I Am A Rock

 

Trust me #84
I Am A Rock by Simon & Garfunkel

I was quite moved by a recent article in The Guardian where Art Garfunkel talked of meeting up with Paul Simon for the first time in 'many years' when the duo came together for lunch. There were hugs, tears and the promise to meet up again. 'Will Paul bring his guitar? Who knows? For me, it was about wanting to make amends before it's too late.'

Simon and Garfunkel are both age 83 and their tense relationship has simmered pretty much from the off, yet they recorded 5 albums between 1964 and 1970, including Sounds of Silence (1966) and Bridge Over Troubled Water (1970).

Even post-split and barely speaking (3-times a year) the duo would still get together to perform, most famously at a free concert in Central Park in 1981. That live album is incredible, you can feel the chemistry onstage and the appreciation of the audience in their response. 

It's not been easy, there has been lots of sniping in interviews and when the duo have met up. While being inducted to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1990, Garfunkel thanked Simon, calling him 'the person who most enriched my life by putting those songs through me.' Simon responded; 'Arthur and I agree about almost nothing. But it's true, I have enriched his life quite a bit!' The duo performed 3 songs and then left without speaking! Thankfully things thawed and the duo played a hugely successful tour in 2003-2004. There hasn't been too much to speak of since then.

After reading The Guardian article I thought of one of my favourite (possibly my number 1) Simon and Garfunkel song - I Am A Rock, the closing song on their Sounds of Silence album. God, they really have been a couple of rocks, stubbornly refusing to communicate with each other!

Thankfully, as both are aged 83, they have made up before it is too late.

The battered Sounds of Silence LP that I own was originally my Mums. I often think back to simpler times when owning a physical album or single was the only way to hear a song. My parents didn't have a huge collection, but The Stones, Simon and Garfunkel, Marvin and Tammi, Jose Feliciano and Sam Cooke were there. They must have had more when they were younger and got rid of them. I'll need to ask my Mum!

But back to the song!

Paul Simon wrote and recorded the song in 1965 on his debut solo album The Paul Simon Songbook. It's just Paul and his acoustic guitar. It's quite a raw recording, Simon strumming gently, finger picking, then hammering on his guitar at times, up close to the mic ... it's pretty cool. The lyrics are vivid and exceptionally open and honest.

A winters 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 only just discovered The Paul Simon Songbook album and it's incredible. A couple of the songs had been released the previous year on the debut Simon and Garfunkel album Wednesday Morning 3am. All but two of the remaining song would be re-recorded by the duo, including The Sound of Silence and April Come She Will.

The following year, Simon and Garfunkel re-recorded the song. The structure and melody are the same, but this time there is a full band and the glorious Paul and Art harmonies. There is a greater urgency to the song and I've never appreciated the glorious hammond organ throughout the song.

I have my books

And my poetry to protect me

I am shielded in my armour

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

So many incredible 60's songs were bang on the 3-minute mark. This is another. It's quite remarkable what you can do within that time. With I Am A Rock, Paul Simon pours his heart out to express, isolation, loneliness and emotional self-protection.

I have  no need for friendship

Friendship causes pain

It's laughter and it's loving I disdain

I am a rock

I am an island

And a rock can feel no pain

And an island never cries

Both versions of I Am A Rock are added to my Trust Me playlist; search for Everything Flows - Trust Me on Spotify or CLICK HERE 

Check below for all previous blogs in my Trust Me series.

Previous Trust Me blogs

1. Something On Your Mind by Karen Dalton

1A. Crimson and Clover by Tommy James and the Shondells

2. I Am, I Said  by Neil Diamond

3. Where's The Playground Susie?   by Glen Campbell

4. If You Could Read My Mind by Gordon Lighfoot

5. Gimme Some Truth by John Lennon

6. Gone With The Wind Is My Love by Rita and the Tiaras

7. In The Year 2525 by Zager and Evans

8. The Music Box by Ruth Copeland

9. The Ship Song by Nick Cave

10. Sometimes by James

11. I Walk The Earth by King Biscuit Time

12. Didn't Know What I Was In For by Better Oblivion Community Centre

13. When My Boy Walks Down The Street by The Magnetic Fields

14. The Man Don't Give A F**k by Super Furry Animals

15. All Flowers In Time Bend Towards The Sun by Jeff Buckley and Liz Fraser

16. Are You Lookin' by The Tymes

17. A Real Hero by College & Electric Youth

18. Feelings Gone by Callum Easter

19. Sunday Morning by The Velvet Underground

20. Did I Say by Teenage Fanclub

21. Don't Look Back by Teenage Fanclub

22. Your Love Is The Place Where I Come From by Teenage Fanclub

23. Belfast by Orbital

24. Clouds by The Jayhawks

25. Dreaming Of You by The Coral

26. Everlasting Love by Love Affair

27. Walk Away Renee by The Left Banke

28. Teenage Kicks by The Undertones

29. Shaky Ground by Sneeze

29. Rill Rill by Sleigh Bells

30. I Can Feel Your Love by Felice Taylor

31. The State We're In by The Chemical Brothers w/ Beth Orton

32. Sunshine After The Rain by Ellie Greenwich

33. Losing My Edge by LCD Soundsystem

34. Mondo 77 by Looper

35. Les Fleurs by Minnie Riperton

36. Rat Trap by The Boomtown Rats

37. How High by The Charlatans

38. I Can't Let Go by Evie Sands

39. Pop Song 89 by R.E.M.

40. Summertime Clothes by Animal Collective

41. There She Goes by The Las

42. We're Going To Be Friends by White Stripes

43. Autumn Sweater by Yo La Tengo

44. Sister Rena by Lomond Campbell

45. Revolution by The Beatles

46. Lazarus by The Boo Radleys

47. Wrote For Luck by Happy Mondays

48. American Trilogy by The Delgados

49. Loser by Beck 

50. Silent Sigh by Badly Drawn Boy

51. Comedy by Shack

52. Take The Skinheads Bowling by Camper Van Beethoven

53. Freakscene by Dinosaur Jr

54. Thank You For Being You by The Pastels

55. I Think I'm In Love by Spiritualized

56. Chestnut Mare by The Byrds

57. Cannonball by The Breeders

58. Like A Rolling Stone by Bob Dylan

59. You Make Me Weak At The Knees by Electrelane

60. Lucky by Radiohead

61. Strange Currencies by R.E.M.

61. I Am The Cosmos by Chris Bell

62. Like A Ship (Without A Sail) by Pastor TL Barrett and the Youth for Christ Choir

63. Nothing But A Heartache by The Flirtations

64. Made of Stone by The Stone Roses

65. Tonight In Belfast by Orbital, David Holmes, DJ Helen and Mike Garry

66. Anything by Adrianne Lenker

67. I Hold Something In My Hand by Bill Ryder-Jones

68. I Meant Every Word by Burnett Sisters

69. Dream Baby Dream by Suicide

70. Stove by The Lemonheads

71. Red Lady by Phil Cordell

72. Little Fluffy Clouds by The Orb

73. I Can Do It With A Broken Heart by Taylor Swift

74. Turnin' My Heartbeat Up by The M.V.P.'s

75. Razzle Dazzle Rose by Camera Obscura

76. Such Great Heights by The Postal Service

77. The Rat by The Walkmen

78. My God Has A Telephone by Aaron Frazer

79. Unfinished Sympathy by Massive Attack

80. Sweet and Tender Romance by The McKinleys

81. Hoppipolla by Sigur Ros

82. 69 Police by David Holmes

83. Hey Lisa by David Holmes