Wednesday, September 26, 2018

George Reece performs

AMERICA
(Paul Simon)

 
Let us be lovers, we'll marry our fortunes together
I've got some real estate here in my bag
So we bought a pack of cigarettes and Mrs. Wagner's pies
And we walked off to look for America
Cathy, I said as we boarded a Greyhound in Pittsburgh
Michigan seems like a dream to me now
It took me four days to hitchhike from Saginaw
I've gone to look for America
 
Laughing on the bus, playing games with the faces
She said the man in the gabardine suit was a spy
I said, be careful, his bowtie is really a camera
Toss me a cigarette, I think there's one in my raincoat
We smoked the last one an hour ago
So I looked at the scenery
She read her magazine
And the moon rose over an open field
 
Cathy, I'm lost, I said though I knew she was sleeping
And I'm empty and aching and I don't know why
Counting the cars on the New Jersey Turnpike
They've all come to look for America

1 comment:

  1. Since Paul Simon has just finished his last public performance, it seems fitting to feature George's cover of a song he recorded with Art Gasrfunkel. The 2 were 11 when they met, and they began singing together when they were 13. When they were 16 they recorded "Hey, Schoolgirl" as Tom & Jerry, which reached #49 on the music charts. After high school Simon went to Queens College and got a degree in English, while Garfunkel got one in art history at Columbia University and a master's degree in mathematics education. Both of them continued their musical careers, sometimes together; Garfunkel recorded a few records as Artie Garr, or as Tom Graph, while Simon wrote and recorded more than 30 songs as Paul Kane, True Taylor, or (most often) Jerry Landis, and was part of the group Tico and the Triumphs. As Simon and Garfunkel they released their 1st album, "Wednesday Morning, 3 A.M.," on Columbia records in 1964. Though the album was not a success, it spawned "The Sounds of Silence," which was overdubbed and released as a single in 1965. Simon, meanwhile, had resumed his solo career in the UK, but due to the success of "The Sounds of Silence" he reunited with Gradfunkel, and together they recorded a series of albums until they broke up in 1970 (although they continued to reunite occasionally) and pursued separate careers. "America" was recorded on their 1968 "Bookends" album and later (1972) released as a single. Simon had recorded demos of the song in 1965, and the Scottish band 1-2-3 (later known as Clouds) played it at the Marquee Club in London in April 1967, 10 months before Simon and Garfunkel recorded it; their arrangement was the basis for the version Yes performed from 1970 onwards. David Bowie was at the 1-2-3 performance and used a version of their arrangement to open his portion of the benefit concert on behalf of the terrorist attack on New York in 2001. Bernie Sanders used the song in TV ads for his presidential run in 2016. Paint Saginaw spray-painted the entire lyrics in snippets on 28 structures in the city, including vacant buildings, abandoned factories, railroad tracks and bridge supports.

    ReplyDelete

Join the conversation! What is your reaction to the post?