06.10.07
It’s not for the cock, it’s for exploring the world and yourself
Paul Simon - Graceland
It was with amazement that a friend of mine, who is neither ignorant nor uncultured, confessed to having never heard of Paul Simon and to not being able to name a song by Simon and Garfunkel. It is to him therefore that I dedicate this entry/cultural lesson/period of enlightenment.
Let’s put Graceland into context. The year is 1986, the Cold War is in full swing, none of the Spice Girls are older than 14, and the world if boycotting South Africa for its state of apartheid. Paul Simon has been well known for two decades, and hugely famous for one as a part of folk-duo Simon and Garfunkel. His most recent album Heart and Bones had been a failure so he was looking for a new path to take his music down. He found it in South Africa.
Although credited as a solo album, Paul was joined by many African and American musicians in creating Graceland. It marks a sharp contrast from most Simon and Garfunkel albums in that is shows a more colourful spectrum of styles, forms and cultures: from the Everley Brothers to Youssou N’Dour.
The album opens with The Boy in The Bubble, a subtle and cynical commentary on the dual bladed advancement of modern technology. “These are the days of miracle and wonder, This is a long distance call, The way the camera follows us in slow-mo, The way we look to us all.”
One of the most famous songs of the album is You Can Call Me Al. It splices together magical musical moments where you can’t quite name the feeling, with wide and worldly wisdom of the world and what it means to exist within it. But he maintains that, even when completely stranded in a foreign currency with no money or language, at the end of the day “I can call you Betty, and Betty when you call me, You can call me Al”.
That’s how reassuring life is in Graceland.
Gumboots offers, in my opinion, the greatest acknowledgment of the world’s beauty and its people’s optimism, in popular music. The chorus is “You don’t feel you could love me, But I feel you could” followed by an uplifting saxophone piece. The mood of the whole song is is so carefree and jovial, the third verse tells of a poetic meeting of two people:
I was walking down the street
When I thought I heard this voice say
Say, ain’t we walking down the same street together
On the very same day
I said hey Senorita that’s astute
I said why don’t we get together
And call ourselves an instituteÂ
That’s how refreshing life is in Graceland.
 Gumboots
G-town. said,
June 12, 2007 at 11:13 am
Great blog of a great album.
By the way, Hot Club de Paris have done a cover of You Can Call me Al, it’s ace and it’s on their myspace.
Princess said,
June 12, 2007 at 8:13 pm
I love The Boy in The Bubble