Stolen from the best! (Johann Sebastian Bach).
(Inspired, really — I’m just funnin’. I like the song as well. And Bach’s melody is likely based on older Lutheran hymns.)
Actually, he stole it from a folk song by Tom Glazer “Because All Men Are Brothers”.
Glazer probably knew it as the hymn “O Sacred Head, Now Wounded” which was adapted from Bach’s St. Matthew’s Passion. And Bach got that from a Lutheran Hymn which used the melody from a secular song by Hans Leo Hassler. Phew!
Blame it on the rain that was falling.
Blame it on the stars up in the sky.
Very interesting. A lot of music is ‘borrowed’ from other sources, of course, and sometimes it’s a little too recent and a lawsuit happens. McCartney’s “Blackbird” was inspired by a Bach piece. According to Wiki:
“The guitar accompaniment for “Blackbird” was inspired by Johann Sebastian Bach’s Bourrée in E minor, a well-known lute piece, often played on the classical guitar. As teenagers, he and tried to learn Bourrée as a “show off” piece. The Bourrée is distinguished by melody and bass notes played simultaneously on the upper and lower strings. McCartney said that he adapted a segment of the Bourrée reharmonized into the original’s relative major key of G as the opening of “Blackbird”, and carried the musical idea throughout the song. The first three notes of the song, which then transitioned into the opening guitar riff, were inspired from Bach.”
People who think their music was just fluff have no idea how complex it could be. I’ve tried to learn the intro for “Blackbird” with limited success. I can do it, but it’s slow and far from fluid.
American Tune is also one of my favorites.
Have you heard Allen Toussaint’s version?
Garfunkel was one of the best vocalists ever in popular music, so I wouldn’t call his contribution “nothing but his voice”. That voice was a huge contribution to the success of the duo.
Wonderful version by an American treasure.
Garfunkel had somewhat of a career acting after the split-up. I remember enjoying his performances in Catch-22 and Carnal Knowledge, and have wondered over the years why he didn’t take on more acting roles.
“American Tune” can get confused with “America,” off the Bookends album. “America” is a sublime, haunting song.
The vocals and production are also magnificent. The line, “The moon rose over the open field” at 2:07 stands as a peak example of their harmonies.
His cameo on Flight of the Conchords was a riot.
Agreed. By far my favorite S&G song.
The Sound of Silence - Peter Hollens feat. Tim Foust (youtube.com)
mr. hollens and foust recreate the album picture at the end of their cover. i just love how they ended the song.
I had a friend who also thought “America” was the best S&G song, but I couldn’t agree. “The Sound of Silence” (rock version) is a masterpiece and “Scarborough Fair/Canticle” may be the prettiest song of the 60s. Number three is amazing with that competition.
I love just about every song on Bookends.
Going back a couple years previously, “Blessed” is a standout for me.
I think it’s my 2nd-favorite, with everything on BOTW in a tie for 1st. 
I love how the lyrics hit the beats (in 3/4 time, no less) so perfectly … “IT took me FOUR days to HITCHhike from SAGinaw” makes me want to waltz. Just the opposite of Sounds of Silence, in that regard.
Late in the Evening may be my favorite of his solo work. I’d enjoy an entire album or two of whatever that musical style is that he’s borrowing. (Salsa?)
Simon stressed the wrong syllable throughout “The Sound of Silence,” such as stressing “a” in “halo of a street lamp,” or the unstressed sylabble in “talking” and “listening” and so on. Maybe he was embarrassed by these flaws in his craft?
Nitpick: although you can certainly waltz to it, “America” is in 6/8 time, not 3/4. I know it’s a subtle and technical distinction, but my ear can always pick out a 6/8 song, and I’m a total sucker for a 6/8 song.
I’m a huge Paul Simon fan. “Late in the Evening” is my favorite song, but following closely after that is a jumble of 20-30 songs from both the S&G and solo eras.
Possibly, yes. But I don’t think he ever said that, at least not publicly, did he? The answer was provided upthread, about one line in the lyrics that he loathed. At least, that was what I referred to in the OP but could not recall.
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People have been mentioning their favorite Paul Simon songs. I stumbled across a time he was on the David Letterman show decades ago, and he sang one of my favorites. While it is an S&G song he did this one solo, and it’s the first time I heard him do it solo (just a few minutes ago). I really like this song.
The Boxer
I’m curious, what’s the distinction? I’m a musician and it seems more like a preference than a real difference. To my ear, anyway.