America - Simon & Garfunkel
Song of the Day #14
Apple Music link: https://music.apple.com/us/album/america/203303421?i=203303587
Songs like this are the reason why meaningful art is almost a necessity for a healthy lifestyle. Although we like to think we exactly see and understand the real world in its truest condition, the truth is plenty view their world through their own personal lenses, similar to reality but malleable to our emotions. However, it's almost impossible to convey our often abstract interpretations of the world in words, which is why we need more emotional forms of expression like visual art, music, and others to do the job. For a sensitive, introverted guy like Paul Simon, this form of expression is the only way he could express what he sees and how he feels about the greater state of affairs in the turbulent '60s.
Because this song is not an ordinary chronicle of a road trip through America the boundless land of opportunity. It's a series of psychological impressions of that trip, merely snapshots of what was going on focusing much more on the feelings that came with it. There's a bitterness to certain moments in the quieter verses (especially when he exclaims "I'm empty and aching and don't know why") that expresses, at a raw level, a feeling of collective pain and fear he was absorbing from those around him in such a time of paranoia and confusion. Yet, it's completely drowned out by the production richness of their Bookends sound, layered with harmonies, psychedelic organs, and whispy acoustic guitars. It gives the main verses a truly dream-like feel, Paul escaping by engulfing himself in the vastness of his fantasies. The song swells up to its chorus is almost a cathartic victory, where he can escape the chaos around him by looking forward and immersing himself in what has remained beautiful.
Even though it's unclear the circumstances of his adventure, it focuses on what was more important to him. When looking back at our past, it is always through how we felt, and songs like this capture why that aspect of our memories is so critical in understanding who we are as people. It's the most psychedelic the band ever got, but it is a personal, introspective use of the trend to add the necessary psychological depth to take a song to a whole new plane of existence. Still sounding unbelievably fresh and awe-inspiring today, this is a song everybody needs to hear.
No comments:
Post a Comment