parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme

Simon and Garfunkel took control of their sound with this thoughtful and elegiac folk masterpiece. Produced with Bob Johnson and engineered with Roy Halee, 'Parsley, Sage, Rosemary and Thyme' saw the duo overseeing the entire recording process over several months, rather than the relatively rushed production of their previous albums. They took time to layer tracks of vocals and effects to open their sound up even further. The arrangements are suited to Simon's youthful reflections of love and loss in a world at war. 'Parsley, Sage, Rosemary and Thyme' reached number four in the US, thirteen in the UK, and fourteen in Australia.

The mesmerizing opening track gives the album its title with the refrain from an old Scottish ballad. This traditional tune was set in counterpoint to 'Canticle' which was an adaptation of Simon's 'The Side of a Hill'. In Medieval times, parsley, sage, rosemary, and thyme were used to ward off the smell of the dead. Simon (and Bob Dylan) learned the song from British folk giant Martin Carthy. 'Scarborough Fair / Canticle' was also featured prominently in the film 'The Graduate'.

"Tell her to find me an acre of land

- On the side of a hill, a sprinkling of leaves

Parsley, sage, rosemary, and thyme

- Washes the ground with so many tears

Between the salt water and the sea strand

- A soldier cleans and polishes a gun

Then she'll be a true love of mine."

'Homeward Bound' sings of the loneliness of the road and of returning to both his girlfriend Kathy Chitty in England, as well as of returning back the US. Simon says: "That was written in Liverpool when I was traveling. What I like about that is that it has a very clear memory of Liverpool station and the streets of Liverpool and the club I played at and me at age twenty-two. It's like a snapshot, a photograph of a long time ago. I like that about it but I don't like the song that much. First of all, it's not an original title. That's one of the main problems with it. It's been around forever. No, the early songs I can't say I really like them. But there's something naive and sweet-natured and I must say I like that about it. They're not angry. And that means that I wasn't angry or unhappy. And that's my memory of that time: it was just about idyllic. It was just the best time of my life, I think, up until recently, these last five years or so, six years... This has been the best time of my life. But before that, I would say that that was."

"Tonight I'll sing my songs again,

I'll play the game and pretend.

But all my words come back to me in shades of mediocrity

Like emptiness in harmony I need someone to comfort me."

'The 59th Street Bridge Song (Feelin' Groovy)' refers to the Queensboro Bridge in New York City. The rhythm section for Dave Brubeck Quartet, Joe Morello and Eugene Wright played on the studio version.

"Slow down, you move too fast, you've got to make the moment last

Just kickin' down the cobble-stones, lookin' for fun and feelin' groovy"

'For Emily, Whenever I May Find Her' is sublime.

"What a dream I had:

Pressed in organdy;

Clothed in crinoline of smoky burgundy;

Softer than the rain.

I wandered empty streets, down

past the shop displays.

I heard cathedral bells

Tripping down the alley ways,

As I walked on.

And when you ran to me

Your cheeks flushed with the night.

We walked on frosted fields of juniper and lamplight,

I held your hand.

And when I awoke and felt you warm and near,

I kissed your honey hair with my grateful tears.

Oh I love you, girl.

Oh, I love you."

full album:




All songs by Paul Simon except where noted.

Side one
"Scarborough Fair/Canticle" (Traditional, arranged by Paul Simon, Art Garfunkel) – 3:10
"Patterns" – 2:42
"Cloudy" (Paul Simon, Bruce Woodley) – 2:10
"Homeward Bound" – 2:30 
"The Big Bright Green Pleasure Machine" – 2:44
"The 59th Street Bridge Song (Feelin' Groovy)" – 1:43
Side two
"The Dangling Conversation" – 2:37
"Flowers Never Bend with the Rainfall" – 2:10
"A Simple Desultory Philippic (Or How I Was Robert McNamara'd into Submission)" – 2:12
"For Emily, Whenever I May Find Her" – 2:04
"A Poem on the Underground Wall" – 1:52
"7 O'Clock News/Silent Night" (Josef Mohr, Franz Gruber) – 2:01