# What are your favorite Paul Simon deep cuts? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [September 6, 2015, 1:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-favorite-paul-simon-deep-cuts/730173 "2015-09-06T13:19:02Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mean_mr.mustard/32/3865_2.png) [@Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mean_Mr.Mustard)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2015, 1:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-favorite-paul-simon-deep-cuts/730173/1 "2015-09-06T13:19:02Z")
I recently did a thread asking for your favorite [Elton John deep cuts](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=767160). I think Paul Simon would be another interesting catalog to discuss. For the purposes of this thread, let’s define a deep cut as a song that the casual fan is unlikely to know. I will wait a bit before adding my own favorites. mmm ---
**Author:** ![The\_King\_of\_Soup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/a87d85/32.png) [@The\_King\_of\_Soup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_King_of_Soup)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2015, 2:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-favorite-paul-simon-deep-cuts/730173/2 "2015-09-06T14:47:53Z")
I think \*Rene and Georgette Magritte With Their Dog After the War \*is very pretty, but may not be as “deep” as you were looking for. ---
**Author:** ![Octarine](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/22d042/32.png) [@Octarine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Octarine)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2015, 2:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-favorite-paul-simon-deep-cuts/730173/3 "2015-09-06T14:53:56Z")
The acoustic demo of [“Train in the Distance”](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_nfevzc25cQ). Hauntingly beautiful. Also, the demo version of [“Take Me to the Mardi Gras”.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=toMo0HhwocE) The studio version is much peppier - this one feels bittersweet, especially the bridge. While “The Sound of Silence” isn’t exactly, uh, unknown, my favorite version is pretty obscure: [the first recording of the song](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DzsaE68IfXI), shortly after he wrote it, on a little-known 1965 solo album. He sounds _pissed off_. A lot of the other stuff on that album (Kathy’s Song, I Am a Rock) are stripped down, more personal versions of well known songs. ---
**Author:** ![Octarine](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/22d042/32.png) [@Octarine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Octarine)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2015, 3:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-favorite-paul-simon-deep-cuts/730173/4 "2015-09-06T15:04:18Z")
Also, maybe not quite as deep, but the entirety of Hearts and Bones. It was the first Paul Simon album my dad ever played for me, so I grew up thinking it was this incredibly well-known magnum opus of his. But it actually sold pretty badly, and still isn’t quite mainstream. “Song About the Moon” “Rene and Georgette Magritte with Their Dog After the War” “Think Too Much (b)” - it’s just a great collection of songs, quite lyrically distinct from his other work. Last one, I promise: [Obvious Child](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9HKNAhAxMAk). I don’t like most of Rhythm of the Saints, but the opening track is gold. ---
**Author:** ![Tim\_R.Mortiss](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tim_r.mortiss/32/142_2.png) [@Tim\_R.Mortiss](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tim_R.Mortiss)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2015, 3:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-favorite-paul-simon-deep-cuts/730173/5 "2015-09-06T15:18:32Z")
“Papa Hobo” from the “Paul Simon” album is just about my favorite of his. ---
**Author:** ![Quimby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/22d042/32.png) [@Quimby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quimby)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2015, 4:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-favorite-paul-simon-deep-cuts/730173/6 "2015-09-06T16:06:07Z")
One of my favorite Paul Simon songs is [Boy in The Bubble](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zRPfyH72Eeo). Don’t think that was much of a hit. ---
**Author:** ![Peremensoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ce7236/32.png) [@Peremensoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peremensoe)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2015, 4:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-favorite-paul-simon-deep-cuts/730173/7 "2015-09-06T16:37:39Z")
> [@Octarine](#): > > [Obvious Child](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9HKNAhAxMAk) > [@Quimby](#): > > [Boy in The Bubble](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zRPfyH72Eeo) I believe these were the highest-charting American singles of their respective albums, which in turn were Simon’s two best-selling albums, apart from _Bridge Over Troubled Water_ with Garfunkel. ---
**Author:** ![drad\_dog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/aeb1de/32.png) [@drad\_dog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drad_dog)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2015, 5:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-favorite-paul-simon-deep-cuts/730173/8 "2015-09-06T17:40:39Z")
You didn’t say if it could be with S &G. With: Song for the Asking Save the life of my child Without: Armistice Day (The coolest guitar riffs PS ever did. In drop D) ---
**Author:** ![Quimby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/22d042/32.png) [@Quimby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quimby)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2015, 5:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-favorite-paul-simon-deep-cuts/730173/9 "2015-09-06T17:45:10Z")
> [@Peremensoe](#): > > I believe these were the highest-charting American singles of their respective albums, which in turn were Simon’s two best-selling albums, apart from _Bridge Over Troubled Water_ with Garfunkel. There’s no way Boy in the Bubble charted higher than You Can all Me Al. ---
**Author:** ![K364](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/k364/32/5_2.png) [@K364](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/K364)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2015, 5:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-favorite-paul-simon-deep-cuts/730173/10 "2015-09-06T17:58:22Z")
“Something So Right” from There Goes Rhymin’ Simon ---
**Author:** ![garygnu](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/garygnu/32/2924_2.png) [@garygnu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/garygnu)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2015, 6:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-favorite-paul-simon-deep-cuts/730173/11 "2015-09-06T18:41:28Z")
For ‘deep tracks’ off _Graceland_, I’d have to go with “Under African Skies” and “Homeless.” The title track doesn’t get enough love, either. Also, much of _Songs from The Capeman_, especially “Quality,” “Bernadette,” and “Satin Summer Nights.” ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2015, 6:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-favorite-paul-simon-deep-cuts/730173/12 "2015-09-06T18:46:04Z")
> [@K364](#): > > “Something So Right” from There Goes Rhymin’ Simon I wouldn’t call anything that’s included on a Greatest Hits album a “deep cut.” But “Was a Sunny Day” from that album is one of my favorite mellow feel-good songs. ---
**Author:** ![74westy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/74westy/32/3950_2.png) [@74westy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/74westy)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2015, 7:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-favorite-paul-simon-deep-cuts/730173/13 "2015-09-06T19:04:50Z")
[Night Game](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U078jX6Z6fo) from Still Crazy after All These Years. Baseball:sports = poetry:art. ---
**Author:** ![solost](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/solost/32/11776_2.png) [@solost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/solost)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2015, 7:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-favorite-paul-simon-deep-cuts/730173/14 "2015-09-06T19:14:44Z")
‘Duncan’ from one of his early solo albums is a catchy little tune. ---
**Author:** ![JKellyMap](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jkellymap/32/15880_2.png) [@JKellyMap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JKellyMap)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2015, 8:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-favorite-paul-simon-deep-cuts/730173/15 "2015-09-06T20:24:29Z")
> [@solost](#): > > ‘Duncan’ from one of his early solo albums is a catchy little tune. Great song – it’s the OTHER one from that approximate time using Peruvian pan flutes (the other being S and G’s “El Condor Pasa”). Love the line “the couple in the next room are bound to win a prize…they’ve been goin’ at it all night long.” My pick: “Look at That,” from Simon’s under-appreciated 2000 album “You’re the One.” A gentle but incisive tune – it incldes the observation that “to ask somebody to love you takes a lot of nerve.” ---
**Author:** ![Rhiannon8404](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rhiannon8404/32/17929_2.png) [@Rhiannon8404](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rhiannon8404)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2015, 8:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-favorite-paul-simon-deep-cuts/730173/16 "2015-09-06T20:44:34Z")
> [@The\_King\_of\_Soup](#): > > I think \*Rene and Georgette Magritte With Their Dog After the War \*is very pretty, but may not be as “deep” as you were looking for. This is the first one I thought of. I love this song. ---
**Author:** ![Red\_Stilettos](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/fbc32d/32.png) [@Red\_Stilettos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Red_Stilettos)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2015, 10:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-favorite-paul-simon-deep-cuts/730173/17 "2015-09-06T22:15:01Z")
My current favorite is Under African Skies. I sing it as a lullaby to my son. I also really like Train in the Distance. ---
**Author:** ![bucketybuck](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/898d66/32.png) [@bucketybuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bucketybuck)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2015, 11:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-favorite-paul-simon-deep-cuts/730173/18 "2015-09-06T23:15:02Z")
For personal reasons my favourite will always be “Cool cool river”. That sound… ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2015, 11:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-favorite-paul-simon-deep-cuts/730173/19 "2015-09-06T23:29:48Z")
I like “One Man’s Ceiling” from his _Kodachrome_ album. ---
**Author:** ![Krav\_Manga](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/krav_manga/32/3153_2.png) [@Krav\_Manga](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Krav_Manga)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2015, 1:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-favorite-paul-simon-deep-cuts/730173/20 "2015-09-07T01:20:53Z")
I like “The Coast” - the live version from his Concert in the Park. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-favorite-paul-simon-deep-cuts/730173.md?page=2)