Paul Simon broke free from the constraints of his past and broadened his musical palatte for his eponymous American solo debut. He began making demos in San Francisco; but also recorded in Jamaica. He worked with such diverse musicians as violinist Stephane Grappelli, bassist Ron Carter, guitarist Stefan Grossman, and percussionist Airto Moreira, as well as vocalists Cissy Houston, Von Eva Sims, Renelle Stafford and Deirdre Tuck. Though he had ended his collaboration with Art Garfunkel; he continued to work with producer Roy Halee. Simon says, "It left me free to do what I want. I wanted to sing other types of songs that Simon and Garfunkel wouldn't do. 'Mother and Child Reunion,' for example, is not a song that you would have normally thought that Simon and Garfunkel would have done. It's possible that they might have. But it wouldn't have been the same, and I don't know whether I would have been so inclined in that direction. So for me it was a chance to back out and gamble a little bit; it's been so long since it was a gamble." 'Paul Simon' went to the top of the charts in Finland, Norway, Japan, Sweden, and the UK. In the US, it peaked at number four.
About 'Mother and Child Reunion', Simon says: "I got that by making a mistake. Because 'Why Don't You Write Me?' was supposed to sound like that, but it came out a bad imitation. So I said, 'I'm not going to get it out of the regular guys. I gotta get it out of the guys who know it.' And I gotta go down there willing to change for them. I started to play with them. I started to show them the song and play, and we started to work it out, and they were playing, and I would play, but I couldn't play with it. Couldn't fit. So I sat down and said, 'You play it. Play what you want.' That's the key thing. Let them play whatever they want, and then you change. You go their way. That's how you get that." The track was recorded in Jamaica with legendary reggae guitarist Hux Brown and bassist Jackie Jackson. Simon admits the unlikely origin of the song title: "I was eating in a Chinese restaurant downtown. There was a dish called 'Mother and Child Reunion.' It's chicken and eggs. And I said, 'Oh, I love that title. I gotta use that one.'" He explains further from where the emotional depth came: "We had a dog that was run over and killed, and we loved this dog. It was the first death I had ever experienced personally. Nobody in my family died that I felt that. But I felt this loss--one minute there, next minute gone, and then my first thought was, 'Oh, man, what if that was Peggy? What if somebody like that died? Death, what is it, I can't get it.' And there were lyrics straight out forward like that. 'I can't for the life of me remember a sadder day. I just can't believe it's so.' Those are the lyrics. The chorus for 'Mother and Child Reunion'--well, that's out of the title. Somehow there was a connection between this death and Peggy, and it was like heaven, I don't know what the connection was. Some emotional connection. It didn't matter to me what it was. I just knew it was there."
"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"
'Me and Julio Down by the Schoolyard' describes the fallout after Mama Pajama witnesses a crime. About exactly what that crime is, even Simon claims ignorance: "I have no idea what it is...Something sexual is what I imagine, but when I say 'something', I never bothered to figure out what it was. Didn't make any difference to me."
"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 school yard"
"Duncan" features Andean group Los Incas who also appeared on the Simon and Garfunkel song 'El Condor Pasa (If I Could)'.
"My father was a fisherman
My mama was a 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."
"Peace Like a River"
"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've seen a glorious day"
"Paranoia Blues"
"I got some so-called friends
They’ll smile right to my face
But, when my back is turned
They’d like to stick to me
Yes, they would
Oh no, no
Oh no no
There’s only one thing I need to know
Whose side are you on?"
"Congratulations"
"Congratulations
Oh, seems like you’ve done it again
And I ain’t had such misery since
Since I don’t know when,
Oh, and I don’t know when"
'Paul Simon'
full album:
All songs written by Paul Simon, except "Hobo's Blues" co-written by Stéphane Grappelli.
Side one
"Mother and Child Reunion" – 3:05
"Duncan" – 4:39
"Everything Put Together Falls Apart" – 1:59
"Run That Body Down" – 3:52
"Armistice Day" – 3:55
Side two
"Me and Julio Down by the Schoolyard" – 2:42
"Peace Like a River" – 3:20
"Papa Hobo" – 2:34
"Hobo's Blues" – 1:21
"Paranoia Blues" – 2:54
"Congratulations" – 3:42
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