American Folk: “Bridge Over Troubled Water” by Simon & Garfunkel (1970)

As quoted by my mother, “Simon & Garfunkel are the poets of my generation.” The songs on the album, definitely speak to this assertion. “Keep the Customer Satisfied,” with words like libeled and slandered, “Cecilia” with “jubilation,” and “The Boxer” using a variety of impressive words indicate an expansive vocabulary used in their songwriting. In addition, the subject matter of the lyrics is quite profound as fas as songwriting goes. For example, “The Boxer” talks about the hardships and the struggling of life, and how, despite the obstacles,”the fighter still remains.”

Even “Cecilia,” a love song of theirs, displays their talent of taking a popular subject and making it fresh and not stereotypical. In this song, they talk about Cecilia as “shaking my confidence daily.” What I found very captivating on this album was the way they would start slow and soft at the beginning of a song and then build up to several climaxes, creating multiple peaks and valleys in their songs. For example, “Bridge Over Trouble Water” started with a solo piano and pure, simple vocals, then added instruments throughout the verses, filling out the final sound.

However, there were two songs that didn’t quite fit into the usual Simon & Garfunkel style, namely “Baby Driver” and “Bye Bye Love.” “Baby Driver” was a combination of blues (walking bass line, saxophone solo) and Beach Boys stylings (doo-wop harmonies, singing about cars and girls); it stood out from the other songs on this album. “Bye Bye Love” was originally released by the Everly Brothers and is stylistically considered rock-a-billy, making it unusual in this collection of songs (it also seems strange for such great lyricists to cover a song).

Overall, I enjoyed the depth and authenticity of the album. I especially love the seeming simplicity of the songs, which reveal an underlying complexity upon further examination.