Simon and Garfunkel - Assorted Songs

The Sound of Silence (P. Simon, 1964)

Hello darkness, my old friend,
I've come to talk with you again,
Because a 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.

In restless dreams I walked alone
Narrow streets of cobblestone,
'Neath the halo of a street lamp,
I turned my collar to the cold and damp
When my eyes were stabbed 
by the flash of a neon light
That split the night
And touched the sound of silence.

And in the naked light I saw
Ten thousand people, maybe more.
People talking without speaking,
People hearing without listening,
People writing songs 
that voices never share
And no one dare
Disturb the sound of silence.

"Fools" said I, "You do not know
Silence like a cancer grows.
Hear my words that I might teach you,
Take my arms that I might reach you."
But my words like silent raindrops fell,
And echoed
In the wells of silence

And the people bowed and prayed
To the neon god they made.
And the sign flashed out its warning,
In the words that it was forming.
And the sign said, "The words of the prophets
are written on the subway walls
And tenement halls."

And whisper'd in the sounds of silence.

The Boxer

I am just a poor boy.

Though my story's seldom told,

I have squandered my resistance

For a pocketful of mumbles,

Such are promises

All lies and jest

Still, a man hears what he wants to hear

And disregards the rest.

When I left my home

And my family,

I was no more than a boy

In the company of strangers

In the quiet of the railway station,

Running scared,

Laying low,

Seeking out the poorer quarters

Where the ragged people go,

Looking for the places

Only they would know.

CHORUS

Lie-la-lie.....

Asking only workman's wages

I come looking for a job,

But I get no offers.

Just a come-on from the whores

On Seventh Avenue

I do declare,

There were times when I was so lonesome

I took some comfort there.

CHORUS

Then I'm laying out my winter clothes

And wishing I was gone

Going home

Where the New York City winters

Aren't bleeding me,

Leading me,

Going home.

In the clearing stands a boxer,

And a fighter by his trade

And he carries the reminders

Of ev'ry glove that laid him down

Or cut him till he cried out

In his anger and his shame,

"I am leaving, I am leaving."

But the fighter still remains

CHORUS

Leaves That Are Green (P. Simon, 1965)

 

I was twenty-one years when I wrote this song.

I'm twenty-two now but I won't be for long

Time hurries on.

And the leaves that are green turn to brown,

And they wither with the wind,

And they crumble in your hand.

Once my heart was filled with the love of a girl.

I held her close, but she faded in the night

Like a poem I meant to write.

And the leaves that are green turn to brown,

And they wither with the wind,

And they crumble in your hand.

I threw a pebble in a brook

And watched the ripples run away

And they never made a sound.

And the leaves that are green turned to brown,

And they wither with the wind,

And they crumble in your hand.

Hello, Hello, Hello, Good-bye,

Good-bye, Good-bye, Good-bye,

That's all there is.

And the leaves that are green turned to brown,

And they wither with the wind,

And they crumble in your hand.

I Am a Rock (P. Simon, 1965)

A winter's day

In a deep and dark December;

I am alone,

Gazing from my window to the streets below

On a freshly fallen silent shroud of snow.

I am a rock,

I am an island.

I've built walls,

A fortress deep and mighty,

That none may penetrate.

I have no need of friendship; friendship causes pain.

It's laughter and it's loving I disdain.

I am a rock,

I am an island.

Don't talk of love,

But I've heard the words before;

It's sleeping in my memory.

I won't disturb the slumber of feelings that have died.

If I never loved I never would have cried.

I am a rock,

I am an island.

I have my books

And my poetry to protect me;

I am shielded in my armor,

Hiding in my room, safe within my womb.

I touch no one and no one touches me.

I am a rock,

I am an island.

And a rock feels no pain;

And an island never cries.

Mrs. Robinson


And here's to you, Mrs. Robinson
Jesus loves you more than you will know (Wo, wo, wo)
God bless you please, Mrs. Robinson
Heaven holds a place for those who pray

(Hey, hey, hey...hey, hey, hey)

We'd like to know a little bit about you for our files
We'd like to help you learn to help yourself
Look around you, all you see are sympathetic eyes
Stroll around the grounds until you feel at home

And here's to you, Mrs. Robinson
Jesus loves you more than you will know (Wo, wo, wo)
God bless you please, Mrs. Robinson
Heaven holds a place for those who pray

(Hey, hey, hey...hey, hey, hey)

Hide it in a hiding place where no one ever goes
Put it in your pantry with your cupcakes
It's a little secret, just the Robinsons' affair
Most of all, you've got to hide it from the kids

Coo, coo, ca-choo, Mrs. Robinson

Jesus loves you more than you will know (Wo, wo, wo)
God bless you please, Mrs. Robinson
Heaven holds a place for those who pray

(Hey, hey, hey...hey, hey, hey)

Sitting on a sofa on a Sunday afternoon
Going to the candidates debate
Laugh about it, shout about it
When you've got to choose

Ev'ry way you look at it, you lose

Where have you gone, Joe DiMaggio
A nation turns its lonely eyes to you (Woo, woo, woo)
What's that you say, Mrs. Robinson
Joltin' Joe has left and gone away

(Hey, hey, hey...hey, hey, hey)

El Condor Pasa (Paul Simon/Jorge Milchberg)

 

I'd rather be a sparrow than a snail.
Yes I would.
If I could,
I surely would.
I'd rather be a hammer than a nail.

Yes I would.
If I only could,
I surely would.

CHORUS

Away, I'd rather sail away
Like a swan that's here and gone
A man grows older every day
It gives the world
Its saddest sound,
Its saddest sound.

I'd rather be a forest than a street.
Yes I would.
If I could,
I surely would.
I'd rather feel the earth beneath my feet,
Yes I would.
If I only could,
I surely would.

CHORUS