# 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:** 2
**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 7, 2015, 2:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-favorite-paul-simon-deep-cuts/730173/21 "2015-09-07T02:59:57Z")
> [@solost](#): > > ‘Duncan’ from one of his early solo albums is a catchy little tune. I don’t know if you’ve seen [this video](http://www.npr.org/sections/allsongs/2011/05/16/136305513/paul-simon-and-a-moment-of-pure-sobbing-joy), **solost** , but I never tire of watching it. > [@](#): > > Paul Simon has brought joy to so many for so long, but on this night he made Rayna Ford’s dream come true. During a show in Toronto on May 7, Rayna Ford, a fan from Newfoundland, called out for Simon to play “Duncan,” and said something to the effect that she learned to play guitar on the song. In a moment of astonishment and disbelief, Paul Simon invited her on stage, handed her a guitar and asked her to play it for the crowd. When she strapped on the guitar, the audience went crazy. In a few strums, the band played along, tears ran down Rayna Ford’s cheeks and Simon stood by her side in smiles. mmm ---
**Author:** ![desertmonk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/898d66/32.png) [@desertmonk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/desertmonk)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2015, 4:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-favorite-paul-simon-deep-cuts/730173/22 "2015-09-07T04:55:08Z")
> [@solost](#): > > ‘Duncan’ from one of his early solo albums is a catchy little tune. Duncan is great but I heard it on The Essential Paul Simon, so it’s not a deep cut. ---
**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 7, 2015, 5:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-favorite-paul-simon-deep-cuts/730173/23 "2015-09-07T05:12:14Z")
> [@desertmonk](#): > > Duncan is great but I heard it on The Essential Paul Simon, so it’s not a deep cut. Yeah. Peace Like a River is deeper. And Run that Body Down. ---
**Author:** ![Ranger\_Jeff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ranger_jeff/32/2065_2.png) [@Ranger\_Jeff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ranger_Jeff)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2015, 7:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-favorite-paul-simon-deep-cuts/730173/24 "2015-09-07T07:49:02Z")
At a Brian Wilson tribute concert, Simon performed a pretty nice cover of [Surfer Girl.](https://youtu.be/acu-wGt0wKA) ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2015, 8:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-favorite-paul-simon-deep-cuts/730173/25 "2015-09-07T08:53:46Z")
Does it count as a deep cut if the casual listener doesn’t know he wrote it? If so, I’m going with\* Red Rubber Ball\* as performed by The Cyrkle. ---
**Author:** ![Infovore](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/infovore/32/420_2.png) [@Infovore](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Infovore)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2015, 11:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-favorite-paul-simon-deep-cuts/730173/26 "2015-09-07T23:41:54Z")
I like “Stranded in a Limousine” and “The Late Great Johnny Ace.” Also “The Afterlife” (from So Beautiful or So What) ---
**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 8, 2015, 2:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-favorite-paul-simon-deep-cuts/730173/27 "2015-09-08T02:06:41Z")
> [@Thudlow\_Boink](#): > > 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. Fair enough. I’ll switch to “Peace Like A River” ---
**Author:** ![bmoak](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/9dc877/32.png) [@bmoak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bmoak)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2015, 3:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-favorite-paul-simon-deep-cuts/730173/28 "2015-09-08T03:51:59Z")
I’ll go with “Gumboots” from Graceland, and “Born at the Right Time” from Rhythm of the Saints. ---
**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 8, 2015, 1:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-favorite-paul-simon-deep-cuts/730173/29 "2015-09-08T13:54:17Z")
> [@kaylasdad99](#): > > Does it count as a deep cut if the casual listener doesn’t know he wrote it? If so, I’m going with\* Red Rubber Ball\* as performed by The Cyrkle. Simon & Garfunkel recorded “Red Rubber Ball” at a live concert in New York in 1967, along with a hilarious introduction by Art. I guess it only made it onto _Old Friends_, and not the concert album itself. The song right after that is another great deep cut. “A Poem on the Underground Wall” preceded by an even more hilarious introduction by Art. If we’re including Paul performing other people’s songs, I have a bootleg mp3 of him and George Harrison singing “Here Comes the Sun” on Saturday Night Live. ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2015, 2:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-favorite-paul-simon-deep-cuts/730173/30 "2015-09-08T14:11:44Z")
If we’re including S&G songs I rather like “Bleecker Street” - simple and sweet. If we’re only including his solo songs, probably “Rene and Georgette Magritte With Their Dog After the War”. ---
**Author:** ![LVBoPeep](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/858c86/32.png) [@LVBoPeep](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LVBoPeep)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2015, 2:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-favorite-paul-simon-deep-cuts/730173/31 "2015-09-08T14:48:23Z")
Another vote for “Heart & Bones” which I loved even before I knew it was written about Princess Leia. Carrie Fisher has a funny bit in one of her one-woman acts about how that song is her divorce settlement. ---
**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 8, 2015, 5:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-favorite-paul-simon-deep-cuts/730173/32 "2015-09-08T17:04:06Z")
I intended the thread to be about Simon’s solo work, but S&G stuff is fine too. Not sure I’d consider Red Rubber Ball to be a deep cut; it was very popular back in the day. But I’ll allow it 🙂 Mine: **One Man’s Ceiling is Another Man’s Floor** - _There’s been a bloody purple nose And some bloody purple clothes_ \*\*Gone at Last \*\*- _Sweet little soul, now, what’s your problem? Tell me why you’re so downcast_ **Train in the Distance** - _Negotiations and love songs Are often mistaken for one and the same_ \*\* Homeless \*\*- _Homeless, homeless Moonlight sleeping on a midnight lake_ **Adios Hermanos** - _Well the Spanish boys had their day in court And now it was time for some fuckin’ law and order_ **The Obvious Child** - _Well, I’m accustomed to a smooth ride Or maybe I’m a dog who’s lost its bite_ \*\*That Was Your Mother \*\*- _Along came a young girl She’s pretty as a prayer book Sweet as an apple on Christmas day I said, “Good gracious can this be my luck? If that’s my prayer book Lord, let us pray”_ mmm ---
**Author:** ![astorian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ad7895/32.png) [@astorian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astorian)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2015, 5:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-favorite-paul-simon-deep-cuts/730173/33 "2015-09-08T17:32:48Z")
Let’s see… I always liked: “Learn How to Fall” “St. Judy’s Comet” “The Late, Great Johnny Ace” “All Around the World (or “The Myth of Fingerprints”)” If S & G songs count, throw in: “So Long, Frank Lloyd Wright” “The Dangling Conversation” “April, Come She Will” ---
**Author:** ![TreacherousCretin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/treacherouscretin/32/476_2.png) [@TreacherousCretin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TreacherousCretin)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2015, 6:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-favorite-paul-simon-deep-cuts/730173/34 "2015-09-08T18:30:33Z")
> [@garygnu](#): > > The song right after that is another great deep cut. “A Poem on the Underground Wall” preceded by an even more hilarious introduction by Art. I saw Art tell that story during a S&G concert in 1967 (IIRC). “The Old Familiar Suggestion” indeed. Still makes me chuckle. ETA: my fave PSDC: “Stranded In A Limousine” ---
**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 11, 2015, 1:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-favorite-paul-simon-deep-cuts/730173/35 "2015-09-11T13:42:42Z")
> [@Mean\_Mr.Mustard](#): > > I don’t know if you’ve seen [this video](http://www.npr.org/sections/allsongs/2011/05/16/136305513/paul-simon-and-a-moment-of-pure-sobbing-joy), **solost** , but I never tire of watching it. > > mmm Thanks mmm, nice video! She did a great job-- I’m a very amateur “sittin’ around the campfire”-type singer and guitar player, and I would be so nervous in that situation that I’d probably screw it up and ask the band to restart 6 or 7 times. :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2015, 1:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-favorite-paul-simon-deep-cuts/730173/36 "2015-09-11T13:52:01Z")
Pretty much every song on _Graceland_ that wasn’t released as a single. What a fantastic album. “Under African Skies” has already been mentioned (harmonies by Linda Ronstadt, btw), and I’ll add in particular “I Know What I Know” and “The Myth of Fingerprints.” ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2015, 2:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-favorite-paul-simon-deep-cuts/730173/37 "2015-09-11T14:00:45Z")
From the Simon & Garfunkel days: Richard Cory (if it counts as a deep track) A Most Peculiar Man Flowers Never Bend With the Rainfall For Emily, Wherever I May Find Her So Long, Frank Lloyd Wright The Only Living Boy in New York ---
**Author:** ![slitterst](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecc23a/32.png) [@slitterst](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/slitterst)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2015, 3:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-favorite-paul-simon-deep-cuts/730173/38 "2015-09-11T15:14:47Z")
[Gone at Last](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=leWjp_CFt50) off of “Still Crazy after All these Years.” ---
**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 11, 2015, 4:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-favorite-paul-simon-deep-cuts/730173/39 "2015-09-11T16:47:44Z")
> [@RTFirefly](#): > > From the Simon & Garfunkel days: > > Richard Cory (if it counts as a deep track) > A Most Peculiar Man > Flowers Never Bend With the Rainfall > For Emily, Wherever I May Find Her > So Long, Frank Lloyd Wright > The Only Living Boy in New York For Emily was released as a single in 72. The Only Living Boy was Paul’s favorite track on Bridge. ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2015, 5:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-favorite-paul-simon-deep-cuts/730173/40 "2015-09-11T17:03:25Z")
> [@drad\_dog](#): > > For Emily was released as a single in 72. And was barely noticed, topping out at #53 on the charts. I think it’s still a deep track, if that’s what you’re questioning. Ditto “Only Living Boy.” [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-your-favorite-paul-simon-deep-cuts/730173.md?page=1)