"The Only Living Boy in New York" by Simon and Garfunkel (from the album Bridge Over Troubled Water, 1970)
My sister got me hooked on this song last Christmas, playing it constantly from the Garden State soundtrack in her car. I guess I should have known it from listening to the Simon and Garfunkel album from which it comes as a kid, but somehow it eluded my memory. This is one of Paul Simon's great sad numbers--written, supposedly, to mark his parting with Art Garfunkel when the latter was leaving to go film Catch-22 in Mexico. The exaggeration of the hook (that Simon, lonely without his compadre, is like the last living boy on the isle of Manhattan) is touching in its simplicity. Great echoey vocals too.
2 comments:
Yes! This one I echo 100%. Not quite as good as "Cecilia" or "At The Zoo" -- song of the day every day? -- but beautiful, beautiful.
Also, just seeing the words Catch-22 make me automatically comment. :-p
I OD'd on "Cecilia" in the past, but I do love S&G as a rule. "America" is a favorite, of course. And I've got a weak spot for "Punky's Dilemma."
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