Kathy's Song - Simon & Garfunkel
Song of the Day #9
Apple Music link: https://music.apple.com/us/album/kathys-song/192480256?i=192480401
I've been listening to so much Simon & Garfunkel recently that almost any of their major songs could have been picked. Yet, somehow among the harrowing "Sounds of Silence," the playful "Leaves That Are Green," and the bittersweet lonerism of "I Am A Rock," this gorgeous gem happened to make the biggest impact on me from Sounds of Silence. It might be slightly harder to crack than "I Am A Rock" or "April Come She Will," but it is just as emotionally striking as either of those.
Unlike so many folk artists in the 50s-60s, Paul Simon treats folk as an introspective tool rather than some academic exercise. Many hardcore folkies would call this approach "selling out," but who wants to hear a scholarly approach to emotional art? This type of music needs authentic expression to have any meaningful purpose, and it took Dylan, Paul Simon, Jackson C. Frank, and many others to shatter the rigidity of the folk revival in the 60s and set the stage for the singer-songwriter movement.
This bleeding emotional power of Paul Simon's folk songs comes out beautifully in "Kathy's Song," a song written about his then-girlfriend Kathy Chitty. It's probably not an original melody (as it goes with folk music), but the performance and lyrics are what make this song so incredibly treasurable. Supported by the soft trickle of his acoustic guitar, Paul gives one of his most tender and vulnerable performances. If you ever felt Paul Simon to be a bit pedantic (which is understandable), this is the song to dispel the notion: even if the lyrics are literate, Paul sings the song with little pretense. Its gorgeous lyrics feel like honest expressions of his state of mind, a mix of quiet sadness with hints of both hope and anguish about the future (how can someone not feel something from lyrics like this "and from the shelter of my mind / Through the window of my eyes / I gaze beyond the rain-drenched streets / To England, where my heart lies" and this "And as I watch the drops of rain / Weave their weary paths and die"). It's a very rich and complex song, showing how much raw talent of his could have been overlooked if not for the late success of "Sounds of Silence." It's absolutely required listening for a rainy day, where you stare out the window and try to make sense of it all. Since the weather is slowly becoming more gloomy, it's a perfect time as any to listen to this melancholic gem.
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