Thursday, January 21, 2010

Homeward Bound

I have been listening to a Simon and Garfunkel album from 1969.  It's called Live 1969 and it is, not surprisingly, a collection of songs performed live on their tour.  They went on the road prior to the release of their album, Bridge Over Troubled Waters, and it's clear their fans had never heard that classic song before.  Many of the songs they sang on tour were unfamiliar to their legion of fans, but instantly became classics.  That tour ended up being their last for 13 years.
There is such sweet poignancy in their lyrics, and their harmonies are hauntingly perfect.  That kind of harmony is rare - two voice blending into seamless accord.  I wrote down a few of their lyrics today and thought I would stream them together with one song blending into another.

I'm just a poor boy, my story's seldom told.
I'm sitting in a railway station, got a ticket for my destination,
I wish I was homeward bound.
Every stranger's face I see reminds me that I long to be,
homeward bound.
It's a winter's day in a deep and dark December,
I am alone, gazing from my window to the street below.
Hello, darkness my old friend,
I've come to talk with you again,
because the 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.
I am a rock,
I am an island.
What a dream I had,
dressed in organdy,
softer than the rain.
I wandered empty streets,
cathedral bells tripping down the alleyways.
Slow down you're movin' too fast,
you've got to make the morning last,
just trippin' down the cobblestones,
lookin' for love
and feelin' groovy.

2 comments:

  1. Oh, sweet memories and feelings were evoked in reading this. A real gift in the midst of winter. You're the bearer of kindnesses!

    Judy

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  2. Thanks for the memories. I've had Carol King in my head lately. Particularly "You've Got a Friend." And then there is "Let it Be" by the Beatles. There are lots of really great songs from that time. Good to remember them!

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