cool river

I believe in the future
I may live in my car
My radio tuned to
The voice of a star
Song dogs barking at the break of dawn
Lightning pushes the edge of a thunderstorm
And these old hopes and fears
Still at my side

Anger and no one can heal it
Slides through the metal detector
Lives like a mole in a motel
A slide in a slide projector
The cool, cool river
Sweeps the wild, white ocean
The rage of love turns inward
To prayers of devotion
And these prayers are
The constant road across the wilderness
These prayers are
These prayers are the memory of god
The memory of god

And I believe in the future
We shall suffer no more
Maybe not in my lifetime
But in yours I feel sure
Song dogs barking at the break of dawn
Lightning pushes the edges of a thunderstorm
And these streets
Quiet as a sleeping army
Send their battered dreams to heaven, to heaven
For the mothers restless son
Who is a witness to, who is a warrior
Who denies his urge to break and run

Who says: hard times?
Im used to them
The speeding planet burns
Im used to that
My lifes so common it disappears
And sometimes even music
Cannot substitute for tears


28.Spirit Voices

Lyricist:Paul Simon
Writer(s):Paul Simon

We sailed up a river wide as a sea
And slept on the banks
On the leaves of a banyan tree
And all of these spirit voices rule the night

Some stories are magical, meant to be sung
Song from the mouth of the river
When the world was young
And all of these spirit voices rule the night

By moon
We walk
To the brujo's door
Along a path of river stone
Women with their nursing children
Seated on the floor
We join the fevers
And the broken bones

The candlelight flickers
The falcon calls
A lime-green lizard scuttles down the cabin wall
And all of these spirit voices
Sing rainwater, sea water
River water, holy water
Wrap this child in mercy - heal her
Heaven's only daughter
All of these spirit voices rule the night
My hands were numb
My feet were lead
I drank a cup of herbal brew
Then the sweetness in the air
Combined with the lightness in my head
And I heard the jungle breathing in the bamboo

Saudac~oes(Greetings!)
D'a lic'enca um momento(Excuse me, one moment)
Te lembr'o(I remind you)
Que amanh~a(That tomorrow)
Ser'a tudo ou ser'a naoa(It will be all or it will)
(be nothing)
Depende, cora,c~ao(It depends, heart)
Ser'a breve ou ser'a grande(It will be brief or it will)
(be great)
Depende da paix~ao(It depends on the passion)
Ser'a sujo, ser'a sonho(It will be dirty, it will)
(be a dream)
Cuidado, cora,c~ao(Be careful, heart)
Ser'a 'util, ser'a tarde(It will be useful, it will be)
(late)
Se esmera, cora,c~ao(Do your best, heart)
E confia(And have trust)
Na for,ca do amanh~a(In the power of tomorrow)

Lord of the earthquake
My trembling bed
The spider resumes the rhythm
Of his golden thread
And all of these spirit voices rule the night


29.Adios Hermanos

Lyricist:Derek WalcottPaul Simon
Writer(s):Derek WalcottPaul Simon

It was the morning of October 6th, 1960
I was wearing my brown suit
Preparing to leave the house of D.
Shook some hands then acfios Brooklyn amigos
Maybe some of them had hopes of seeing me again
Some even said that my judge-
Judge Gerald Culkin-
Wouldn't play it by the book
Maybe let us off the hook
Rut, WOH-OO-WOH, I knew better.

Afraid to ieave the projects
To cross into another neighborhood

The blancos and the nigger gangs
Well, they'd kill you if they could.

Angel of Mercy, people are suffering
All over the world

Spanish children are taught on their knees
to believe
Angel of Mercy, people are suffering
All over the island tonight,
Mothers weep

Sisters grieve.

Well, I entered the courtroom, state of New York
County of New York, Just some spic
They scrubbed off the sidewalk
Guilty by my dress
Guilty in the press
Let The Capeman burn for the murder
Well the 'Spanish boys' had their day in court
And now it was time for some fuckin' law and order
The electric chair
For the greasy pair
Said the judge to the court reporter

Afraid to leave the projects
To cross into another neighborhood

The newspapers and the T.V. crews
Well, they'd kill you if they could

Angel of Mercy, people are suffering
Ail over the world
A Spanish boy could be killed every night of
the week

But just let some white boy die
And the world goes crazy for blood-Latin blood.
I don't lie when I speak.

Well they shackled my hands

A heavy belt around my waist to restrain me

And they shackled my legs

Hernandez, the 'Umbrella Man,' chained beside me
Then we rode that Black Maria
Through the streets of Spanish Harlem
Calling old friends on the corners

Just to lay our prayers upon them

Crying
Adios Hermanos. Adios
Adios Hermanos, Adios


30.Born In Puerto Rico

Lyricist:Derek WalcottPaul Simon
Writer(s):Derek WalcottPaul Simon

I was born in Puerto Rico
We came here when I was a child
Before I reached the age of sixteen
I was running with the gang and we were wild

He keeps looking but he don't recognize me.
Some guy from Lexington or Park
Red beans and rice from kitchen windows
Supper-time and the barrio is dark.

No one knows you like I do
Nobody can know your heart the way I do
No one can testify to all that you've been through
But I will.

I was born in Puerto Rico
And my blood is Taino
Spanish Caribbean my soul

We came here wearing summer clothes in winter
Hearts of sunshine in the cold
Your family rented this apartment
You'd watch the street lamps from your perch
In the sacramental hour your stepfather in black
Preached the fire of the Pentecostal Church
No one knows you like I do
Nobody can know your heart the way I do
No one can testify to all that you've been through
But this will.

I was born in Puerto Rico
Came here when I was a child.

Small change and sunlight, then I left these streets
for good.
My days as short as they were wild.

I'm Carlos Apache

Angel Soto

Frenchy Cordero

Babu Charlie Cruz

Your features blurred in every grainy photo
And fading headline of the Daily News

Wiltwyck School for Criminal Children
Auburn, Brooklyn House of D.,
Dannemora, Sing-Sing, Attica,
Greenhaven

Twenty years inside, today you're free.

You cannot even read your story
The pages piling up in shame
Before the words released you, the guard would
kill the light
The night you took The Capeman for your name.

I was born in Puerto Rico
I was born in Puerto Rico
I was born in Puerto Rico
I was born in Puerto Rico
I was born in Puerto Rico
I was born in Puerto Rico
I was born in Puerto Rico
I was born in Puerto Rico

Yo naci en Puerto Rico
Yo naci en Puerto Rico
Mi corazon es Puerto Rico
Mi alma es Puerto Rico


31.Quality

Lyricist:Derek WalcottPaul Simon
Writer(s):Derek WalcottPaul Simon

The way you move
It's got quality
Come on baby, let's go downtown
Little girl, you sure look good to me
The way you move
It's got quality
Come on baby now don't be shy
Step in the light so I can see
The way you move
It's got quality

I want to know
Are you my beautiful young boy
Or just another love
Passing through my life
I need to know
Will you be my sorrow and my joy
And maybe one day soon
Will I be your wife.

Come on baby,
Let's rock some more
I want to spend my salary
The way you move
It's got quality

Everytime they see me walk down the street
They say Conothat boy is fine
The way he moves
Got quality

I want to know
Are you my beautiful young boy,
Or Just another love
Passing through my life,

I need to know
Will you be my sorrow and my joy
And maybe one day soon
Will I be your wife
Quiero saber
Quiero saber
Nadie nunca sabe
En la vida

The way you move
It's got quality
The way you move
It's got quality


32.Darling Lorraine

Lyricist:Paul Simon
Writer(s):Paul Simon

The first time I saw her
I couldn't be sure
But the sin of impatience
Said She's just what you're looking for
So I walked right up to her
And with the part of me that talks
I introduced myself as Frank
From New York
New York

She's so hot
She's so cool
I'm not
I'm just a fool in love with Darling Lorraine

All my life I've been a wanderer
Not really, I mostly lived near my parents home
Anyway Lorraine and I got married
Ant the usual marriage stuff
Then one day she says to me
From out of the blue
Frank, I've had enough
Romance is a heartbreaker
I'm not meant to be a homemaker
And I'm tired of being Darling Loraine

What you don't love me anymore?
What you're walking out the door?
What you don't like the way I chew?
Hey let me tell you
You're not the woman that I wed
You say you're depressed but you're not
You just like to stay in bed
I don't need you darling Lorraine
Darling Lorraine
Lorraine
I long for your love

Financially Speaking
I guess I'm a washout
Everybody's buy and sell
And sell and buy and
And that's what the whole thing's all about
If it had not been Lorraine
I'd have left her long ago
I should have been a musician
I love the piano

She's so light
She's so free
I'm tight, well, that's me
But I feel so good
With Darling Lorraine

On Christmas morning Frank awakes
To find Loraine has made a stack of pancakes
They watch the television, husband and wife
All afternoon It's a wonderful life

What you don't love me anymore?
What you're walking out the door?
What you don't like the way I chew?
Hey let me tell you
You're not the woman that I wed
Gimme my robe I'm going back to bed
I'm sick to death of you Lorraine

Darling Lorraine
Lorraine
Her hands like wood
The doctor was smiling
But the news wasn't good

Darling Lorraine
Please don't leave me yet
I know you're in pain
Pain you can't forget
Your breathing is like an echo of our love
Maybe I'll go down to the corner store
And buy us something sweet
Here's an extra blanket honey
To wrap around your feet
All the trees were washed with april rain
And the moon in the meadow
Took Darling Lorraine


33.Hurricane Eye

Lyricist:Paul Simon
Writer(s):Paul Simon

Tell us all a story
About how it used to be
Make it up and write it down
Just like history
About goldilocks and the three bears
Nature in the cross hairs
And how we all ascended
From the deep green sea
When it's not too hot
Not too cold
Not too meek
Not too bold
When it's just right and you add sunlight
Then we're home
Finally home
Home in the land of the homeless
Finally home

Oh what are we going to do
I never did a thing to you
Time peaceful as a hurricane eye
Peaceful as a hurricane eye

A history of whispers
A shadow of a horse
Faces painted black in sorrow and remorse
White cloud, black crow
Crucifix and arrow
The oldest silence speak the loudest
Under the deep green sea

When speech becomes a crime
Silence leads the spirit
Over the bridge of time

Over the bridge of time
I'm waling with my family
And the road begins to climb
And it's oh lord how we going to pray
With crazy angel voices
All night
Until it's a new day

Peaceful as a hurricane
Peaceful as a hurricane
Peaceful as a hurricane eye
Peaceful as a hurricane
Peaceful as a hurricane
Peaceful as a hurricane eye
Peaceful as a hurricane eye

You want to be a leader?
You want to change the game?
Turn your back on money
Walk away from fame
You want to be a missionary?
Got that missionary zeal?
Let a stranger change your life
Hot does it make you feel?
You want to be a writer
But you don't know how or when
Find a quiet place
Use a humble pen

You want to talk talk talk about it
All night squawk about
The ocean and the atmosphere
Well I've been away for a long time
And it looks like a mess around here
I'll be away for a long time
So here's how the story goes
There was an old woman
Who lived in a shoe
She was baking a cinnamon pie
She fell asleep in a washing machine
Woke up in a hurricane eye


34.Father And Daughter

Lyricist:Paul Simon
Writer(s):Paul Simon

If you leap awake in the mirror of a bad dream
And for a fraction of a second you can't remember where you are
Just open your window and follow your memory upstream
To the meadow in the mountain where we counted every falling
star
I believe the light that shines on you will shine on you forever
And though I can't guarantee there's nothing scary hiding under
your bed
I'm gonna stand guard like a postcard of a golden retriever
And never leave til I leave you with a sweet dream in your head

I'm gonna watch you shine
Gonna watch you grow
Gonna paint a sign
So you'll always know
As long as one and one is two
There could never be a father who loved his daughter more than I
love you

Trust you intuition
It's just like goin' fishing
You cast your line and hope you get a bite
But you don't need to waste your time
Worrying about the marketplace
Try to help the human race
struggling to survive it's harshest night

I'm gonna watch you shine
Gonna watch you grow
Gonna paint a sign
So you'll always know
As long as one and one is two
There could never be a father who loved his daughter more than I
love you

I'm gonna watch you shine
Gonna watch you grow
Gonna paint a sign
So you'll always know
As long as one and one is two
There could never be a father who loved his daughter more than I
love you


35.Outrageous

Lyricist:Brian EnoPaul Simon
Writer(s):Brian EnoPaul Simon

It's outrageous to line your pockets off the misery of the poor.
Outrageous the crime some human beings must endure.
It's a blessing to wash your face in summer solstice rain
It's outrageous that a man like me should stand here and
complain.

But I'm tired, 900 sit-ups a day.
I'm painting my hair the colour of mud, mud, OK?
I'm tired, tired, anybody care what I say? NO!
Painting my hair the colour of mud.

Who's gonna love you when your looks are gone?
Tell me, who's gonna love you when your looks are gone?
Ah, who's gonna love you when your looks are gone?
Who's gonna love you when your looks are gone?
Who's gonna love you when your looks are gone?
Who's gonna love you when your looks are gone?
Who's gonna love you when your looks are gone?

It's outrageous the food they try to serve in the public school.
Outrageous the way they talk to you like some kind of clinical
fool
It's a blessing to rest my head in the circle of your love.
It's outrageous, I can't stop thinking about the things I'm
thinking of.

But I'm tired, 900 sit-ups a day.
I'm painting my hair the colour of mud, mud, OK?
I'm tired, tired, anybody care what I say? NO!
Painting my hair the colour of mud.


36.Wartime Prayers

Lyricist:Paul Simon
Writer(s):Paul Simon

Prayers offered in times of peace are silent conversations,
Appeals for love or loves release, in private invocations.

But all that is changed now,
Gone like a memory from the day before the fires.
People hungry for the voice of God
Hear lunatics and liars

Wartime prayers, wartime prayers
In every language spoken,
For every family scattered and broken.

Because you cannot walk with the holy,
If you're just a halfway decent man.
But I don't pretend that I'm a mastermind
With a genious marketing plan.

I'm trying to tap into some wisdom,
Even a little drop would do.
I want to rid my heart of envy
And cleanse my soul of rage
Before I feel.

Times are hard, hard times,
But everybody knows all about hard times.
The thing is, what are you gonna do?
Will you cry?
And try to muscle through?
And try to rearrange your stuff?
But when the wounds are deep enough,
And it's all that we can bear,
We wrap ourselves in prayer.

Because you cannot walk with the holy,
If you're just a halfway decent man.
But I don't pretend that I'm a mastermind
With a genious marketing plan.

I'm trying to tap into some wisdom,
Even a little drop would do.
I want to rid my heart of envy
And cleanse my soul of rage
Before I'm through.

A mother murmurs in twilight sleep
And draws her babies closer.
With hush-a-bies for sleepy eyes,
And kisses on the shoulder.
To drive away despair
She sends a wartime prayer.